Josh Barnett is returning to action in August, however, he won’t be competing in MMA.
Barnett has agreed to meet Dean Lister at Metamoris 4 on Aug. 9 in Los Angeles, Barnett’s manager Leland Lebarre confirmed with MMAFighting.com. Metamoris is expected to officially announce the event, as well as several matches, on Monday. BJEE.com reported the news earlier this week.
Metamoris is a submission grappling promotion that features one-round twenty-minute superfights. Participants can only win via submission, as there are no points or judges involved.
Barnett hasn’t competed in MMA since he lost to Travis Browne at UFC 168 in December. The MMA veteran broke his orbital bone in the fight and earlier this year injured his knee while training.
“This is a non-striking event designed to be a test prior to going full speed and hopefully getting back into the cage soon,” Lebarre said.
Earlier this week, Lebarre expressed interest in Barnett fighting Junior dos Santos next, but it now appears as though they’ll focus on a return to MMA following the Metamoris match.
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Barnett has competed in grappling tournaments before, however, it has been several years since his last one. Lister, who fought Renato “Babalu” Sobral to a draw at Metamoris 3 in March, is a two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestling world champion, as well as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt himself. The 38-year-old Lister retired from MMA in 2012.