Bobby Lashley was making a nice living performing around the country doing the "fake stuff," but his competitive juices pushed him to enter to the unrehearsed world of mixed martial arts. With a solid amateur background and massive build, Lashley appeared to have the goods to be a very good MMA fighter, but his ascent hit a major speed bump last time out and now the former pro wrestling has elected to head back to smaller MMA shows and leave Strikeforce. It's something rarely done in the world of MMA.
"I’m not giving up. I know what I’m capable of," Lashley told Bloody Elbow Radio. "[...] There’s going to be a lot less pressure. Because I’m not undefeated anymore. That’s going to alleviate a lot of pressure for me. I don’t have to worry about keeping this undefeated streak or anything like that."
Lashley (5-1) re-emerges at Titan Fighting Championship on Mar. 25 in Kansas City. He'll meet James Jack.
"I can just go out there and be more comfortable. I think you’re going to see a much better fighter, because I think they’re going to let me fight every couple of months," Lashley said. "I’m just going to get better and better and better."
The fight will be televised on HDNet and he'll still be the centerpiece of the card.
Lashley was making solid progress when he signed with Strikeforce back in Dec. of 2009. He won his first fight for the promotion against Wes Sims to move to 5-0, but there were some warning signs. He was a still a one-tricky pony, who had to rely solely on his ability to get the fight to the floor and his cardio was iffy. So when Chad Griggs weathered the first Lashley takedown storm, the heavily muscled former NAIA wrestling champ, hit the preverbial wall at Strikeforce: Houston back in August. Griggs pounded away at Lashley, who crumbled to the floor and had no fight left in him.
"It’s hard when you have your first fight. And that first fight is on TV. You have a lot of publicity around you. It’s kind of hard," Lashley said. "Other guys, they get a handful of fights before they ever see any competition or are even on TV or anything like that."
Lashley just didn't like being under the spotlight as he was trying to hone his skills and gain experience.
"My first fight was on a major card and I’ve been on TV my whole career," Lashley said. "Everybody was like 'Who are you going to fight next? Are you going to fight Fedor?' And man, I’ve only got one fight under my belt!"
The 252-pound Lashley has to improve his stamina and needs to get past the mental hurdle of getting punched in the face. Much like former fellow pro wrestler Brock Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champ, Lashley looked very uncomfortable in the standup game.
The biggest thing? He needs to get his mental game together. Lashley's honesty is admirable, but he doesn't come off as a guy who believes he can be a great fighter. Even Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was beginning to querstion Lashley's dedication to the craft. Lashley told PROMMANow that he has nothing personal against Coker, but he probably won't be returning to Strikeforce in the future. He's hoping to get more steady action with Titan FC.
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