Josh Barnett Confirms Fight With Hidehiko Yoshida

Top-ranked heavyweight fighter Josh Barnett, seen here attacking Bodog Fight commissioner Jeff Osborne, has confirmed he will take on Hidehiko Yoshida in Japan.

After over a year away from competition, former King of Pancrase Josh Barnett (20-5-0) has confirmed that he will return to the mixed martial arts ring.

Barnett, who last fought on Dec. 31 of 2006 against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-0), will face judo champion Hidehiko Yoshida (7-5-1) on March 5, at World Victory Road: Sengoku.

The announcement was made via his myspace.com blog.

"The moment has finally arrived," he writes. "I am finally getting back in the ring after being unable to fight for over one year. I will be stepping into the main event of World Victory Road's premier event."

Barnett has defeated top-level judo players in the past including Yoshida's top student Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7-0) in February of 2006, as well as Polish judoka Pawel Nastula (1-3-0) in October of that year.

While many MMA fans were expecting to see Yoshida fight Roger Gracie (1-0-0), Barnett writes that, as far as he knows, that match was never on the table.

"There was never a Roger Gracie vs. Yoshida match," he explains. "We have been talking with WVR for a long time creating a contract and Yoshida was who was offered from the beginning. I don't know who put out the rumors or why some news outlets accepted it as fact but there was never a Roger vs. Yoshida fight. Just some wishful thinking on some manager's part perhaps."

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