MMARR: You talked a little in the ring about God, What role does God play in your life?

Barnett: God plays an important role in the fact that helps to give me strength to do the things that need to be done and helps to provide a good example for me. It helps me to lead a good example for others and also it makes it possible to excel at the top of my game. He does not win my fights for me, but he fills me with confidence and strength and so I feel that when I go out there I fight not only for myself but I fight for God and what he means to me and everybody that is behind me that has helped me to achieve this.

MMARR: So you Consider yourself a Christian?

Barnett: Yes.

MMARR: Do people in your church have any thoughts about your fighting?

Barnett: I am a Christian in the sense that I believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior and I believe in God above. I am not a Christian in the church.

MMARR: Going to church does not necessarily mean that you are a Christian

Barnett: No and you know your most important relationship with God is your personal one. So your personal church comes before any other churches.

MMARR: Yesterday you made comments about Josh Gross (Jokingly in a private conversation) calling you the Baby Fat Assassin what do you have to say to the people that question your Physique?

Barnett: You know because of the way I started off, and because the shorts have a tendency to lift the little bit of fat that I have left back up and makes it look just a little worse, I don’t know what to say they are just going to keep talking trash. Probably till the end of time I will be 8 percent body fat and they will call me lard or something. I can’t really help those sort of things
I am just going to do what is best for me and get in a good a shape as I can. The thing is, those kinds of people aren’t the ones that I care about as my fans anyway, I mean I would take one educated, smart, well thought out fan, over three ignorant Yahoo’s anyday.

MMARR: Randy Couture spoke very highly of you, saying that people underestimate you based on your physique and that is the wrong thing to do, he spoke a lot about that how did that make you feel?

Barnett: It made me feel very good about myself, but then I have never really had a problem with fighters and respect. My peer group have a lot of respect for me all across the board, in fact many of these top ten heavyweights out there have said some really uplifting things to me, and have given me a lot of respect. In the fight community between my peers, they don’t underestimate me at all, it is just the fans and the laypeople. What is silly that really blows me away is that I come in there and I am fairly ripped, I have got veins showing where a lot of people don’t, I have almost a six pack and yet still I don’t have a nice physique, and I am out of shape or I am still fat. Who knows what it is going to take for these people to finally shut up, but I don’t really think they are.

MMARR: I think they are thinking back, because you have made huge improvements in that area. When we saw you fight Gan Mcgee it looks like a different Josh Barnett, then the fighter that fought Randy Couture today. Not only in Technique but in physique. Some people are just naturally born one way, a little bit different, everyone has a different body.

Barnett: Part of it is just trying to find your diet. My girlfriend Shannon has really been helping me with getting my diet on course, mainly through hitting me with hard objects when I try to eat when I am not supposed to with whatever she can get her hands on and beating me about the head and neck area and chastising me at all given opportunities. Once you get your routine down it is not so hard anymore.

MMARR: She is also a fighter, how does the fact that she is a fighter and you are a fighter help your career? Help or Hinder?

Barnett: It makes it easier to train, I say I don’t want to get up and run stairs she says "B.S we are going"!

MMARR: So she pushes you harder than you push yourself?

Barnett: Sometimes, and in turn if she beats my ass into the ground I get to give it back.

"Laughs"

MMARR: In a lot of your fights you tend to have a nosebleed, I didn’t see Randy catch you in the vicinity of your nose is that…

Barnett: He might of clipped me, but He might have looked at it funny and it could have started bleeding as well, it doesn’t really gush, it just has a slight trickle.

MMARR: Is that natural, does it happen when you train sometimes?

Barnett: It does in fact, It has been ever since I broke my nose in the first round of the Superbrawl 13, 8 man tournament. It just kept getting hammered, and hammered and I just kept setting it, pushing and pulling it as straight as I could. Then I fought all those fights and it has just been really problematic ever since then. I think I have to go in and get it Cauterized properly, then it wont be a problem, which is really silly on my part but I have never really attempted to get the problem fixed.

MMARR: What does it mean to be a role model? You are the Heavyweight Champion of the UFC which is the highest regarded MMA organization in North America what does it mean to you to be a role model for a lot of children who look up to the heavyweight Champ?

Barnett Well I feel that just being myself, and leading by example that I shouldn’t have any trouble with it. I think that the way that I will represent myself should be a good example to most people. I try to lead a life to where I can look back on it without regrets and not think of anything as being a mistake

MMARR: So does Christianity play a role in being a Role model?

Barnett: Sure it does, that and a lot of the people around me that have put such energy in me, and have helped me out and been behind me. I feel that I need to lead by their examples and take from each person what I feel is a good trait to represent what they think was worth helping out.

MMARR: Last question, You against Nogueira?

Barnett: It’s a win, I can beat him.

MMARR: How are you going to win?

Barnett: Pick…

MMARR: uh….

Barnett: Submission…. Sure….. I can knock him out, I can TKO him, cut him, anyway I don’t believe that there is any area of the fight that I cannot beat him regardless.

MMARR: All right thank you very much.

Barnett: Your welcome!!!

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