Josh Barnett under consideration for Sengoku return on Nov. 7

Josh Barnett is reportedly under consideration for a return to mixed martial arts action later this year at Sengoku 11 which takes place from the Ryogoku Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan on November 7, as reported by Fight Opinion.

Barnett heads back to the "Land of the Rising Sun," a country that's hosted a good portion of his career and may become his main base at least for the foreseeable future after "The Babyface Assassin" failed a pre-fight drug screening for anabolic steroids prior to a showdown with Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: "Trilogy" on Aug. 1.

He returned a positive "B" sample on Friday (July 31) according to the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), all but confirming his initial test result from last month which could potentially prevent him from receiving a license to compete on American soil for at least a year.

And should he return to fight in U.S. somewhere down the line it’s likely he won’t be greeted with welcome arms after much fan backlash directed at him for the incident. It would also seem unlikely that any stateside promoter will be eager to book him after this recent debacle.

The impact from the findings of his positive test caused Affliction to fold as a mixed martial arts promoter after they were unable to scramble and find another opponent for Emelianenko. They instead opted to pack up shop and return to being an official sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

It’s also to be noted that the Japanese media hasn’t been too forgiving to Barnett for the recent stir he’s caused and he’s likely to carry some stigma there as well though not on the scale to what he’s received from North American fans.

Also while Japan has an almost 'anything goes' reputation in regards to mixed martial arts, it won’t be the safe haven for Barnett some would think it will be.

World Victory Road with the assistance of JADA (Japan Anti-Doping Agency) and WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) will be conducting drugs tests on its combatants.

Barnett last competed under the Sengoku umbrella in May of 2008, where he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Jeff Monson (31-8) back at Sengoku 2.

World Victory Road (WVR) officials have talked about featuring Barnett alongside Antonio "Big Foot" Silva as well as others in a mini-heavyweight tournament to crown the first Sengoku heavyweight champion for quite some time now.

Also scheduled for the Sengoku 11 card in November is judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii who will make his mixed martial arts debut at the event.

He has also been mentioned as being part of the Sengoku heavyweight tournament, though WVR may want to bring him along slowly and not throw him in the deep end straight away against the likes of Barnett and Silva.

Unlike many other Japanese promotions, WVR has done a pretty decent job in regards to easing in prospects, though with Ishii’s heroic stature and drawing power in Japan they might try things differently with him.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see how everything transpires.