Josh Barnett Looking To Fight Junior Dos Santos Next

“”The Warmaster” Josh Barnett has been out of action since December but he appears ready to get back inside the Octagon and is eying a matchup with Junior Dos Santos.

Thats the word according to Barnett’s manager Leland Lebarre who appeared UFC Tonight to talk with the shows host Ariel Helwani. Lebarre said his fighter must get through the former heavyweight champion if he wants to get back in line for a title shot:

“To get a shot at title, you would have to go through Junior sooner or later,” Lebarre told Helwani. “So let’s get it done now. This is the path back to the title.”

It sounds like Barnett is looking to get thrown right back into the mix following his last fight where he suffered a disastrous setback, getting knocked out by Travis Browne in just one minute. His loss to “Hapa” snapped a two fight winning streak for the former UFC heavyweight champion after picking up wins over Nandor Guelmino and Frank Mir.

He still remains one of the top fighters in the heavyweight division and is currently ranked No.5 in the official UFC rankings. Prior to his setback against Browne, Barnett was on a 10-1 run with his only defeat coming at the hands of Daniel Cormier in the finale of the Strikeforce Grand Prix.

Dos Santos has been out of action for eight months now since coming up short in his latest attempt to take back his UFC title from Cain Velasquez in October. The Brazilian was dominated by the current champion, handing him the second loss of his UFC career.

JDS is currently recovering from a hand injury which he sustained while training to fight Stipe Miocic in the main event of the TUF: Brazil Finale on May 31. There has been no news on his return and it is unknown he when he will fight next. But, if he doesn’t take his original match with Miocic a fight with Barnett could very well be on the cards.

What do you guys think about matching up Dos Santos and Barnett?