Falls count anywhere: Josh Barnett turns Bellator 235 open workout into wrestling match

On Wednesday, Bellator 235’s Josh Barnett put on one of the craziest open workouts in a long time.

HONOLULU – Wait, is this MMA or pro wrestling?

[autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] blurred the line between the two at Wednesday’s Bellator 235 open workouts.

Friday night, Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) faces off against Ronny Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in the main event of the first leg of a Bellator two-night doubleheader.

But at the open workouts, “The Warmaster” had a different opponent, his own training partner.

What started out a typical open workout quickly escalated into something else entirely. After “trading blows” with his training partner, Barnett, whose history with pro wrestling included a recent stint as a color commentator on AXS-TV’s popular “New Japan Pro Wresting,” dragged the scuffle away from the designated workout mat.

[lawrence-related id=471795,469941]

Pretty soon, the two big men were tumbling on the grass. A giant energy drink cooler filled with ice was knocked over. A folding chair was dragged into the mix and promptly used. Eventually, Barnett picked his “foe” over his head and slammed him to the ground.

“Give me a three count,” Barnett screamed. Luckily, Bellator director of communications Danny Brener was present to land the three-count and declare Barnett the victor.

Check out the full video above, as well as some social media clips from MMA Junkie’s Dan Tom, below.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

[vertical-gallery id=396346]