An opponent has finally been named for "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett at the upcoming World Victory Road: Sengoku 2 event on May 18.

World Victory Road’s official website Sengoku-Official.com announced today that Jeff "The Snowman" Monson will be stepping up to take on the top ten ranked heavyweight and former UFC heavyweight champion of the world.

Barnett, who competed in Pride for the latter part of his career, fought in the first Sengoku event back in March. He took out Olympic Judo gold medallist, Hidehiko Yoshida, with a nasty heel hook in the third round. It was Josh’s first fight back since losing to Nogueira at Pride Shockwave over 14 months ago.

Monson, like Barnett, is extremely experienced and a perfect match for Josh Barnett. Jeff recently competed at Ring of Fire which was held in Manila, Philippines back in December of 07. He defeated Hakim Goram from Holland via a unanimous decision. "The Snowman" has been in the cage with some fierce competition. His seven loss record is a who’s who of elite fighters including Rizzo, Sylvia, Griffin, Rodriguez and Liddell.

Both fighters have similar records with a combined total of 57 fights and both have finished over 60% of their fights via submission. This fight will be an extremely intriguing ground affair most likely with some great stand up sprinkled in throughout the fight. Barnett will have the edge but Monson will be tough to handle with his excellent wrestling ability. This fight will come down to who pushes the pace, who controls positions and ends up on top, and of course cardio. Cardio will play a huge factor in this fight and could be the key to victory.

Also making his return to the ring after almost a two and a half year hiatus is "The Monster" Kevin Randleman. He will take on Pancrase veteran, Ryo Kawamura. Roger Gracie will also compete although his opponent has yet to be announced.

Source: www.redsweat.com