Tom Atencio: 'Personally, I would love to see Josh Barnett get knocked out by Brett Rogers'

I can't imagine why.

Affliction co-owner and former fight promoter Tom Atencio is pretty confident that Josh Barnett is going to win his fight against Brett Rogers when they hook 'em up this Saturday night (June 18) at Strikeforce: "Fedor vs. Werdum" from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Atencio cites "The Babyface Assassin's" experience and well-rounded skills, particularly in the grappling department, where Barnett has secured 17 of his 29 wins by submission.

But that doesn't mean he's not rooting for a "Grim" ending to the former PRIDE star's run in the tournament grand prix, which is expected to name the division's number one contender when it concludes in early 2012.

Atencio debates the upcoming fight with retired MMA star Randy Couture and tells "The Natural" what he'd like to see happen:

"I'm gonna go with Josh. Personally, I'd love to see, just because of the history -- which we all know about -- I would love to see Brett knock Josh out. I probably shouldn't say it, but I'm gonna say it! But at the end of the day, I think Josh is gonna win."

It was, after all, Barnett who helped drive the final nail in the coffin of Affliction MMA when he tested positive in his pre-fight drug test prior to his much-anticipated title fight against Fedor Emelianenko at "Trilogy" from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., back in 2009.

The cancellation of their headlining bout caused the clothing-manufacturer's house of cards to come tumbling down and they eventually closed up shop for good, returning to the role of "T-shirt guys" and popular UFC sponsor.

Will Atencio be avenged by Rogers on Saturday night? Or will Barnett stick it to him once again?

Anyone (besides Nostradumbass) giving the "Grim" a chance at the upset?