Josh Barnett: 'I Am Not Signed to the UFC'

The MMA world has made a big deal over Josh Barnett's status as a free agent.

On Thursday morning, UFC.com added the profile of Josh Barnett, which made the world believe that "The Warmaster" had been signed to the organization.

However, on Friday, Barnett turned to his Twitter account to address the rumors:

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But seriously, beyond my profile being up on UFC.com I am not signed to the UFC. Sorry you guys all got your hopes up.

— Josh Barnett (@JoshLBarnett) January 17, 2013

 

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Fans of the heavyweight believe that his undeniable skills are on par with UFC fighters and that he should be in the biggest organization on the planet. Detractors feel that a trio of failed drug tests in the past should disqualify him from employment, regardless of his skill.

Shortly after his win at the final Strikeforce event on Saturday, Barnett talked about the value of his time and subtly hinted that the UFC would need to pony up some dough if they wanted his exclusive services.

In an interview with MMAJunkie.com, Barnett stated: "It would take the right kind of deal to get me to be locked into some place entirely and exclusively,"

Hopefully, Barnett and the UFC can come to terms. There is no point in letting his skills go to waste in independent organizations. If we can allow guys like Chael Sonnen and Chris Leben to come back after failed drug tests, Barnett should be afforded the same right.