...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Former WWE Superstar-turned MMA fighter-turned TNA wrestler Bobby Lashley is now the latest heavyweight addition to Strikeforce's growing roster, as the organization announced via a press release late Thursday that the 6'3", 250 lb. 4-0 fighter would make his debut on a January 30th card on Showtime.
Lashley hasn't fought since a first round victory over Bob Sapp in June on the "Ultimate Chaos" pay-per-view. He's currently a member of TNA Wrestling while he continues to train in the sport.
While he's been biding his time and training while performing for TNA, he maintains that he's committed to the sport 100%, and in an interview with MMA FanHouse Lashley stated he hopes to fight three or four more times in the next year. After that, he hopes to be ready to fight one of Strikeforce's top heavyweights, including Fedor Emelianenko.
Penick's Analysis: This is a good move for Lashley, and from a promotional standpoint is good for Strikeforce as well. There are going to be those that insist on comparing the careers of Brock Lesnar and Lashley, as they both came from college wrestling backgrounds and through the WWE, but they are very different cases. Lashley was never the star Lesnar was in WWE, and his amateur credentials are nowhere near those of the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. Lashley is making strides in his training and development, but he's definitely a prospect that needs to be handled like a prospect and not thrown to the wolves simply because of his name. He can build himself up the ladder nicely in Strikeforce with a number of fights against non-top 15-20 competition before trying his hand at the best Strikeforce has to offer. If he does that, he very well could take the slow climb to stardom in the sport if he continues to improve.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
