UFC
UFC 168's Josh Barnett thinks plenty of MMA fans can be forgiving of past mistakes
Dec 21, 2013 - 12:25:00 PM UFC 168's Josh Barnett thinks plenty of MMA fans can be forgiving of past mistakes

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Josh Barnett is entering next week's UFC 168 event with an opportunity to move into the UFC Heavyweight Title picture in 2014. It's a position no one would have expected to see him in just a few short years ago, as his reputation seemed permanently stained by a third failed drug test for steroids.

That last failed test was largely blamed for the cancellation of the final Affliction event, which then folded up shortly thereafter. Barnett battled back and picked up some wins in Strikeforce, and has mostly been able to distance himself from that past indiscretion. However, it popped up again in the lead up to UFC 168, as the Nevada State Athletic Commission instituted random drug testing for Barnett into this fight with Travis Browne.

Regardless, Barnett's trying to move forward, and he believes that most fans are willing enough to leave the past in the past.

"I don't consider MMA fans any different from any other fans," Barnett said in a recent interview with MMA TKO (transcribed by MMAMania.com). "I think fans in general, in this day and age; there are plenty that are forgiving, I imagine. Then there are plenty that are total assholes and all they want to do is sit back from a high chair and try to make themselves feel better in some way by trying to knock somebody else down. That goes for fans of anybody in entertainment, MMA, basketball, football; all of that is considered entertainment. It's a real melting pot and everything is included and you have to deal with all of it. But, as long as those guys and gals want to spread negativity and throw out the old ether, if they're spelling my name right, they are continuing to propagate me and what I do. They clearly have interest even if it's for a negative reason."

Still, while there's some ups and downs in fan reaction to what happened in the past, Barnett thinks things have gone fairly smooth with the NSAC thus far into next week's event.

"It's nice to be back and fighting in the same arena that I won the title in back in 2002," he said. "Vegas is a great fight city and it's very easy for all my friends and family to be able to come out and make it to the fight. Sure, it's stressful when new things pop onto your lap (NSAC guidelines) and you have to deal with this, and deal with this, and deal with this. But, everybody was professional and went through actually better than one can expect."

Penick's Analysis: Barnett's never going to be looked at as a "clean" fighter. It's just not going to happen on a wide scale, not with three failed tests in the past. But they are in the past, and if he's passing drug tests now and not the latest to hop on the TRT bandwagon then yes, a lot of fans are going to forgive and forget. So long as he's winning fights in the way he's capable, a lot of fans will pay attention to that and that alone. But he's not going to shake that past entirely, and it's unreasonable to think he should. He's getting a chance to make good on this end of his career, but his past - the good and the bad - remains a large part of his story in this sport.