Sengoku II: Josh Barnett vs. Jeff Monson

by Jesse Holland on Apr 24, 2008 1:45 PM EDT

World Victory Road has scheduled former UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE superstar Josh "The Babyface Assassin" Barnett (21-5) to face fellow UFC veteran Jeff "The Snowman" Monson (24-7) at Sengoku II on May 18 at Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum according to the official Sengoku Web site.

In addition to being one of the most sought-after free agents in mixed martial arts (this side of the Iron Curtain), Barnett has already tasted victory at Sengoku I where he defeated Judo master Hidehiko Yoshida via heel hook back in March.

Aside from three losses to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Barnett has only been defeated by two other men: Current UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira in 2006 and Pedro Rizzo way back in 2001.

Opposing him will be the venerable Monson, who last competed at PFP: Ring of Fire taking a unanimous decision victory over Holland's Hakim Goram. Monson was riding a sixteen-fight win streak prior to being outpointed by Tim Sylvia at UFC 65.

No doubt submissions will be the order of the night. Monson has 15 of his wins coming by way of tapout and Barnett has 14. However if the Sylvia fight is any indication, Monson may have trouble with the distinct size disadvantage as Barnett towers over him by six inches.

The Sengoku II fight card as it currently stands is as follows:

Kwang Hee Lee vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
Satoru Kitaoka vs. Ian Schaffa
Jorge Santiago vs. Yuki Sasaki
Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Jim York
Dan Hornbuckle vs. Mike Pyle
Ryo Kawamura vs. Kevin Randleman
Josh Barnett vs. Jeff Monson
Roger Gracie vs. TBA

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I think Barnett has this one..But Monson will present alot of problems..
Barnett is to big and strong for Monson..
(IMO)Barnett via unDecision..or TKO…
Barnett will not submit Monson.

by Stagger-Lee on Apr 24, 2008 1:49 PM EDT reply actions

did monson’s ufc contract expire immediately after the sylvia fight? I know he fought once in pride after that (when UFC had already bought it i believe) and then he was just gone. Did they care for him so little that they gave him a title shot because there was no one else and then just cut him?

by Fidel Cashflow on Apr 24, 2008 1:58 PM EDT reply actions

no dude he asked to be cut from contract and went to pride! he thought he would get fedor but he only got fujita

by the heat on Apr 25, 2008 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Mania’
I thought that Monson was fighting Randleman??
And also, I read an interview with Jeff Monson weeks ago, and he was saying he had four fights booked agianst Ricco Rodreguez, Kevin Randleman, Brad Imes, and Paul Buentello..
I have never heard of a contract like this before..
Maybe you can shed some light on this for me?..

I looked the interview up. Here is the link.
http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content2267.html

by Stagger-Lee on Apr 24, 2008 2:03 PM EDT reply actions

Stagger:

Randleman is penciled in to face Monson this June at the Global Fighting Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina.

by Jesse Holland on Apr 24, 2008 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks Jesse
Is the rest of what he(Monson) said in that interview true???Ricco,Imes and Buentello fights?

by Stagger-Lee on Apr 24, 2008 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Word around here has it that Jeff Monson likes to talk out of his ass when interviewed. He was supposed to fight Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Fedor on multiple occasions according to him.

by ViolentMike on Apr 24, 2008 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Josh Barnett is going to TKO his way to a win.

by john on Apr 24, 2008 2:29 PM EDT reply actions

TKO is the most likely way it will happen, but Monson can take a beating..I think if not a TKO, Josh will win via unDecison..
john; Did you ever hear about “Monson’s 4 fights” I mentioned in my above post??

by Stagger-Lee on Apr 24, 2008 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions