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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Dave Bautista hasn't officially made his way into the sport of MMA, but officials in his potential new home of Strikeforce are already pontificating on just what they'll do with him.
A natural bout for them to put together is against his fellow WWE veteran Bobby Lashley, and according to a report from Jeremy Botter at Heavy.com, Strikeforce is looking to potentially put that fight on what would be the organization's first pay-per-view card.
"That’s not a free television bout. That’s a pay per view fight,” said Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou in the report. “You can’t give away everything for free."
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker had the same feelings, as he said "Absolutely. That’s a pay per view fight. I believe we put on some great matchups for the hardcore fans and the casual fans in general. When you tune in to a Strikeforce fight, you know you’re going to see some great fights."
"But every once in awhile, when you get a chance to throw in a fight like this one that’s just fun to watch? Why not?"
The bout is not anywhere close to coming to fruition, and Lashley's next fight will be coming against an as-of-yet undetermined opponent on the August 21 card in Houston. But if Batista does sign with Strikeforce expect this fight to be one they target for Bautista's debut.
Penick's Analysis: So, not only are Strikeforce willing to put on a freak show fight with a 41 year old with no real background in the sport, but they expect people to pay for it now as well? I'm not a fan of it as a free fight on CBS, even though I understand it would work to draw in a large audience to see some of their other fighters compete, but to put this on pay-per-view is ridiculous. This is not a fight fans watching on television should have to pay to see. It may be "fun to watch" for a lot of fans, but it's not worth paying for on pay-per-view. This whole situation brings more and more ridiculous statements and ideas, and I sincerely hope this isn't the route they take.
RELATED STORY: STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Dave Bautista training with Cesar Gracie camp in preparation for MMA debut: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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