Bobby Lashley Was Offered a UFC Deal, With a Catch

One of the lesser-talked about pro wrestling to MMA success stories has been Bobby Lashley. A former three-time NAIA National Wrestling Champion in his amateur days, a knee injury shelved his Olympic wrestling dreams — but he’d eventually move on to professional wrestling, signing with the WWE, and taking part in the infamous “Battle of the Billionaires” with Donald Trump and Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 23.

After his first WWE run came to an end, Lashley would make the jump to mixed martial arts, competing in Strikeforce, Titan FC, and later, Bellator MMA, where he went 5-0 before his fighting career wrapped up in 2016. At 15-2 overall, Lashley didn’t face huge names, but executed as needed in wins over James Thompson, Wes Sims, Bob Sapp, and Dana White’s Contender Series alum Josh Appelt. He looked the part of a real mixed martial artist, albeit with a heavy focus on his wrestling.

Now back in the WWE, there’s always been a question as to whether Lashley could have gone to the UFC, as fellow WWE Champion Brock Lesnar did, to great success. Turns out, Lashley was actually offered a deal, he told The MMA Hour recently.

“I know that Dan [Lambert, American Top Team founder] had talked with Dana [White, UFC President] at one time and Dana, he was fair with it, he said, ‘You know we can’t offer him a huge contract, but we will give him something that he can get his foot in the door and kind of prove himself,’” Lashley recalled. Lashley had been training with ATT part-time at that point; he later opened his own affiliate gym in Colorado.

“That’s all I knew and then when I talked with Dan about it, Dan’s a huge pro wrestling fan— Dan was like, ‘They want you to sign everything. There’s no more pro wrestling,'” Lashley continued. “‘Are you ready to shut the doors on pro wrestling?’ I was like, ‘Golly.’ You can’t offer me a contract and say, ‘Yeah we bring him in, but he needs to shut all of that down and get small money.’ Because the wrestling is something that I knew that I could really make some good money on long-term. So I couldn’t take a small contract to prove myself when I had pro wrestling where I’d already proven myself and that was always my money bag that I could always go back to. So I really couldn’t do it.”

Lashley eventually retired from MMA, knowing that training part time wouldn’t allow him to make a run for the title in Bellator, who at least allowed him to continue his pro wrestling career. Coincidentally, Lashley’s final MMA fight came in 2016, the same year as UFC 200 — where Lesnar was allowed to return for a one-off against Mark Hunt, while still under contract with the WWE.

Terrance McKinney Puts on his Writer’s Cap, Gets Published in Newsweek

Few things in MMA are more captivating than an underdog story, and Terrance McKinney is a prime example. It’s not that he’s an underdog in any given fight — it’s more that, as a recovering drug addict who flat-lined before paramedics saved his life, he’s an underdog in life. McKinney beating the odds and making it to the UFC has been one of the better feelgood stories for the promotion in recent years, and it just took an interesting turn: in the wake of the Joe Rogan controversies of the past few weeks, “T.Wrecks” put on his writer’s cap, put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard at least), and wrote an opinion piece for Newsweek.

We aren’t going to get bogged down in the Rogan stuff, because it’s not an MMA story, and players on both sides have been hurling disingenuous arguments to further tired political agendas. What’s exciting to see is someone like McKinney, who isn’t exactly the biggest star the UFC has to offer, using his platform to be heard. And acquitting himself rather well in the actual writing department.

Usman Goes Under the Knife, White Posts Graphic Surgery Shot

UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman underwent hand ligament surgery recently, and Dana White was good enough to share the gory details. Okay, this is far from the worst thing you’ve seen in fighting, but still, yikes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZsnOOKJRSU/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=28070557-08da-4eb0-9581-d9f9848459da

Chris Leben Hospitalized Due to COVID-19 Complications

Chris “The Crippler” Leben, a fan favorite during his UFC run, officially retired from combat sports last year following a successful bare-knuckle boxing run. Known for fights with Anderson Silva, Sexyama, Wanderlei Silva, and others, the man has had plenty of wars, but unfortunately, it’s COVID he’s battling at the moment.

Leben posted an update on Instagram this past week, revealing that he had been hospitalized due to breathing difficulties after contracting COVID-19.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZpP7unJTcg/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=db379295-ee5f-41cd-99a6-c04b15afdcd8

“The Crippler” definitely deserves some positive vibes, and hopefully a speedy recovery.

If At First You Don’t Succeed

Normally, freakshow fights are something of a guilty pleasure. Not this one. This is just plain dumb.

Remember Grigory Chistyakov? No? You’re all the better for it. The 500lb+ man is best known for fighting Darina Mazdyuk in November 2020, and being stopped via TKO. Mazdyuk is a flyweight. A female flyweight, who was later signed by Bellator.

Maybe they’ll sign Aleksandra Stepakova as well. Stepakova, a strawweight, is the next lady to fight in the cage against Chistyakov, under the Epic FC banner in Russia. This time, the massive super-heavyweight won a unanimous decision.

https://twitter.com/Matysek88/status/1491346870102560771

On the same card, a father-son team competed against 28-year old Yulia Mishko. What the hell is going on in Russia?

No outro “duelo”, Peso pesado feminino Yulia Mishko enfrentou dois homens ao mesmo tempo pic.twitter.com/MrEuXz5ebt

— Dama de Ferro MMA (@damadeferromma) February 10, 2022

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: Lashley Once Offered UFC Deal, Terrance McKinney Writes for Newsweek appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jake Hager, who previously wrestled under the name Jack Swagger in the WWE, is set for his Bellator debut in January 2019. Swagger wrestled for the company for close to a decade and held the promotion’s World Heavyweight Championship for a small stint in 2010. Hager, prior to the WWE, was an All-American wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, where he held the school’s record for pins in a season.

However, Jake Hager is far from the first to cross over from professional wrestling to the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

For whatever reason, MMA has always been a sport that has had a crossover from other forms of entertainment. Everyone from former a Power Ranger in Jason David Frank, to baseball MVP Jose Canseco. But for whatever reason (likely due to collegiate wrestling experience), the sport of professional wrestling has always had the most crossover. Ever since the sport’s inception, the sport has had people coming and going from each entertainment medium.

So let’s take a look into the most interesting and noteworthy crossovers from the sport of professional wrestling into MMA.

Honorable mentions go to Dave Bautista, who beat the one and only Vince Lucero in his only professional fight. The late great Bam Bam Bigelow also got destroyed by Kimo Leopoldo in 1996 in Japan.

Ken Shamrock

There appears to be a common misconception regarding the career of UFC pioneer Ken Shamrock. The misconception being that Shamrock went from real fighting to the WWE, then back to the UFC, but there’s a deeper story than that.

Ken Shamrock began training for professional wrestling in 1986, being taught by the likes of Buzz Sawyer and Gene Anderson. Shamrock took a liking to the training and continued to train. He officially made his debut a couple of years later in 1990, under the name ‘Wayne Shamrock’ in ACW. Shamrock would then spend the next 3 years wrestling around the world, most notably in Japan in the Universal Wrestling Federation.

It was in Japan where he had his first legitimate fight. In October of 1992, Shamrock had a legitimate fight with kickboxer Don Nakaya Nielsen. It was not long after that Shamrock and other wrestlers decided that they would rather fight for real due to the success of the original fight with Nielsen. Not long after, Pancrase was formed.

In 1993, Shamrock won his first three fights in Pancrase. Soon after, he competed in UFC 1, where he began his rivalry with Royce Gracie, the first real rivalry in the history of MMA. Shamrock would then spend the next three years competing in MMA, capturing the UFC Superfight championship as well as the King Of Pancrase title.

In 1997, Shamrock left the sport of MMA for the WWE stage. Where he would have a prolific, yet short time in the company, deciding to leave in 2000. Shamrock would return to MMA at Pride Grand Prix 2000, defeating Alexander Otsuka. Shamrock would then falter in MMA, going 4-12 after that bout, including his trilogy with Tito Ortiz which helped save the sport of MMA.

Shamrock is likely the most successful crossover and most impactful crossover from the sport of professional wrestling.

Bobby Lashley

Bobby Lashley grew up the son of a military drill instructor, with his father stationed at Fort Reily in Kansas. There, he discovered his love for wrestling. He later would go on to attend Missouri Valley College where he was the NAIA National Champion at 177 pounds. Lashley would then go on to join the army, and his wrestling career was put on hold.

After his three year stint in the army where he continued to wrestle, he would sign with the WWE in 2004. It was there where cut his teeth under the ECW brand. Being pushed as a big star, he won the ECW championship in late 2006. However, his first stint with the company would come to an end in 2008 after suffering an injury. He was then released after coming back from surgery.

Lashley, after being released from the company, would then turn his attention to fighting. In the same year, he would make his MMA debut, winning it via TKO in December over Joshua Franklin. After winning his next three fights over the likes of Bob Sapp and Jason Guida, he was signed to Strikeforce. He was victorious in his debut fight over former UFC veteran Wes Sims at Strikeforce: Miami.

Seven months later, Lashley suffered his first career setback, losing to Chad Griggs via TKO in the second round. Not long afterwards, Strikeforce was closed and Bobby Lashley wasn’t brought over to the UFC along with the fighters who were left out, and just like that Lashley was back to regional promotions.

Over the next five years, Lashley quietly went 5-1 over his next six fights and was signed to Bellator. It is there where Lashley showed his skill as one of the promotion’s top heavyweights, winning five fights in a row in the promotion, including avenging a previous defeat in his career against James Thompson.

However, his last bout was in 2016, and with Lashley making a return to the WWE in 2018, it is unknown where his MMA career goes from here.

CM Punk

CM Punk in his peak was one of the biggest WWE superstars of all time. Holding the WWE title for 434 days, he was one of the top faces in the company for close to a decade. Having matches against the biggest stars on the biggest stage regularly did a lot of wear and tear on Punk’s body. Combine this with his ongoing issues with the management of the company, Punk controversially walked out on WWE in early 2014.

Flash forward 11 months later and UFC 181 is going down. Then, all of a sudden, there is CM Punk on screen being interviewed by Joe Rogan, being announced as the UFC’s newest signee to the roster. It’s worth noting that CM Punk outside of doing jiu-jitsu casually, and doing karate years prior, he had zero combat-training experience. It’s worth noting that during this interview, we got little to no answers as Punk didn’t know weight class he would be fighting in, when his fight would be, his opponent, or his training camp yet.

As time went on we slowly received those answers. In January of 2015, he began training under Duke Roufus at Roufusport MMA Academy in Milwaukee. Punk then went dark for close to a year, just training, keeping to himself and quietly getting better. It’s worth noting that Punk was going through a lot of injuries at this time as well.

That was until February of 2016 where Mickey Gall and Mike Jackson fought in what was dubbed as the “CM Punk Sweepstakes,” where the winner would face CM Punk later that year. Gall won the bout, and received the official shot at Punk at UFC 203 in Cleveland. After two years of nonstop training and getting prepared, Punk was dominated by Mickey Gall inside of one round via submission.

Punk them went underground once again for almost two years until the UFC made its big PPV return to Chicago at UFC 225. Realizing they could put Punk in another fight and likely make some good money off his name, they put the 39-year-old Punk in there with Mike Jackson, the man who previously lost to Mickey Gall two years ago.

Punk lost the fight by decision, looking better than his initial bout at 203, but still losing 30-26 on all three judges scorecards. As of December of 2018, Punk has yet to be released from the UFC but also isn’t likely to fight again for the promotion. So his fighting future is currently unknown.

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With both WWE and the UFC holding big events over the weekend (WrestleMania 34, and UFC 223 respectively), comparisons were bound to be made. However, World Wrestling Entertainment had another surprise come Monday: Bobby Lashley. The Bellator MMA heavyweight, who until recently had been working for TNA (later Impact Wrestling), made his WWE return on Monday. The move, although rumored for some time after Lashley requested his release from Impact, brings up the question of whether his MMA career is done.

Lashley (15-2) has not competed in MMA since October 2016, when he defeated Josh Appelt via rear-naked choke at Bellator 162. Consistently a top draw for Bellator, Lashley’s bouts have often pulled better ratings than the fights headlining the cards he appeared on. He has gone 5-0 in the promotion to date, but was noticeably absent from Bellator’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix. Wrestling commitments were a likely suspect, and his return to the WWE highlights that. Among his more notable wins are James Thompson (a rematch, as Thompson picked up a decision win over Lashley early in his career), Bob Sapp, and Wes Sims. Lashley has only one unavenged loss, to Chad Griggs back in Strikeforce.

While his WWE signing doesn’t necessarily mean his MMA career is done, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing Bobby Lashley fighting in the Bellator cage any time soon.

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The wrestling to MMA transition has been a long tradition, dating back to fighters like Ken Shamrock, who actually wrestled in the late 80s/early 90s prior to embarking on his mixed martial arts career. Since then, wrestlers like Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, CM Punk, and even Dave Bautista have made the jump, to varying levels of success.

Next up is Jake Hager, better known to WWE fans as Jack Swagger. Hager signed with Bellator MMA last year, and has yet to make his debut. While no premiere date is set for the heavyweight, he spoke to the media, with Cageside Press in attendance, prior to Bellator taking over The Forum in L.A. on Saturday.

“I understand that I have to go out there and prove everything” Hager said of making the jump from a predetermined show to combat sports. “Everything is just talk, everything is just me signing a contract right now. So right now I have to go out there and back it up, and it’s going to be exciting, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

“Personally I feel very confident doing it. I know it’s a big risk leaving a professional wrestling career and jumping over into professional fighting,” he continued, “but no big reward comes without a big risk. Bellator’s doing a great thing here, as soon as I started talking with them, it felt like the right place to be. So I’m excited.”

Swagger does have an impressive amateur wrestling background, of course, which puts him closer to the Brock Lesnar/Bobby Lashley side of things than the CM Punk side. “Amateur wrestling is a huge part of my life” said Hager, and rest assured, he’ll be relying on that strength early on. But when might that debut come?

“I want to fight in 2018 for sure. I almost want to fight twice. That’s a bold statement,” he admitted, “but I don’t want to waste any time. I want to jump in there, I feel like I’m in good shape now. I feel like in six months, in the summertime, I’ll be ready to make a statement.”

As for who he might face, and whether Hager would be interesting in claiming a spot as an alternate in Bellator’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix, the wrestler said that “I’m preparing for anybody right now. There’s going to be a steep learning curve, and I’m ready for that.”

As for how he’ll be introduced, he joked “Former world heavyweight champion Jack Swagger and new Bellator heavyweight Jake Hager.”

Hager, meanwhile, will still be competing in pro wrestling, for now in the U.K., as it’s “paying the bills” prior to his first fight in Bellator.

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Every now and then it’s fun to play matchmaker (hey, it’s a dream job for some of us!). Never has that been the case more than with Bellator’s current heavyweight problem. With their 265lb title sitting undefended for years, no heavyweight champ, and a hodge-podge of players in the division, it’s time to get the ball rolling.

At Bellator 185 this past weekend, Bellator MMA CEO Scott Coker addressed the situation, saying that he expected the belt to be contested sometime in the first quarter of 2018. Or maybe the second quarter. Of course, we’ve heard similar statements before, but the reality is that Bellator is losing money by letting their heavyweight crown collect dust.

The title was last defended by then champ Vitaly Minakov in April of 2014, at Bellator 115. That’s a full seventy events ago. Bjorn Rebney was in charge for a few more months, and the UFC still years from being sold. That night, Minakov defeated Cheick Kongo in the Russian’s first title defense, but the fighter then went AWOL, taking fights in Russia while sitting out in a contract dispute with Bellator. Minakov seemed to have his sights set on heading to the UFC, while Bellator MMA did what they could to keep a fighter they felt was legally under contract with them from walking away.

Ultimately, in 2016, they stripped Minakov of the championship — but did not release him.

So here they sit, needing to rev up the heavyweight division again, but with a limited number of names to play with. What’s the solution?

For many, a tournament seemed to be the answer. Yet that was the one thing Coker nixed during the media scrum following Friday’s event in Uncasville, CT. “I’d like to crown a champion first, then we can talk about that” he told Cageside Press when asked about the possibility of using a tournament format with the belt on the line.

That doesn’t entirely nix an eventual tournament to crown the next contender, but who vies for the belt first? Lets take a look at who’s on the roster who could step in to fight for Bellator heavyweight gold in a meaningful contest, and what to do with the rest of the pack.

Who’s Out?

Here’s the easy part: who won’t be fighting for the Bellator heavyweight title next year?

First up, former champion Minakov, now 20-0 as a professional. Minakov has stayed active under the Fight Nights banner in Russia, most recently finishing Bigfoot Silva in June. He’s on a six fight finishing streak outside Bellator since the Kongo fight in 2014. Yet don’t expect to see him back in the fold. When asked at Bellator 185’s post-fight press scrum about the Russian ex-champ, Scott Coker replied that “Minakov is not our champion anymore. Minakov, as far as I’m concerned, is a fighter under contract to Bellator.”

That said, he added that “to me, it’s almost irrelevant at this point, because we have so many great heavyweights now, that when we put this title fight together, it’s going to be something really special.”

Doesn’t sound all warm and fuzzy, does it? So Minakov is out.

What about Bobby Lashley? The pro wrestler who pulls double duty in MMA has won five straight in Bellator, and has proved to be one of the promotion’s biggest draws, even while fighting lesser competition. He’s long been ready for another step up, as his biggest win to date in the promotion came against James Thompson. At forty-one years of age, the window is rapidly closing in MMA for Lashley, who is a respectable 15–2 in the sport. Yet it doesn’t appear that he’s in the cards either, necessarily.

Per Coker, “Bobby, we’ve been talking to him, I know he’s been very busy with his kids and pro wrestling. So I’m not sure what his status is, but I think he’s not going to be fighting any time before the end of the year.” While that doesn’t rule him out, it also wasn’t a ringing endorsement for him challenging for the vacant heavyweight belt. More likely than not, Bellator has something else in mind for the former WWE star.

Frank Mir, who Bellator signed after the former UFC champ was released in the wake of a suspension stemming for a positive test for steroids, is probably out as well. He’s not eligible to compete until April, and coming off of two losses, putting him in a title fight right off the bat would be laughable. He’ll need to get his feet wet in Bellator first.

What About The Last Emperor?

Here’s where things get interesting. Bellator has on their roster the man many consider the best heavyweight fighter of all time: Fedor Emelianenko. The Last Emperor, however, lost his debut fight in the promotion, finding himself knocked out (following a double knockdown) at the hands of Matt Mitrione.

It felt like Strikeforce all over again. Yet Fedor’s name still carries some value… just not as a viable contender for the belt. Does anyone believe that Fedor would have struggled with “Meathead” in his prime? No, but the problem is, Fedor is no longer in his prime.

There are other, better options for him anyway. In a fight against some of the bigger names in Bellator’s heavyweight division, Emelianenko would seem like a sitting duck at this point (remember, he struggled against Fabio Maldonado), but Chael Sonnen went and did the promotion a favor by setting up a fight with the Russian legend.

Hardcore MMA fans will hate the idea, but in reality, it’s almost a perfect pairing from a promoter’s standpoint. Sonnen only needs to win every now and then to stay relevant, after all. It’s his mouth that sells fights. He’d be a huge underdog against Emelianenko, but that’s just fine, coming in off a win over Wanderlei Silva. He could eat the loss, and go on to the next stop on his “Legend’s Ass-Kicking Tour.”

Meanwhile, with the stoic, nearly mute Emelianenko, it would be Sonnen selling the fight. Playing the heel, he’d set Fedor up for a hero’s welcome where ever they fought (save perhaps West Linn), and were Fedor to lose? Well, at least Bellator would get more mileage out of the Bad Guy.

So forget Fedor. He’s out of the heavyweight title picture, at least for the time being.

Who’s In?

Here is where things get tricky. There are a number of names kicking around the Bellator heavyweight ranks deserving of a title shot. The question is, what do you base the selection on? Name value? Performance in the promotion?

Looking at the top names, you have Roy Nelson, Matt Mitrione, and Cheick Kongo. Nelson already holds wins over both Mitrione and Kongo, having finished both in the UFC. From a stylistic perspective, a rematch between Nelson and Mitrione is probably the most appealing.

Yet Nelson has just one fight in Bellator so far. Kongo, meanwhile, has won five straight since losing to King Mo in 2015, with all of those wins in Bellator. Kongo and Mitrione have also fought previously, with the French heavyweight getting the best of “Meathead” back at UFC 137.

Speaking of King Mo, the “moneyweight” is a bit of a dark horse in this race. He had been scheduled to fight Liam McGeary at Bellator 185 before falling to injury, however, so he’s likely out of the running.

Given Mitrione’s high profile win over (an admittedly aging) Fedor, he should be a lock for Bellator’s next heavyweight title fight. He has won all three fights in the promotion, and should be rewarded accordingly. While Kongo is on a winning streak as well, he’s had a title shot before, and the more entertaining fight will probably come from Nelson.

With that in mind, Nelson vs. Mitrione 2 is the fight to make for the title.

Who’s Next? (The Tournament)

So what comes after that? Really, it’s a shame Bellator won’t budge on the tournament idea, but Scott Coker and co. have been there before. Remember how tantalizing the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix was? Then Fedor and Andrei Arlovski were eliminated in the first round, while Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum fought in one of the dullest heavyweight bouts ever — following which, Overeem dropped out of the tournament.

In the end, former UFC heavyweight champ Josh Barnett worked his way to the final, against little known tournament alternate Daniel Cormier.

In hindsight, that’s a pretty solid final, but at the time, no one expected Cormier to become the best non-laboratory enhanced light heavyweight of his era. DC won, and started his march to the UFC. Barnett would wind up back there eventually as well, only to run into PED trouble again.

Point being, while the tournament didn’t go as expected, it still produced a dominant champion — the final Strikeforce heavyweight champ and eventual UFC light heavyweight champion. It did what tournaments should do, uncover the best, and push them to the top into the spotlight.

If Bellator’s not up for leaving their heavyweight champion to chance, they can at least book a tournament to determine the next contender. Eight fighters, three rounds, and an alternate bout. The first two rounds could be a single-night deal, though that is a risky prospect with the damage heavyweights can do. The final round would presumably top a card.

Names like Lashley, Kongo, Mir, and Kharitonov would carry the tournament. Justin Wren, coming off a strong finish earlier this year and 3-0 in Bellator to date, would be a good fit. Adding in names like Javy Ayala and Augusto Sakai would round out the brackets. It might be a stretch putting the loser of our proposed title fight in the tournament, so if you prefer, throw in another name (Oli Thompson for example). Chase Gormley and Jack May would work as tournament alternates.

Point being, this sort of tournament gets the division moving again, and legitimizes the first contender for whoever wins the belt once Bellator books a title fight.

And lets be honest… tournaments are just plain fun.

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