Josh Barnett Shares ‘No Holds Barred’ Origin, Says MMA And Wrestling Are Closer Than People Think

Josh Barnett was a guest on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour. During the interview, Helwani mentioned that his viewers get upset with him when he discusses professional wrestling despite having professional wrestlers as special guests. He wanted the former UFC World Heavyweight Champion to address this on his behalf.

Barnett mentioned that UFC, WWE, GCW, AEW, MMA, and any other form of fighting all come under one roof, combat sports.

“By the way, it makes all this enjoyable if you do know the history and the backstory on these things. It gives so much more rich complexity and spirit into the entirety of it all, including MMA. What is professional wrestling but combat sports. And I have always said that professional wrestling and ‘shooting,’ which is the real fights or I should say, non-predetermined matches like the UFC, are just two sides… of the same coin.

“One side you’ve got your shoots, one side you’ve got your works. And there is no real difference. And back in the day when you are trained to be a professional wrestler, I’m not even going back to the days where pro wrestling was a totally shoot, legit style of competition. If you were an amateur wrestler, and you were good enough, you might actually be able to become a professional wrestler. Say, in the 19th Century or very early 20th Century and go out there and wrestle under a variety of different rule structures that could happen. Because Judoka were coming over.”

Josh Barnett shares how the term ‘No Holds Barred’ came into existence

The GCW star shared the story of the evolution of combat sports.

“So you might put a guy in a jacket or a gee top for one match, then the next match, you take it off. And people like Ad Santel would travel all the way over and compete in a catch wrestling versus judo event over in Japan at Yasukuni Shrine. This is even where the term ‘no holds barred’ comes from. Catch-as-catch-can which would become and be known as professional wrestling. Meaning that, no holds were barred. All strangles were legal. All leg-locks, all… everything.

“Not to mention, you had ‘all in’ which was where you could strike and hit and headbutt and all of that. So MMA, combat sports is the oldest thing in the book. And wrestling being the oldest sport, that anybody has done and does everywhere in the world. Every culture has a wrestling of some sort. So combat sports is just inherent in human beings. It’s inherent in animals, it’s inherent in just everything on the Earth just about.”

Josh Barnett claims professional wrestling paved the way for the modern era of Combat Sports

“Pro Wrestling is the thing that paved the way for the way we view combat sports today. Especially, with what New Japan Pro Wrestling was doing. By bringing over Karl Gotch. By Antonio Inoki building this kind of all-rounded type of athlete for professional wrestling. Incorporating eventually muay thai strikes, and karate, and sambo, and building upon that catch wrestling base that you eventually get Shooto, which was the first modern MMA company in the world. And then Pancrase, who had their event before UFC did. Then the UFC coming along, then us seeing what was happening in Brazil and that coming up and this thing all growing, and growing, having all these little different tribes, all over.

“And eventually as things do, we get some centralization so to speak with the UFC becoming the biggest name in the game. But nonetheless, we are not fighting just to be the best in the world, or that could be our motivation as athletes, but the entirety of our job is to fight for the entertainment of the fans. And what is pro wrestling other than that? Cuz if the fans aren’t showing up then there is no UFC. There is no PFL, there’s no any of this. There’s no Ryzen, there’s no company to support putting you in the ring and putting money in your hands. Because there’s no audience.”

Josh Barnett never envisioned the exposure and success that MMA received

The War Master also mentioned that he entered the business because he was a fan of professional wrestling and MMA.

“And that is a thing that I’m still… When I started on this path and in 1996, ’97. I didn’t necessarily think I was going to become rich or famous. I never envisioned the type of exposure that MMA has to this degree these days. But I didn’t care because that wasn’t the point. But I always knew… That this was pro wrestling of a sort. I was always a big pro wrestling fan, big martial arts fan, and just had a absolute desire to go out there and smash people. But I knew that it was going to be in front of an audience. And if it wasn’t an audience, I was still going to fight him. But ultimately, that’s how you know you have made it. When people find what you do compelling enough, they’re going to give up their hard-earned money to see you do it,” Josh Barnett said.  

Do you agree with Barnett’s point of view?