UFC 32: Barnett on Schilt

On New Year’s Eve "The Baby Faced Assassin," Josh Barnett will continue to march on in another defense of his King Of Pancrase Open-weight title. Although now doing some work as a pro-wrestler, his KOP title defense will be an MMA match against the near 7-foot-tall Semmy Schilt – a rematch of their UFC 32 outing, which Barnett won via armbar.

FCF:   Since your leave from the UFC what have you been up to?
Josh Barnett:   6’3" so nothing has really changed. Oh and touring on the New Japan Pro-Wrestling circuit and still fighting in MMA in between. I dabble.

FCF:   How does what you’re doing now in Japan compare to the old UFC fights?
JB:     Well I have to say that I like the rules a lot better since there is more freedom and I also like that most fights in Japan are judged on damage and effectiveness to end the fight, not control. It awards the guy trying to finish and as I have only had 2 decisions in my career so far that’s good news for me. I do miss Big John though; he was a character, literally. I told him that I couldn’t stand his character in the UFC game. His front kick would practically kill you with one hit and [is] almost impossible to beat. Way too aggravating. So I told him that one day I was going to turn and attack him during a fight one of these days. Big John, I haven’t forgotten all those times you infuriated me through that video game and I know you had this planned all from the beginning to drive me mad. I still have my sanity and I will savor my revenge.

FCF:   PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko ran into some trouble with PRIDE when he tried to fight in another show. It seems as if many of the great heavyweights are in PRIDE where there are good fights for you. Do you foresee any similar troubles in fighting outside of Pancrase?
JB:     No, because I signed my contract with Vaseline, which makes it easy for me to slip out of my obligations and fight wherever I choose.

FCF:   You’re facing Semmy Schilt next for the KOP title, how has your training been altered for this fight?
JB:     Well this is something that never changes, but I can say again that I always train the same except for some emphasis towards a weakness in my opponent. I believe that I should be ready for any and everything.

FCF:   What are the advantages/disadvantages of fighting someone in a rematch?
JB:     Simply the fact that you have already beaten them and they stand to gain much more than you stand to lose externally as well as internally. Of course you are both now more familiar with each other’s styles, but that’s not always a factor because sometimes there wasn’t that much you could pick up from the fight. Maybe it was over quick or either one was not able to utilize their strengths. Still, going in with one over them is never going to hurt.

FCF:   What was the driving force behind your accepting this bout?
JB:     They asked and he said yes. Oh and a red-hot poker.

FCF:   This is your first top contender at your weight in a little while, how do the emotions change while facing a known threat as compared to a lighter and/or seemingly overmatched opponent?
JB:     As a fighter I understand other fighters and their strength a lot better than someone who isn’t. Kondo, Takahashi, and Ambriz were not weak or easy opponents and weight doesn’t mean as much as people make it out to. If I won quickly or dominated a fight it isn’t because my opponents aren’t good, I just trained really hard and did what I do better than they could do at what they do. Before me, Ambriz was undefeated and KOTC Super-heavyweight champ with all wins by finish and 60lbs heavier. Because I beat him in the first round laymen want to cry "bum." Kondo was smaller, but had fought many, many times at unlimited and had defeated Semmy three times before. Takahashi was at the top of his game when he showed up at Ultimate Crush 2 and is known to be a real tough guy and weighed 210, which is heavyweight. The only people who think that those guys weren’t any good are people who aren’t training for a fight. Personally I don’t take people lightly and I don’t care who ranks them where or what weight or how great people talk of him. I can tell who can bring it and who just sings it.

FCF:   You’ve submitted your last two opponents and have previously beaten Schilt
by armbar. Are these stats any hint at a possible strategy?
JB:     Hell no! I don’t give hints or play twenty questions. You never know what I’ll do, except that it’ll be as exciting as possible. I have to say there aren’t many who can claim to have pulled off a rolling German suplex in a fight. In fact just two I know of. Someone already did the giant swing, and [Bob] Sapp used the powerbomb so maybe I’ll try a Death Valley Bomb. What the hell is that you say? Guess you’ll have to watch.

The Return of SUBMISSION WRESTLING!!!

‘After the success of the 5th Submission Wrestling World Championships, held in May of 2003 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, we wanted to have additional Submission Wrestling competitions in North America starting in 2004.’ states spokesman and AFC matchmaker Miguel Iturrate. ‘So the SUBMISSION WRESTLING OPEN I was born.’

‘We are working right now to sign our superfights, and we should have some announcements on these soon. There are some big names and surprises in the works for these 4 fights! There will also be 3 different 4 Man Tournaments, in the ADCC weight classes of 65.9 KG and under (under 145 lbs), 66-76.9 KG (145.1-169 lbs) and 77-87.9 KG (169.1 – 194 lbs)’. describes the spokesman.

‘The event will also feature an ABSOLUTE tournament of 8 men. This is one of the signatures of the ADCC competition, and we think it will add to the excitement of the event.’ starts the spokesman. ‘The competitors for this tournament will be selected from the competitors who competed in the tournaments earlier. This will add to the excitement, in that the event gives an opportunity for competitors who were impressive in earlier matches to fight again. It will be exciting!’

There will be over $12,000 in prize money for the superfights and the tournaments. More information to come on this event!

SUBMISSION WRESTLING OPEN I
– 4 SUPERFIGHTS
– 65.9 KG and under 4 Man Tournament
– 66-76.9 KG 4 Man Tournament
– 77-87.9 KG 4 Man Tournament
– 8 Man ABSOLUTE Tournament (Open Weight)

LOCATION: AMERICAN TOP TEAM FACILITIES
4701 Johnson RD ste 8
Coconut Creek FL 33073

Anyone interested in competing in the 4 man tournaments should contact us via e-mail at itur_miguel@yahoo.com. EXTREMELY LIMITED SPOTS available.

Official ADCC Judges Planning Seminars and Judge Certifications

In an effort to spread information about the ADCC Submission Wrestling rules, ADCC’s head judge Lubomir Guedjev will lead a contingent of judges from the ADCC. The goal is to hold a series of seminars, and to begin training additional officials (judges and mat referees) to hold Submission Wrestling competitions.

‘Lubo’ and company will also judge the SUBMISSION WRESTLING OPEN I, making this event the first OFFICIAL ADCC Submission Wrestling event on North American soil that is not a TRIALS event! The sport of Submission Wrestling is growing!

Much more info to come, though interested seminar participants can contact
itur_miguel@yahoo.com

Absolute Fighting Championship #7 Scheduled For Same Weekend!

AFC #7 – Friday, February 27th, 2003
War Memorial Coliseum, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Doors Open: 6:30 pm- Fight Start: 7:30 pm

BEST PRICE ON TICKETS ANYWHERE: GOLD CIRCLE: $35.00 / RINGSIDE: $25.00 – $35.00 / GENERAL ADMISSION: $15.00 Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.com. Enter ‘ABSOLUTE’ for the event!

The SUBMISSION WRESTLING OPEN I on February 28th will be preceded on February 27th by the AFC #7 – south Florida’s top MMA event, making south Florida the place to be for MMA at the end of February.

There will not be tickets sold for the SUBMISSION WRESTLING OPEN I – people who have tickets from the AFC #7 will get in for free (until capacity). ‘With access to both competitions for the same ticket price, this is the best deal on tickets anywhere!’ states the spokesman.