Japanese Coverage of Affliction Demise Unfavorable to Josh Barnett

by Leland Roling on Jul 25, 2009 9:35 AM EDT

Zach Arnold t hrows down some facts that may surprise a lot of people believing Barnett would be in the clear overseas:

Amazingly, the major Japanese newspapers (Nikkan Sports, Daily Sports, and Sports Nippon) all played it straight with coverage. You know you are in trouble when phrases like "anabolic steroids," "failed drug test," and "drug scandal" are used without any sort of softening by a favorable media corps.

Antonio Inoki said that Barnett would be given a chance to fight on 8/9 in Tokyo at Ariake Colosseum for IGF. For a show that had little-to-no media attention going in, suddenly there will be a lot of focus by the media on Barnett. He will be answering a lot of questions.

Barnett’s drug suspension gained attention because his fight with Fedor was supposed to air on SkyPerfecTV PPV in Japan live. Plus, the show was going to feature Takanori Gomi fighting on the card. The fight between Barnett and Fedor had been marketed in Japan as "The Fight of the Century."

Interesting that Barnett is getting a bad rap from Japanese media, and the event was supposed to air on SkyPerfecTV in Japan... LIVE. This just keeps getting worse, but hey, Barnett can fight on the 8/9 show for IGF. This can't be good for Barnett's prospects of fighting overseas.

Many fans here in the States believed Barnett would simply be exiled to Japan for future MMA fights that would be borderline freak shows. He also has the option of professional wrestling overseas as well, but the Japanese media seems to be unwilling to give him a free pass in this case. It really looks like Barnett's career in any arena is going to suffer greatly. He'll likely have to stick to training fighters.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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48 hours from hero to goat.

Keep firing Assholes!

Thanks to Bisping's reenactment of the Battle of Cowpens, walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by Ubernoober on Jul 25, 2009 9:37 AM EDT reply actions

I’m a bit surprised. They usually spin this shit, and Barnett would be in Japan in no time.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Jul 25, 2009 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Where do they get off bashing Barnett for roids?

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift

by Derek Suboticki on Jul 25, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions

IGF is strictly pro-wrestling? Or is this an actual fight?

It ends in an armbar or a strangle regardless.

by capital L on Jul 25, 2009 9:53 AM EDT reply actions

From the thread on FO, it’s strictly pro-wrestling, but with a shoot twist. Think RINGS.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Jul 25, 2009 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions

I see

Great name at least.

It ends in an armbar or a strangle regardless.

by capital L on Jul 25, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Nice to see that Barnett not only made my shit list but Japan’s as well.

by DirtyML on Jul 25, 2009 12:04 PM EDT reply actions

Stop saying Japan is for freak shows

You guys are so baseless on this nonsense. One org does not reflect an entire country’s MMA scene. When was the last time you saw a freak show in Shooto or Sengoku (where Barnett fights in Japan)? Also Sengoku tests.

Not too mention there are legit fights that can be made in DREAM but I believe he does not like FEG.

by gunranger on Jul 25, 2009 12:39 PM EDT reply actions

Japan isn’t for freakshows for the most part, but Barnett… he may be relegated to those battles because of this.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Jul 25, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed, but...

Moving forward, as the UFC and the rest of the US feds continue to gravitate toward the mainstream of sports and with it the various state AC’s under the unified rules, I have to wonder if the business differences will become bigger than those that currently exist in the actual fight rules and judging. For example, I don’t see how US MMA could embrace something like Maeda’s The Outsider. The space it occupies usually gets filled by stuff like Celebrity Boxing and Toughman Competitions. By the time the US market has been saturated, we will probably have seen something like celebrity MMA or Toughman MMA but thats all it will be; an MMA version of a non-MMA concept.

I’m not saying that Japanese MMA will eventually become nothing but shooto, freak shows and worked shoots like Rings but it does seem to be a collection of niche products that you can draw a circle around and describe as MMA as opposed to an organic whole which it arguably is becoming inside of North America. Regulation institutes norms which in turn dictate how bookers and promoters handle various situations.

by nani on Jul 25, 2009 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions 6 recs

For those of you six comments into your BE careers,

This is what we’re looking for. Rec’d with a bullet. I hope that Sengoku can clean up the scene in Japan and really grow as a legitimate enterprise (though I think MMA belongs in a cage), but right now, there’s a lot of shit that falls under the JMMA banner. See Canseco, Jose.

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift

by Derek Suboticki on Jul 25, 2009 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Heat, ZST, Deep, Cage Force, Shooto, Pancrase, and Sengoku are all reasonably well run and entirely legitimate organizations, and collectively they run the gamut from very low level to just shy of elite competition.

It ends in an armbar or a strangle regardless.

by capital L on Jul 25, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Rec'd

But quit showing off – by the time you’re thousands of posts deep, you’ll be making the rest of us look bad. Quick, say something stupid to redeem yourself! Only you can make yourself less respectable!

Shameless self-promotion! http://twitter.com/scb0212
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett

by Scott C. Broussard on Jul 25, 2009 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions

It really looks like Barnett’s career in any arena is going to suffer greatly.

As it should, since he’s a cheater. Also, totally forgot Gomi was supposed to fight on this card. Where does he go from here? UFC? He seemed eager to fight in America…

I love me some Sexyama!

by pud333 on Jul 25, 2009 12:57 PM EDT reply actions

UFC might grab him, which I like that prospect.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Jul 25, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s just a beautiful sentence.

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift

by Derek Suboticki on Jul 26, 2009 1:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Strikeforce. Already was negotiating with them but base salary was an issue. Plus he wants to fight at Vale Tudo Japan which he couldn’t if he were in the UFC

by gunranger on Jul 25, 2009 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions