Quotes from Josh Barnett

There was no title fight in any organization in the world that in my opinion was absurd for me to be a contender in.

You have to beat your opponent, otherwise you get to walk home with a black eye and wounded pride.

The thing is, wherever I go, I'm a wrestler. I'm not an entertainer or superstar or whatever. I'm a wrestler first, and I won't concede on that.

There's a lot of indigenous wrestling styles there that used to be a lot more popular and stronger within the European continent. Although, there's still quite a few countries over there that produce pretty spectacular Greco and freestyle wrestlers.

Having a professional grappling outlet is great for other submission wrestlers out there beyond Abu Dhabi, which happens every two years.

I've trained women to be catch wrestlers. Shayna Baszler's a catch wrestler, she's clearly not a heavyweight. Megumi Fujii, far from being a heavyweight, and she was a fantastic catch wrestler.

We look at MMA and working pro wrestling as one and the same, they're just two different sides of the coin.

I grew up in a great era of professional wrestling. WWF was just really coming into it's own. The start of WrestleManias, the legendary performers like Macho Man, Hulk Hogan, Honky Tonk Man, Iron Sheik, Sgt. Slaughter.

My interest in wrestling began when I was a little kid, watching NWA and WWF on television.

I'm glad Ralek Gracie and Metamoris have been so gung-ho about me competing for them and being their champion. I've liked the response I've been getting and to be able to go out and represent where I'm from in catch-as-catch-can. I go out there and I've beaten my opponents, but we're picking each other off the mats, smiling and shaking hands.

I've only got so much time on this Earth and then that's it. So I better make the most of it.

Hard times have been on Josh Barnett. Dealing with athletic commissions. Everybody's saying, 'You did this and you did that. You're the problem for this.' That's hard times. Hard times on my family. Hard times on my friends. Hard times on me.

The people who follow you should have a reason to do that. You shouldn't talk like everyone else. The stars and athletes drive the sports. People tune in to see so and so fight.

I speak for myself, my record speaks for itself, and my ability speaks for itself.

The unfortunate part about trial by fire in fighting is that people punch you in the face.

The big thing that Sakakibara has going for him besides experience is that he has relationships prior with the paid television stations and that is a massive component to being able to put your product into try and become successful in Japan.

I'm a big proponent of 'What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.'

There are those that hate and those that love, it all works out the same.

What your strengths are are always going to be the things that you're going to go back to, especially in the that spot where you need to draw from deep within. You're tired. You're exhausted. The ability to really think things through is highly reduced from being in the midst of battle.

I always feel very strongly that Bloodsport is going to deliver and going to continue to try and pick up the ante every single time.

I think Cormier is a great opponent. He's a guy who has competed at the highest level of athletics and I'm going to have to train really hard for him.

There are a lot of subtle things that are very, very important in wrestling, and to pick those up just takes time and experience. The only way that I really feel is best to do that is to go on the road. I learned every day by showing up early and leaving late.

Wrestling is difficult - it is not just about doing moves and running around, and creating high spots. It's so much more subtle than that.

Getting to work with Mauro Ranallo was awesome because he's one of my favorite MMA announcers.