When the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix began, many analysts came in with the assumption that not only would the winner of the tournament be the top-ranked heavyweight in Strikeforce, but that he would also be generally considered the top-ranked heavyweight in the entire world of MMA.
But with the loss of Fedor Emelianenko and the drop-out of Alistair Overeem who has since left the organization for the UFC, suddenly Josh Barnett has become the odds-on favorite to walk away with the tournament crown. Certainly there is still prestige in the tournament, but a tournament victory from Fedor, Overeem or even Werdum would have almost surely secured them the title of top dog in the heavyweight division, at least for the meantime, while Cain Velasquez was out with an injury.
Now the writing is on the wall for the inevitable demise of Strikeforce as an organization as Zuffa continues to transition many of the company’s top fighters, including champions, over to the UFC.
Given that Barnett is now the top-ranked heavyweight on the Strikeforce roster, it is reasonable to think that despite his past differences with UFC management, he could be considered for a possible spot on the UFC roster. So if that happened, where would he rank, given his current accomplishments and the volatile nature of the heavyweight division?
Read on as we breakdown and rank the top 10 of the UFC heavyweight division: Josh Barnett edition.