Josh Barnett: Whiskey, World Victory Road and Video Games
In a PunchDrunkGamer exclusive, Dave Carpinello had a chance to talk with heavyweight Superstar Josh Barnett about great whiskeys and scotch, his recent victory, worldwide MMA and the evolution of video games.
PDG: How was your trip back from Japan?
Josh: It was uneventful but I picked up a bottle of Chivas Royal Salute 21-year-old scotch. The duty-free shops are the only place to get quality like that for that cheap unless you are married to one of the Chivas’.
PDG: On my way back from Italy, I picked up a bottle of Crown Royal for almost half price what it costs around here.
Josh: So you like the Canadian blends? My dad was a big fan of the Canadian blends, he also liked Crown Royal. I have always thought they were decent but my preference is scotch. I think I just like the heavier, more bitter blends.
PDG: I'm a big fan of the Crown Royal XR but it costs about $225 here so it's nice to get a discount.
Josh: I am more of an Irish and scotch drinker myself. Irish whiskey, Scotch whiskey and Cognac. Cognac is a real nice after dinner drink to have with dessert. Remy Martin is my favorite. I also like some of the Japanese whiskeys. Suntory makes a single malt and a blend that are really good.
PDG: One of my clients owns a couple different sushi restaurants and I've tried a couple of their whiskeys but I do not remember the names.
Josh: Was it Yamazaki? They have a single malt that is made by Suntory.
PDG: I believe that was it and I would certainly recommend it to anyone that likes whiskey.
Josh: I think they [Japanese whiskeys] go all the way up to a 30-year-old. The Johnnie Walker Blue Label doesn't exactly say how old it is but now they are advertising King George V and it is about $400 per bottle.
PDG: I don't drink a lot of hard alcohol and when I do it's usually only some form of the Crown Royal brand.
Josh: I am a man of many different interests. That's the thing though, if you really enjoy hard alcohol then you don't just glutton it down. You tend to savior and enjoy it. I am no expert on it but I do know that if you choose the right pairings of food and alcohol it definitely makes a big difference.
PDG: Exactly, nothing beats a nice steak and some Crown Royal.
Josh: I like scotch and a nice steak too, and certain desserts with scotch or Cognac are also very good. My good friend Shannon makes some of the most incredible cookies, and it almost seems like they are laced with nicotine because it is impossible to eat just one. I have never been one to pass on many meals since I am a heavyweight but even I have no business sitting there eating a whole batch of cookies by myself [laughs]. That is how good those cookies are though.............I have always been a big fan of great desserts.
PDG: So how long was the flight there and back?
Josh: It was about 10 hours to get there and about nine hours on the way home. I did get to watch "No Country for Old Men" though, which was something I had wanted to do since I read the book. It was a really good flick and the Coen brothers rarely ever let me down. I would have to say that the book was still a little bit better but the movie is definitely worth seeing.
PDG: I recently watched "30 Days of Night"; which kicked ass. Have you seen it yet?
Josh: That was a really good movie not to mention a really good comic book.
PDG: It seems they have an easier time adapting horror/dark comics to film than they do drama/action.
Josh: "30 Days of Night" was very close to the actual comic but then you get movies like "X-Men". For some reason with those movies they felt the need to go in and rewrite parts of the story lines while making the films. I don't know why they think they can do it better but apparently they do. The second one was alright, the first one I watched in the third one I thought was terrible. I read all those stories and so when I saw the movies I was very surprised at what I was watching...........I was like what the hell is this?
PDG: Supposedly there is going to be a part 2 of Frank Miller's "Sin City" coming out. You must've liked the first one.
Josh: I definitely have my hopes up because of how Robert Rodriguez gave up his Directors Guild membership to include Frank Miller's credentials all the way through the film. That definitely says something about his dedication to his work. The stories in that first movie were an example of incredible film adaptation.
PDG: I have probably watched that movie 10 times.
Josh: That movie was incredible and Robert Rodriguez has always been a favorite of mine. I am hoping that he also does "Ronin", which is another great Frank Miller story from the early '80's that is futuristic but not as dark as "Sin City".
PDG: Alright, let’s talk about your victory over Yoshida; did the fight go like you expected?
Josh: For the most part but I thought I would have been able to get another suplex or two on him. I am always looking to drop someone on their head and I said I was going to do it before the fight. I've been able to do that to several opponents and I am sure I will do it to some more.
PDG: It had been about 15 months since your last fight; how did the conditioning hold up?
Josh: I could've been in a little bit better shape but it wasn't too bad because it's not like I haven't been training the whole time. I've been working with "Babalu", Erik Paulson, Megumi Fujii, Shayna Baszler and others on getting them ready for their fights.
PDG: How long before the actual fight did your training intensity reach its peak?
Josh: I really started to pick it up a lot more about a month before the fight. A lot more sparring..........I guess if you want to know how intense it was I would need to get some of my sparring partners on the phone.
PDG: Yeah, a couple of them have told me they were glad you finally got a fight so you would stop kicking the crap out of them in practice.
Josh: [Laughs] It didn't really work out for them because since I did have a fight coming up I was beating on them even more. Maybe they felt there is just more of a reason to it now.
PDG: So how much time do you take off before you start training again for your next fight?
Josh: I was back in the gym today. I am going to work on some things physically and mentally, different strategies and techniques to improve myself. If I'm not working on my own training I am usually working with other fighters. Genelle Marquez is one of the women fighters I train and I am looking to get her a fight fairly soon.
PDG: Overall, how was the first production of the World Victory Road show?
Josh: I thought it was a really great show for the organizations' first show out of the gate. They did an incredible job and the sellout crowd was really hot that night. They had a record attendance, there were some good fights on the card and overall I would have to say that my fight with Yoshida lived up to the billing.
PDG: Did the show feel like an old PRIDE show or was it different?
Josh: Not so much, there were aspects that were similar but overall it seemed like a different production.
PDG: The next WVR event is set for May 18th; any chance you'll be fighting on that card?
Josh: To be perfectly honest, anything is possible. I have a pro wrestling match on April 12th but I am definitely looking to get back into fighting full time. I did not sustain any injuries in my fight with Yoshida that would require recovery time that would keep me out of the May 18th event.
PDG: How many more times would you like to fight this year?
Josh: Four more fights this year in addition to three pro wrestling matches would be ideal.
PDG: Is your contract exclusive with WVR?
Josh: No, I am not exclusive with anyone but I only work with those who work with me. So as far as I am concerned I will definitely be looking forward to doing more work with them.
PDG: A lot has happened in the world of MMA since the last time we talked. Kevin Randleman signed with WVR. What do you think about his recovery and being able to compete again?
Josh: I hope he is completely recovered so that he does not go out there to fast and hurt himself again. Randleman is a good guy and I just hope he uses a little sensibility to go along with his fury when he gets back out there.
PDG: He has been down training at Xtreme Couture's and he has stated that he has been working on his submission defense.
Josh: In the end, he is still Kevin Randleman and he is going to go off on somebody. It is not so much changing what he does, it is just making it work for him in the fight.
PDG: The other new Japanese promotion, Dream, has their first event this upcoming Saturday. In addition to the LWGP, Mirko "Cro Cop" is scheduled to fight but just this week his opponent was changed again from Nakao to Tatsuya Mizuno.
Josh: Who? I don't think I have never heard of that guy but maybe I could look him up and it would ring a bell.
PDG: I think his record is 3-2.
Josh: I think after this weekend his record will be 3-3.
PDG: What were your thoughts when you heard that Cro Cop was leaving the UFC to go back to Japan?
Josh: If he thinks that is what he needs to get back that winning fire that he used to have, then go for it. Hopefully fans that saw him in the UFC don't think that was the same fighter who was very successful in PRIDE. Fans may not think that this is the best opponent for him but hopefully it gets them back to where he needs to be.
PDG: While you were in Japan, Mark Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall Fame.
Josh: That was sweet, it was really cool that the UFC followed through with that. I don't think that they ever intended on inducting Mark but the fans and the Internet helped make their decision for them.
PDG: Are you surprised that they are going to have him fight Brock Lesnar?
Josh: That is actually quite surprising and I did not see that coming. I talked to Mark every so often and that was still surprising. It would have been nice if they showed his induction on the actual pay-per-view part of the event instead of just a taped clipping from earlier in the night. The UFC should have had him in the cage answering questions and doing a promo for the fight live!!!!
PDG: Your training partner Erik Paulson helped train Brock for his first UFC fight and you and Coleman have a good relationship. How do you pick which fighter to help train for this fight?
Josh: No idea. Coleman hasn't called me yet but he always knows that the gym is open for him. It is an odd situation but I have to tell you that I have history with Coleman. Brock is a part of our CSW team and so it is really hard to choose what we are going to do.
PDG: How do you think that fight will go?
Josh: Coleman needs to learn some heel hooks [laughs]. It is a tough one to call because both are great wrestlers. Coleman is an Olympic level wrestler and Brock was a super stud in the NCAA. Brock is younger, bigger and possibly more physical at this stage of his career than Coleman is but there are a lot of things that can happen with a matchup like this and I think that striking could be a big factor in this match. I also don't think that submissions are really going to be a factor.
PDG: WVR also signed Roger Gracie; would you like that fight?
Josh: Sure why not, everybody wants to fight a Gracie at some point in their career. He certainly has a lot of credentials to his name but at this point I have not yet heard anything about a matchup with him.
PDG: That is all of the fighting questions, how about some Gaming ones?
Josh: I just picked up a new game. Do you play a more console or PC games?
PDG: I would have to say console games as I am pretty committed to my Xbox 360.
Josh: Over the last few years I have become a pretty avid PC gamer but I also have a 360. I have not played a whole lot but I would have to say that I appreciate and enjoy Gears of War. I also played Dead Rising but the game gets a little frustrating at some points.
PDG: What new game did you just pick up?
Josh: Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War Soulstorm. The game is a real time strategy game on the PC and and I love all of the Warhammer 40K games. Since the first Dawn of War came out I have bought every subsequent sequel or add on and played the hell out of those games.
PDG: So do you prefer more of the real-time strategy games or first-person shooter?
Josh: I don't really have a preference as it depends more on the game itself. I am not really big on real-time strategy games but this series is great and the environment's in which the game takes place are amazingly done. I read the novels and played the RPG game when I was a kid and still would now if I had the time. I grew up though playing Doom and Castle Wolfenstein, I remember when that Wolfenstein game came out and it was three or four floppy disks. When Doom came out I could not believe how good the graphics were.
PDG: I was in college when Doom came out and we would throw on our headsets blarring some Sepultura and play for hours.
Josh: Yeah, and then Quake came out and now unfortunalety the game has changed so much since it first came out. It is amazing to see the differences between Quake nowadays and when it first came out. The first Quake had the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack in the creepy monsters and all that crazy shit and from Quake 3 on there is no relation to the first one. Duke Nukem was also one of my favorites and it was probably the first game that got me to do death-matches live over the internet.
PDG: There is a trailer for the new Duke Nukem Forever in our game trailers section and it looks kick ass.
Josh: I heard there was a new one coming out but I hadn't seen anything on it yet. I'll have to check that out.
PDG: Last week I picked up that new game Army of Two and I would recommend it to anyone.
Josh: That is the new Xbox game that involves the two mercenaries right? Is it co-op?
PDG: You can either play with the AI guy, or co-op online or you can play in ranked death-matches.
Josh: I still have not gotten my Xbox hooked up to the internet but that game definitely looks good. I used to play Counterstrike a lot online and it was cool because you could put together your squad of people and go out there and kill some people. The only thing that sucked was when he got on a shitty team and they were either leaving you or dying and you are stuck out there against the other team by yourself. Unprotected and taking head shot after headshot. Another game was Desert Combat and I'm pretty sure that I broke my computer playing that game is much as I did.
PDG: I definetly like the first-person shooter games better; Gears of War was entertaining but I am not a big fan of playing a shooting/action game where you can't jump. My favorite by far has got to be the Halo franchise.
Josh: The one who got me hooked on Halo was my dad, we used to play against each other on the split screen for hours on end.
PDG: The graphics on Halo 3 are amazing on the 360 with a high definition TV.
Josh: I can only imagine since I played Gears of War like that and I was blown away by how great not only the graphics looked but also how detailed the environments were. The first time I really saw how gaming technology was overtaking the arcades was when the Sega Dreamcast came out and Soul Caliber for the arcade was using the Dreamcast engine. Now you have the 360 and PS3 and the graphics are incredible.
PDG: Do you like any of the RPG games such as Elder Scrolls or Final Fantasy?
Josh: I really like the RPG games and I have played all the Final Fantasy games. I tried playing the first Elder Scrolls game on the PC, I believe it was Morrowwind but I got bored to death walking around endlessly. For me, I am more of the Final Fantasy type and also the ones that involve more strategy.
PDG: I have probably played Elder Scrolls: Oblivion nearly 100 hours over two years and I don't even think I'm halfway through the game.
Josh: That's how I was on Final Fantasy 7, I think I've played that game over 80 hours and I still haven't beat the game. There is so much more to go.
PDG: Hey Josh, always a pleasure, is there anything else you would like to add?
Josh: Thanks the interview was a lot of fun, always make sure you guys look up my sponsors Affliction, Brea Pain and Wellness Center (they are the ones that keep me going), Room 101 Silver and the rest that can be found at
www.joshbarnett.tv.
