Scott Coker Reveals Bellator Are In Talks With Josh Barnett

Bellator MMA president Scott Coker has revealed this evening that the promotion is in talks with former UFC heavyweight Josh Barnett.

Speaking earlier today at a Bellator Media event in New York, Coker revealed to Danny Segura of MMAFighting.com that the promotion is already speaking to Barnett following his departure from the UFC last week.

“Yeah we’re talking to his manager now actually and we’d love to have Josh on our roster fighting some of the heavyweights that we have and I think he’d be a good fit,” Coker said. 

Barnett and Coker have a history having previously worked together in Strikeforce.

“The Warmaster” competed in Strikeforce between 2011 and 2013 where he competed four times with a record of 3-1.

In May 2012, Barnett competed in the final of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix where he was defeated by Daniel Cormier via a unanimous decision.

Barnett then went on to compete in the UFC where he went 3-2 but was then flagged for an alleged violation of the USADA anti-doping programme in Dec. 2018.

In March of this year, Barnett was cleared to fight and received a “public reprimand” instead of a suspension from USADA after it was ruled that his failed test was the result of a contaminated supplement.

He subsequently demanded his release from the organization last week and is currently a free agent.

To watch the full interview with Coker, see below: