Former UFC, Pride and Affliction fighter, Josh Barnett, has found a new home in Japan as the heavyweight stand-out has signed with Dream and will likely make his promotional debut at their March 22 show later this month.
The signing was confirmed by sources close to the situation to MMAWeekly.com late Monday evening, and the promotion is expected to announce Barnett's addition in the coming days.
Since leaving the UFC in 2002, Barnett has fought in several promotions, most prominently with Pride where he went 5-4 for the organization and faced several of the top fighters.
Most notably, Barnett holds wins over fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture, and last fought for Affliction in January 2009. He was also the #2 ranked Heavyweight in MMAWeekly's World MMA Rankings when he was due to face Fedor.
Set to face No. 1 heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko in August 2009, Barnett fell under extreme scrutiny following an alleged positive test for a banned substance, was removed from the fight, and Affliction soon after canceled their third pay-per-view event, eventually closing their doors.
Barnett has not competed in MMA since that time, and has had several delays in his hearings with the California State Athletic Commission to deal with the positive test results, and license denial in the state.
It appears that for the time being, Barnett will make his living in MMA back in Japan. While no opponent has been named yet, rumors have circled that several fighters have been approached about a possible fight with Barnett, but as of yet no one has accepted.
MMAWeekly.com will have more information on Barnett's Dream debut in the coming weeks.
