Josh Barnett May Fight in Dream, If There's an Opponent

By Michael David Smith - Lead Blogger

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When we last heard about Josh Barnett, the former UFC heavyweight champion whose multiple positive steroid tests have derailed his career, he was missing a hearing before the California State Athletic Commission. But while Barnett has run afoul of American commissions and may have a hard time getting approved to fight in the United States, he indicated over the weekend that he could fight in Japan for Dream soon.

After reports surfaced that Barnett had agreed to fight for Dream but that two potential opponents -- Tim Sylvia and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva -- had turned down the chance to fight him, Barnett acknowledged the rumor on Twitter. He added that he doesn't know who his next opponent will be, but said, "I do want to fight."

Barnett had previously said he will "definitely" fight this year, and there are strong indications that he'll be fighting in Japan, where he's fought for most of his career, where he's done some professional wrestling, and where they don't test for steroids. The only question is whether there's a high-quality opponent for him to fight there.

Plenty of big names -- including Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski and even Fedor Emelianenko -- have been mentioned as possible opponents for Barnett in Japan, but I'd urge fans of Japanese MMA not to get their hopes up for that kind of fight. More likely Barnett will take on someone he should beat easily, and fans who want to see Barnett taking on relevant opponents will have to wait.

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