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At the youthful age of 28, Josh Barnett is already a well-traveled MMA veteran. He has achieved success in various major MMA promotions spanning the globe. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion would like to add yet another piece of hardware to his trophy case, that being the Pride Heavyweight belt. After defeating Aleksander Emelianenko in the opening round of the Pride Absolute Grand Prix tournament, Josh hopes to soon take the title strap away from Aleksander’s more dominant older brother, Fedor. The only the thing that stands in the way of this match-up is the remainder of the Grand Prix tourney. In the meantime, Josh Barnett only has one thing on his mind—beating whomever stands before him.

BoxingInsider.com: You recently defeated Aleksander Emelianenko in your Pride Absolute Grand Prix opening round fight. With Aleksander’s steady improvement with each successive fight, did you expect the submission win to be more difficult than it was for you?

Josh Barnett: That’s an interesting question. You know, I expect every fight to be hard to some degree. I always look at it as what I do in preparation determines how hard the fight is actually going to be. A lot of fights that were supposed to be really hard for me weren’t really that hard at all. I think it’s all a factor of training. However, (Aleksander) is a big strong guy. He’s getting better, and coming into his own. I expected him to really lay it on the line with me. This was his big shot to really put himself out there. The only other top-level guy he fought was Mirko (Crocop,) and he lost that fight. “I” was an opportunity for him to really put himself in the spotlight, so I knew he was going to be coming for blood. With all of the experience that I’ve had over the years, and with all of the fights I’ve got under my belt, I knew I really should be able to pick him apart.

BoxingInsider.com: Did you study much videotape on Aleksander Emelianenko? Is “watching tape” a part of your preflight preparation when facing an opponent?

Josh Barnett: No. I remember a lot about how fighters fight and what they do. It’s not really something that’s necessary for me. If you tell me who my opponent is, I can already tell you, “ok this is what he does and this is his thing.” I’ve never really changed my training for a particular opponent.

BoxingInsider.com: After your win versus Nakamura, Fedor, who as everyone knows is Aleksander’s brother, gave you a “thumbs down” as you were exiting the ring. Do you have any idea why he did that?

Josh Barnett: The only idea that I have is that he does not like my post match celebration.

BoxingInsider.com: You have made it clear that Fedor is the man whom you are “shooting for.” How big of a disappointment was it when you found out that Fedor’s injury has not healed in time for him able to compete in the second round of this Pride Absolute Grand Prix?

Josh Barnett: It wasn’t too much of a disappointment. I must win my fights in order to fight him or anyone else. If I do that, then I’ll get the fight that I want. But, I also want to win this tournament. So, it won’t matter if it’s Fedor, or Silva, or Joe Schmo. Whomever I face, I’ve got to beat them. I know that if I win this tournament that I’ll most assuredly get a shot at the heavyweight title. That’s really what counts, getting a chance to win the belt.

BoxingInsider.com: Do you know who your opponent will be in the second round of this Grand Prix?

Josh Barnett: I don’t have any absolute confirmation, but I’m hearing Mark Hunt.

BoxingInsider.com: Mark Hunt is known in all circles for having an iron chin, and can seemingly withstand any and all strikes that are thrown his way. If your opponent happens to be Hunt, would you prefer to keep the fight standing, or would you rather take it to the ground?

Josh Barnett: Well, I’m not really biased toward winning the fight in any certain way. To be perfectly honest, it would be really nice to be able to be the first guy to say that he knocked Mark Hunt out in an MMA fight. All in all, it’s a fight and if we’re on the feet, I am going to hit him. However, I think it would probably serve me best to take him down and take him out with a submission. You know, it’s a fight and if an opportunity arises, I believe you have to go for it at any place in the fight where you have a chance to win.

BoxingInsider.com: In terms of training, where are you currently “working out?”

Josh Barnett: Right now, I train down in Anaheim with Eric Paulson at Orange County Shoot Wrestling, and at Lou’s Training Systems with my strength and conditioning.

BoxingInsider.com: What has it been like working with Eric Paulson?

Josh Barnett: It has been wonderful. The environment down here is great. There are so many fighters down here that I am able to train with. I really enjoy it down here. I love the training. Before my last fight, I had Rampage Jackson coming in and helping me out all the time. Before that, I had Mike Whitehead and John Marsh come by the gym. People come to that place to work with me, so it’s really a great opportunity to be able to train with these guys.

BoxingInsider.com: Thanks for taking time out of your schedule for the interview.

Josh Barnett: No problem. Thank you.

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