The MMA Digest

While being a top 10 heavyweight, Josh Barnett is not a fighter UFC president Dana White is at all interested in signing. White has had some harsh words for Barnett, who recently commented that he was the real UFC heavyweight champion as nobody defeated him in the organization to take the belt.

Previous problems White had with Barnett have not been forgotten by the UFC president, and Barnett is paying some karmic debts as a result in not being able to fight for the biggest MMA promotion out there right now. “He’s just a punk. You know what? The thing is I don’t want to even talk about Josh Barnett”, noted White to CBS Sportsline. “Nobody even cares about Josh Barnett. I got Mirko Cro Cop, the guy that just beat the s— out of him. I’m not interested in Josh Barnett at all as far as who he is as a person or as a fighter or how he represents the sport. I don’t like anything about him”, added White during the interview. Fighters whom have had problems with White in the past such as Tito Ortiz, B.J Penn and Jens Pulver, suffered a period of exile from the UFC. However, eventually they were welcomed back into the fold when there was potential for them to provide a valuable service to the organization. Barnett realizes this and made note about the fact that if he is able to bring in massive revenue to the UFC, White will take him back. Indeed a rematch between Couture and Barnett could make for a great fight with a strong storyline behind it. But for now, Barnett is nowhere near being on the short-list of fighters on White’s agenda to sign.