Bobby Lashley is currently one of the biggest stars that the WWE has, having carried the company on his back for the first half of 2021 as WWE champion. Beyond that, he's been an established pro wrestler that has been well-regarded since his debut in 2005.However, in 2008, he took a detour to the world of combat sports. Unlike fighters like Brock Lesnar or CM Punk, Lashley's foray into MMA wasn't as publicized. As a result, there are lots of things that fans of both sports may not know about Lashley's MMA career and his adventure on the side of prizefighting.
10 Lashley Was An Incredibly Accomplished Amateur Wrestler
Bobby Lashley's amateur pedigree makes it a surprise that he did not give MMA a shot to begin with. Lashley was a high-school and collegiate wrestler, and actually won three straight NAIA National Championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998.
Lashley then went on to wrestle in the Army, and was so good he was actually preparing to wrestle in the 2004 Olympic Games. However, the year prior, he was forced to dive for cover during a bank robbery and suffered a knee injury in the process. The injury led to the end of his amateur wrestling career.
9 His MMA Career Began As A Result Of His WWE Release
Bobby Lashley seemed earmarked as a future WWE champion after debuting in 2005. While he would capture the title during his second run with the company, Lashley was reduced to carrying the ECW Heavyweight Championship — an afterthought at the time — in his first tenure.
Lashley was released in February of 2008 and quickly decided to set his sights on cagefighting. In stark contrast to some of other wrestlers-turned-MMA fighters, Lashley didn't get a big stage. Lashley made his debut at the end of 2008 in a small regional show, defeating Joshua Franklin via TKO.
8 He Was Supposed To Fight Ken Shamrock
Bobby Lashley decided to try and jump into the deep end of the pool only two fights into his MMA career, and was scheduled to fight former UFC champion Ken Shamrock in March 2009. While Shamrock was past his prime, he was coming off a knockout win over Ross Clifton the month prior.
However, the bout was scrapped on short notice. Shamrock's drug test for his previous fight had come back positive for banned substances, and as a result, Shamrock was replaced with WEC veteran Jason Guida. Lashley went on to defeat Guida via decision.
7 He Defeated Bob Sapp In A Battle Of Giants
Not long after Lashley's defeat over Guida, he got a big matchup in the form of Bob Sapp. Sapp was a well-known figure in Japan. And while he went on to become a tomato can in the latter half of his career, Sapp was actually a somewhat well-respected figure in 2009.
Lashley took Sapp down quickly and soon got the TKO victory inside of the first round. The win was a big one for Lashley, as he parlayed the victory into getting signed to Strikeforce.
6 He Had A Brief Strikeforce Run
Bobby Lashley signed to Strikeforce in 2010 after not much interest from the UFC. Lashley quickly defeated UFC veteran Wes Sims in January of 2010 via knockout and was set up to face IFL veteran Chad Griggs in August of that year.
Unfortunately, Lashley came up short in his fight with Griggs. Griggs defeated Lashley via third-round TKO, and Lashley was released as a result of the loss to Griggs. However, the loss to Griggs wasn't one without controversy.
5 The Loss To Griggs Was Quite Controversial
Losing to Chad Griggs isn't exactly a big issue — he was a good fighter in his own right and went on to fight in the UFC following his Strikeforce run. However, it's a loss that Lashley should probably not have on his record.
During the fight, Lashley was stood up multiple times by the referee despite his dominant control. The fight even came to an end after Lashley was stood up to full-mount for the doctor to inspect a cut on Lashley. After Lashley was inspected, the referee did not restart the fight with Lashley in full mount, and he was finished seconds later.
4 There Was Talk Of Him Fighting Batista.
Before Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, there was talk of Dave Bautista fighting with the company. However, Bautista would not be signed to the promotion after Zuffa had no interest in signing the former WWE star. During the negotiation period prior to the purchase, there was a name thrown around for Bautista to fight, Bobby Lashley.
While the fight never got made, rumors swirled so loudly that Lashley even commented on the matter during an interview. Lashley didn't overly endorse the idea, but he did say would be down for it.
3 Lashley Had A Very Successful Bellator Run
After being released by Strikeforce, Lashley had to go to the regional MMA scene. Lashley went 5-1 with smaller promotions before being signed by Bellator in 2014.
Lashley was undefeated during his time in Bellator, as he went 5-0 from 2014 to 2016. He even avenged his sole loss on the regional scene to James Thompson in Bellator, as he knocked out Thompson in the first round at Bellator 145.
2 Bobby Lashley Badly Wanted To Fight Fedor Emelianenko
Following Lashley's five-fight win streak, he made a bold call-out. Fedor Emelianenko was recently signed by Bellator, and the Russian legend was a sought-after fight by everyone on the roster, so it only made sense that Lashley wanted a fight with him as well.
Lashley called out the legend and wanted to get on the shortlist of fights for Emelianenko, even saying that he'd prefer the fight with him over a potential title fight. In the end, the fight was never made as Emelianenko targeted more well-established fighters, and Lashley soon departed for WWE.
1 He Left Bellator For WWE
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Bobby Lashley was not able to get either a title shot or the Emelinanko bout as he wanted. Along with his success in IMPACT wrestling, he soon became a sought-after target for WWE once again.
In 2018, Lashley returned to WWE. And while Bellator officials stated that he remained under contract, it's highly unlikely he would get the clearance to return to the cage. At the age of 45, it seems that Lashley's career as an MMA fighter is likely done.