One of the major unresolved issues from the UFC purchase of Strikeforce is the status of Josh Barnett in the heavyweight Grand Prix. The rumor flying around UFC 128 was that Shane Carwin would be inserted into the tourney and Barnett would be removed.
Barnett presents a headache to both Strikeforce and its new parent company Zuffa because he's still not officially licensed to fight in the U.S. Barnett refuses to cooperate with California, the state that originally handed down the suspension because of a positive test back in July of 2009. He served a year penalty, but still hasn't shown his face before the California commission. The hearing has been delayed four times and Barnett no-showed a hearing on Feb. 22.
Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined ESPN1100 in Las Vegas to tell us how the UFC is likely to handle Barnett's licensing situation. Iole suggested that Barnett is going to run into trouble with Marc Ratner and UFC brass if he doesn't go through the proper to steps to get re-licensed.
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