Strikeforce Negotiating With Josh Barnett
Sources put (Josh) Barnett in the midst of ongoing negotiations with Strikeforce, but like Huerta, the two sides have yet to reach agreement on compensation.
Barnett’s positive steroid test prior to the Affliction: Trilogy show led to the cancellation of the card and, in turn, the end of Affliction MMA. It was the third test in Josh’s career to come back positive for performance enhancing drugs, with the other most high profile positive coming after he won the UFC heavyweight title from Randy Couture at UFC 36.
This makes Josh an extremely risky fighter to sign. His history makes him hard to market, casts a shadow of doubt over every one of his wins, and makes him an unreliable fighter to put on a fight card. It may be a case where the preferred end point of finally making the fight with Fedor happen is viewed as already “marketed” from the Affliction card.
Either way, the inclusion of Barnett would make the top end of Strikeforce’s roster very heavy on the suspicious characters as their heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem remains the source of much steroid speculation.
