WrestleZone.com presents an exclusive featured article on TNA and MMA’s Bobby Lashley, including an interview with the dual sport athlete!
Bobby Lashley is a name making waves in both the world of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts, and for the first time, those waves are being made simultaneously. A former champion of World Wrestling Entertainment, 32-year-old Bobby Lashley, when faced with the decision to return to pro wrestling or continue his MMA career, has boldly decided to do both.
As most would assume, taking on just one full-time schedule in either wrestling or mixed martial arts is time consuming, but time just isn’t an option right now for Bobby Lashley. "I’ve been busy," he said, "busy to say the least, but busy in a good way. You know, I wanted to go into this fight business and I wanted to go into it full force. So when you do something like that – enter into a new venture – it keeps you very busy."
With a current 2-0 record in mixed martial arts, Lashley is currently training for his next fight against Mike Cook, which takes place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on May 15th. Lashley makes his debut with Maximum Fighting Championship as the bout will happen live at the promotion’s "Hard Knocks" pay-per-view.
Following his fight against Cook, Lashley will shift his training focus towards Bob "The Beast" Sapp, a 10-3-1 fighter who will collide with Lashley on June 27th at Prize Fight Promotion’s "Unarmed Combat" event in Biloxi, Mississippi. There was never any doubt in Bobby Lashley’s mind or the minds around him when offered the fight against Sapp. "Of course we jumped on it, because any fight’s a good fight right now this early in my career."
Fighting a consistent schedule of bouts seems to be the logical thing to do right now, said Bobby Lashley, who already trains regularly nearly every day. "Why not get out there in front of the public and get those fights on my record, so when we look to knock at somebody’s door – one of the major promotions – we’ll be ready."
Lashley considers the UFC to be the "Superbowl" of MMA and does want it to be his ultimate destination. However, that goal may not come easily as recent reports claim UFC President Dana White has spoken out against working with Lashley. When asked about UFC being a home for Bobby Lashley (or other wrestlers for that matter) sometime in the future, White stated "Just because Brock [Lesnar] did it doesn’t mean everyone can do it".
Bobby Lashley realizes he can’t fight words with the owner of the organization, but does claim there’s something he can do on his end to potentially change White’s mind. "Prove myself," Lashley told me, "If I’m out there beating these heavyweights, knocking them down and becoming a serious contender for a heavyweight match up and they don’t let me in, there’s nothing I can say about that."
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
