Josh Barnett: Early Life, Career, Wife, Relationship & Net Worth
Josh Barnett: Early Life, Career, Wife, Relationship & Net Worth
September 21, 2026
This article was last updated by on June 8, 2026
Ex UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett, who began his career in 1996, is an American mixed martial artist and a professional wrestler.
The Seattle-based warrior has fought in several competitions and captured several titles, including the King of Pancrase Openweight Competition and the Metamoris Heavyweight Champion.
Likewise, he was also the top contender in the 2006 Pride Openweight Grand Prix and the 2012 Heavyweight Strikeforce.
Josh BarnettMoreover, Barnett has also won the inaugural Metamoris Heavyweight Championship in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The talented fighter made his debut in professional wrestling around 2003.
Since then, he has competed in several competitions, including Affliction, World Victory Road, DREAM, and Impact FC. Besides, he works for NJPW on AXS TV as a color analyst.
So, today in this article, learn more about Josh Barnett’s life. We have mentioned all his details regarding his early life, family, physical statistics, fighting career, net worth, and personal life.
Quick Facts:
Josh Barnett | Early Life, Family, and Education
Josh Lawrence Barnett shortly, Josh Barnett was born in Seattle, Washington, United States, on November 10, 1977. He was taken to his Father, Quidachay Jones, while his mother’s name is unknown.
Sadly, Josh has not spilled much about his personal life. Anything regarding his parent’s whereabouts and siblings is kept a secret.
Additionally, Josh had a turbulent upbringing. He was forced into anger management classes at a young age and was taught to deal with his anger by participating in sports.
As for his education, Josh attended Ballard High School, where he excelled in judo, kickboxing, wrestling, and baseball.
A young Josh BarnettLikewise, after watching UFC 2 as a sophomore, he knew he wanted to be a fighter in mixed martial arts.
After graduating high school, Barnett attended the University of Montana as a walk-on to play college football. But later, he decided not to play University sports.
Likewise, after the advice from one of his teachers in Montana, Barnett went to Jim Harrison’s Bushidokan dojo to train himself for MMA.
Though he did not have the money for classes, he received instruction for assisting with repairs and labor at the dojo.
How old is Josh Barnett? Age, Height & Body Measurements
Being born on November 11, 1977, makes Josh 48 now years old. Not to mention, Barnett’s birthday falls under the star sign of Scorpio.
As of now, Josh recorded weight is 112 kg (248 lbs/17 st 10 lbs). However, as fighters have to engage in several weight transformation processes to stand out inside the ring, their weight keeps changing.
Likewise, fighters are usually short, but that’s not the case with Barnett, as he stands at 6 ft 3 in (191 cm).
He also has a robust body, thanks to his years of training. Besides, the talented fighter has a pair of blue eyes and brown hair.
Fighting Style
Barnett describes himself as a wrestler for the grab. His grappling technique is based on the grab, using the discipline’s controls, rides, and pinning holds to leverage his opponent and grind him down. Barnett also has experience in lock flow or chain wrestling.
Josh Barnett | Professional Career
Barnett’s made his professional debut, playing for the Unified Full Contact Federation in Washington in early 1997. He won under three minutes into the fight by rear-naked choke submission.
With seven first-round stoppages and victories over future UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn, Bobby Hoffman, John Marsh, and Bob Gilstrap twice, he would continue to dominate, hitting a 9-0 record. Later, Barnett was selected to play in the UFC.
UFC
“Barnett made his special UFC debut at UFC 28 on November 17, 2000, against Gan “The Giant” McGee and won in the second round by TKO.
Despite suffering a Knockout loss in his next fight against Pedro Rizzo, he bounced back to win his subsequent two battles over Dutch kickboxer Semmy Schilt and Bobby Hoffman in a rematch.
After his win over Hoffman, Barnett tested positive for banned substances and was released a warning by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Likewise, he was then granted a title shot for the UFC Heavyweight Championship against the then-champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
Further, he won the match by TKO by using the ground and pound system and became the new and youngest-ever UFC Heavyweight Champion.
However, after the fight, he tested positive again for banned substances, and his title was withdrawn.
Peak Career
Barnett competed in both PRIDE and Pancrase in MMA. He’s one of the few fighters in the Pancrase and UFC to be the titleholder.
After an accidental finger poking into the eye, he lost the PRIDE Final Dispute Utter’s final match to Mirko Cro Cop.
Moreover, Josh is a member of the Pancrase Hall of Fame, along with Ken Shamrock and Frank Shamrock.
Later, Barnett did not compete in any MMA activities in 2007 after the fight against Nogueira and the UFC acquisition of PRIDE, except for one Pancrase match against Hikaru Sato, which was held under the rules of catch wrestling.
However, in 2008, Barnett joined Sengoku, a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Barnett fought PRIDE veteran Gilbert Yvel in January 2009 in Affliction: Day of Reckoning.
Further, his next match was scheduled against Fedor Emelianenko on August 1, 2009. But, it was postponed after Josh tested positive for a second time for anabolic steroids.
Retirement
On March 22, 2010, Josh Barnett made his debut with Fantasy. During the fight, he unintentionally kicked Mighty Mo in the groin.
Later, Barnett signed up with Strikeforce. At Strikeforce, he lost to in Barnett vs. Cormier in May 2012.
Further, at the final Strikeforce event in January 2013, Barnett again lost to Nandor Guelmino.
After his loss to Cormier on May 19, 2012, he has not fought in the UFC. In addition, Barnett has not won a UFC fight since 2009.
Return
In 2012, Barnett initially refused to sign with the UFC. Later, on May 21, 2013, it was revealed that Barnett signed a multi-fight promotional contract.
Since then, Barnett has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship three times. His application was released from the UFC on June 20, 2018.
Further, Barnett signed a deal with Bellator MMA on April 1, 2019. He was expected to debut against Ronny Markes on December 20, 2019, at Bellator’s Salute the Troops event.
However, he was considered unable to participate due to serious illness on the night of the event.
KSW
Barnett fought against former KSW Heavyweight Champion Marcin Różalski on October 23, 2026.
The fight took place at the KSW event titled Genesis. He defeated Różalski by TKO via doctor stoppage after the second round.
Professional Wrestling
Barnett began his professional wrestling career at New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2003. He joined the Federation of Inoki Genome in 2007 and went on a winning streak.
Further, Barnett began appearing on AXS TV as a color commentator for NJPW’s weekly schedule in January 2015.
Josh Barnett with his friendLater, on April 5, 2017, Barnett returned to Next Exciting Wrestling to beat Shinichi Suzukawa at the inaugural Next Exciting Wrestling (NEW) event.
Interestingly, Barnett has also played in the California Classic 2009 BJJ Tournament.
Likewise, Paulson awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt to Barnett on December 19, 2009.
Even though Josh had never trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he was awarded the belt based on competition merit and overall knowledge.
Not to mention, Josh also became the first person to beat Dean Lister via submission in 16 years.
Also, read
Other Career
In 2017 Barnett formed his Shootfighting and Caught Wrestling-based fight team, UWF USA. He is the head coach and trainer for the team.
Further, Barnett starred as a wrestler in his trademark trunks and PRIDE FC gloves in the Xbox 360 title, Beautiful Katamari.
He also did his acting part, starring alongside Steven Seagal in Absolution in 2015 and Michael Jai White in Never Back Down: No Surrender in 2016.
Is Josh Barnett married? Relationship and Marriage
Josh Barnett once dated Colleen Schneider, who is an experienced MMA veteran. Their relationship news once flooded social media.
Josh and Collen used to work together in several commercials, which also helped their love bloom complete.
Likewise, this also helped the media and their fans to know how close they were.
Unfortunately, their friendship crumbled, and they broke up because of some extreme repulsive behavior between them.
With this, Josh lost all his hope of getting married and making Collen his wife. However, after breaking up with Josh, Colleen moved on and met someone as her new boyfriend.
She doesn’t conceal her current marital status but shares her private life with all of her followers via her Instagram account.
As for Josh hasn’t announced whether he has found a new girlfriend or is still single. He is keeping his life low-profile after the breakup with Colleen.
Similarly, Josh’s thoughts and time are mainly occupied with his matches, practices, training, and other basic stuff.
As age passes, Barnett will have someone by his side. If there is any information regarding his love life, we will surely update you guys about it.
Also, check out:
What is Josh Barnett Net worth? Salary And Net Worth
Josh Barnett has made a significant amount of money through his fighting career. Josh has earned millions of dollars along with their name and fame.
“As of 2026, Barnett has an estimated net worth of $1.8 million.”
Most of his fortune came from accumulated cash earnings from his successful fighting career and winning several championships.
Moreover, he is also part of camps like Strikeforce and UFC suction. Barnett has been a UFC veteran since 2007 and has fought three times in the UFC.
Besides this, he has also captured many product endorsement deals that have helped in increasing his income significantly.
Josh Barnett | MMA Stats
Let’s have a look at the professional MMA record of Josh Barnett.
Josh Barnett | Controversies
Barnett sustained an injury in his battle against Croatian Mirko Cro Cop and dislocated his shoulder. After that injury, he underwent surgery and six months of recovery.
On March 22, 2002, in Las Vegas, Josh beat Randy Couture to win the UFC heavyweight title, only to be stripped of the championship due to a failed drug test.
After 11 years off, he returned to the UFC with a victory over Frank Mir at UFC164 and went 3-2 before his ban.
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Social Media Presence:
Josh is a great wrestler but also a hider, as he hides all his stuff and doesn’t like to talk about them.
and are the only two platforms where we can find him. He often posts photos and tweets related to his personal life and work.
So if you want to follow him and know more about his day-to-day activities, follow him on Instagram, and for a professional update, Twitter is the best place to follow him.
Some FAQs:
When was Josh Barnett Bloodsport 3?
Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 3 took place at the Marion Country Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 11, 2026.
What is Josh Barnett’s fight record?
Josh Barnett has a professional fight record of 35 wins, 8 losses, and 0 draws.
Who is Josh Barnett’s manager or agent?
Leland Lebarre used to be Josh Barnett’s manager back in 2018.
Is Josh Barnett a National football league player?
No, Josh Barnett doesn’t play in the National football league(NFL).
What type of fighter is Josh Barnett?
Josh Barnett is a heavyweight fighter. He competes in the heavyweight division.
Who won Josh Barnett vs. Roy Nelson?
Josh Barnett won the fight via unanimous decision. He faced Roy “UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson” on September 27, 2015. Notably, this win also earned Josh Barnett his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
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