MMA

Bobby Lashley: Breaking Barriers and Breaking Bones

Posted By Ricky Bonnet Sirius Fight Club on the Jun 26 2009

Since the last time we checked in with Bobby Lashley there have been some interesting developments in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. First and foremost, Lashley’s previous employer, the AFL, went out of business, Lyoto Machida showed karate is still relevant and Brock Lesnar is still heavyweight champ (for now…). And as Lesnar has garnered the respect of many MMA fans the world over and infuriated others, here sits Mr. Bobby Lashley, a similar physical specimen with a very different roadmap. I satt down with the former WWE standout to see if an eventual detour will lead to the promise land … Heavyweight gold.


MW: Since the last time you did the interview with MMA Worldwide, what do you think has been your biggest improvement as a fighter?

“I would say my standup.  I have been training and I have been training diligent.  I know my cardio is a lot better and I have been training a lot of standup.…but then I have a better knowledge of the ground game also.… so I try to work on everything equal but I really enjoy standup and I have been learning a lot from sparing partners and from coaches.”
 
MW: Now, you mention your standup.  There is a lot of different types of disciplines obviously that the standup is a big part of.  There is Muay Thai, boxing, we saw Lyoto Machida bring back karate. What type of discipline have you been really implementing the most in your standup?

“Oh, we’ve been doing more boxing, straight boxing but checking kicks and then we are starting to work into the kicks.  I have been going back to back to back, so we didn’t want kicking too much right now because we didn’t want to start something new in this period where we are having fight after fight after fight.  After this fight we are going to take a little break and we are going to throw a lot more kicks and start working some of that out.  But right now basically boxing, checking kicks, throwing knees….and elbows.”

Obviously there are going to be the comparisons between you and Brock Lesnar because you both come from a college wresting pedigree, you both obviously were in the WWE.  The difference was his approach in transitioning into MMA. He went straight into the UFC, he just jumped straight into it whereas you took more of an approach of little by little you are upgrading your competition. What was your reasoning behind that and overall do you think it is going to benefit you as a fighter more then if you just kind of went for the top tier guys?

“Well, I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to just jump out there because I didn’t want to just learn as I was there.  When you get into the UFC, everybody knows everything or most people know almost everything so I wanted to actually start learning and then building my competition at that level of learning so that when I get to the UFC I am established in everything.”

Your upcoming fight with Bob Sapp, how do you see that helping your career and improving you as a fighter?  What was the main reason behind fighting Bob Sap?  Was it more for the experience? He is more of a gatekeeper these days. Was it the money??

“I think there has been a new trend of heavy weights out right now, and heavy weights are starting to get bigger.  Some of these guys are big, you know, Shane Carwin walks around at 275, Brock he is walking around at 280.  There are a lot of big heavy weights coming in so as I am trying to prepare myself I have to go with some of the bigger guys out there and feel that weight.  My sparring partner right now is Ron Sparks big heavy weight out of Louisville, I have Mario “Big Hurt” Rinaldi out of American Top Team, …I am trying to get in there with more big guys and then actually have a fight with the big guy where he can end the fight with that one big blow.  So, I mean that is something you have to look out for even though Bob may not have too many weapons in his arsenal he does have that big blow in person he is a heavyweight that has that attribute so that is why I am fighting him now so that I will be prepared as I move forward in taking down the Brocks and the Gonzaga’s and the bigger heavy weights out there.”

You know yourself better than anyone. How long do you see yourself going until you fight top level ranked guys?

“I think, first off, after this fight, it is going to be a big determining factor because we are going to see a lot, we are going to understand a lot, you learn something with every fight so after this fight I am going to learn a lot and see where I am at and then we are going to get some more fights because at first when I came in this house I would like to have won a fight in every way….TKO, decision and a submission.  It is the knockout I still want to get but then after that I still want to hone my skills. The competition, have somebody really test me…and once I start passing these tests, then I am going to move forward.  Timeframe, I don’t really want to deal with timeframe right now, I am in incredible shape right now, my sparing partner and I have been moving a lot better, which before, coming into it, I was standing still a lot more, standing in place, but now lately I have been moving around a lot, taking different shots, moving and I feel a lot better than I did.  I mean, the Bobby Lashley now would probably have killed the Bobby Lashley of December.  We’ll see, I think after this fight we will schedule maybe about 2 or 3 more fights and lead us into the New Year and then in the New Year are going to start really setting our targets on some guys . . . top heavyweights.”

Before when you mentioned Cain Velazquez or Shane Carwin or obviously a Brock Lesnar, all those guys fight in the UFC. I am sure the UFC has approached you, you are someone who all the organizations look at as someone who can bring in PPV revenue, gate revenue, do you see yourself fighting in the UFC in the future and do you view the UFC as the top of the mountain? I mean, a lot of fighters that I have interviewed have said that the UFC is the big league, do you see yourself fighting in the UFC and do you view it as the top or do you just view it as another organization?

“I do see myself fighting in the UFC if possible, it is not my decision.  When Dana White says “yea or nea” that is law.  That is really it for him.  I am just going to continue to get better and fight.  And do I see it as the big leagues?  I do see it as the big leagues but there are also organizations out there that have great fighters in it so you can’t really say that there is one organization that dominates.  They dominate as far as PPV buys and the amount of people that watch it and the notoriety but then you have organizations such as Affliction and you have your Fedors and you have Josh Barnett and you have like the top heavyweights in there and then you have top guys from each class coming in you know, your Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler, those guys, you have Nick Diaz….you have all these fighters that are spread all over the place so I think that you just have to keep an open mind and say yeah, they are the big leagues because that is the one that is the most established and people know it has the most notoriety. For me I try to support every organization. Strikeforce has put on some great shows. So I try and watch it all and respect every fighter in every organization.”

Before your last fight with Jason Guida, many of us in the media viewed you as the much better fighter. But after your sub-par performance your explanation was that he got into your head. Being a young fighter, essentially a rookie, that was part of the learning process. Is that an aspect of your game you have tried to improve?

“It’s a lot better because before I thought of it only as a fight and if you just look at it as a fight you obviously have nerves. Now I understand the process a little bit more and I am more confident, I look at it as a sport and I am out there displaying my skills that I learned in practice. I am in great shape and I watch a lot of tape. Right now I am more poised and I don’t think someone can get into my head so easily before a fight. That was good that it happened a little early in my fight career because each fight I am going to learn something new and get better. Right now I feel like I am a lot more of a complete fighter than I was before.”

Obviously a big story in MMA is Kimbo Slice competing in The Ultimate Fighter. Is that something that you would entertain? If Dana invited you to be on the cast as a proving ground would you accept?

“I was asked this before and I said yeah I would love to do it but then after talking to my manager and some of my trainers we decided that it was not the right thing for me. What I wanted to do was take some time and get some fights under my belt before moving up, and right now I have a lot of possible fights lined up. So there is no real reason to jump into that right now. Some of the fighters out there it is good for cause there is a lot of good heavyweights who don’t have the TV exposure. I have been on TV before so I don’t need that I just want to get fights. All in all I think it is a great opportunity and if I accepted I would it all I had.”

What is the most challenging thing you had to overcome with the transition from collegiate wrestling, sports entertainment to MMA. Is it the mental aspect?

“I wouldn’t say it’s the hardest but it’s part of it. Fighting is different man, at any point in time someone can win the fight all it takes is one good shot.  That’s why I think there is so much appreciation for fighters in the sport, because you really have to hone your game every time you go in there. So that is the mental aspect, when you sit in the locker room before the fight there are all types of things that get in your head…oh what if this or what if that. So it is a mental journey that is why they say 80% of what you do is mental. Not overcoming the mental but dealing with the mental is one of the bigger obstacles for me.”

I know pro wrestling is still a big part of your life today. You are dedicated to MMA and you want to be champ. How long do you plan on doing both?

“The stuff that I did with the wrestling was a short little stint. We have talked with the owner of the organization TNA and their schedule is really light only 4 days a month. And only go Sunday through Wednesday so it gives me the opportunity to wrestle and get on TV supplement the income as well as bring in a fan base. I still enjoy wrestling but when it comes to bigger matches like the UFC then of course we have to shut everything down and concentrate 100% on fighting if that is what we are going to do.”

What can the fans, the media, everyone expect to see from Bobby Lashley in 2009-2010

“They are going to see a very dangerous Bobby Lashley. You know how people talk about their Fedor’s or you talk about your Silva’s of stuff like that. The way that I have been training and learning, sparring…I am going to be a real force to reckon with. I am in great shape, I am a fantastic athlete and I am picking up all this stuff really, really fast. 2009-2010 heavyweights better watch out cause I am coming hard and I am coming fast and I don’t care what you have I’m gonna have something for you.”