Josh Barnett talks about the origins of 'No Holds Bird' and says MMA and wrestling are closer than people think

Josh Barnett was a guest on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour. Helwani said in an interview that viewers get angry when he talks about professional wrestling, even though he has professional wrestlers as special guests. He wanted the former UFC World Heavyweight Champion to speak on his behalf.

Burnett said that UFC, WWE, GCW, AEW, MMA and other martial arts are all under one roof: martial arts.

“By the way, knowing these histories and backstories makes everything more fun. It gives all music, including MMA, a richer complexity and spirit overall. What's professional wrestling and not martial arts? And I've always said that pro wrestling and “shooting”, real matches, or non-predetermined matches like UFC, are two sides of the same coin…of the same coin. It's just two sides of the same coin.

“On one side you have shoots and on the other hand you have works. And there's no real difference. And back in the days when you were training to be professional wrestlers, professional wrestling was completely shoot and a legitimate style.” We can't even go back to the days when it was a competition. If you were an amateur wrestler and you were good enough, you might actually become a professional wrestler. For example, in the 19th century or early 20th century, you could go out and understand all the different rules that could happen. Suppose you wrestle under the structure. There was a judoka there.”

Josh Barnett explains how the term 'No Holds Barred' was born

The GCW star shared his story of the evolution of martial arts.

“So for one game you might have a player wear a jacket or a g-top, and the next game you take it off. And then guys like Ad Santel come all the way to Japan and go to Yasukuni Shrine in Japan. He competed in a catch wrestling vs. judo match. This is also the origin of the term “Nothing Is Prohibited”. Catch-as-catch-can, which later became known as professional wrestling. In other words, withholding was not prohibited. All strangulations were legal. Every leglock, every…everything.

“Needless to say, I had an ‘all-in’ where I could do everything: blows, blows, headbutts. So MMA, martial arts is the oldest thing in the book. And wrestling is the oldest sport, practiced and practiced by everyone everywhere in the world. Every culture has some form of professional wrestling. In other words, martial arts are something that is innate to humans. It's unique to animals, and it's unique to almost everything on Earth. ”

Josh Barnett claims professional wrestling paved the way for modern martial arts

“Pro wrestling paved the way for the way we look at martial arts today, especially when it comes to what New Japan Pro Wrestling was doing. By bringing in Karl Gotch. He eventually incorporated Muay Thai striking, karate, and sambo, laid the foundation for catch wrestling, and eventually founded Shooto, the world's first modern mixed martial arts company. And Pancrase, which had events before the UFC. Then the UFC came along and what's going on in Brazil, and it happened and this thing all grew and grew and all these little different tribes. I saw it exist all over the world.

“And ultimately, as things progress, there will be more centralization, so to speak, and the UFC will become the biggest name in the game. We're not fighting, and maybe that's our motivation as athletes, but our whole job is to fight for the entertainment of the fans. What else is professional wrestling? Without the fans. There's no UFC. There's no PFL. There's no Ryzen. There's no company to help you get in the ring and get paid. There's no audience.”

Josh Barnett never imagined the exposure and success MMA would receive

Warmaster also said he got into the business because he was a fan of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.

“And that's something that still sticks with me…when I started down this path, around 1996, 1997. I didn't necessarily think I was going to be rich or famous. I never imagined that MMA would get so much exposure these days. But that's not what I was talking about so I didn't care. But I always knew…this is kind of It's professional wrestling. I've always been a huge fan of professional wrestling, a huge fan of martial arts, and I've always had this absolute desire to go out there and beat people up. But the fact that it's done in front of an audience. And even if it wasn't for the audience, I was still going to fight him. But in the end, that's how you know you've succeeded. “If people find what you're doing appealing enough, they'll give up their hard-earned money to see you do it,” says Josh Barnett. Ta.