Lashley Open On Fighting Batista

   When news broke that former WWE superstar Batista was entering the world of Mixed Martial Arts and will be fighting for the Strikeforce MMA promotion later this year, speculation began immediately that we could see him fight against fellow WWE alum Bobby Lashley (5-0).

   Lashley was a part of Strikeforce’s media conference call this afternoon and commented on a possible showdown in the cage with Batista. Lashley said he’s open to fighting Batista if Strikeforce pushes the fight, but he’d rather focus on more experienced fighters in his quest for Heavyweight gold:

   “It’s not really the direction I want to move (in), but if it’s worth it and they really think he’s ready and Strikeforce wants me to fight him, I’ll take the fight. I’ve had a good game plan up to this point and I really want to move in the right direction. Dave’s just starting out. I’m looking to better myself and get better opponents each time. I’m not disrespecting Dave at all, but he’s new to the game. That’s definitely a fight for the fans, but not so much for my career.”

   Lashley’s next fight takes place later this month on August 21st against Chad Griggs at Strikeforce: Houston on Showtime.

Source: http://www.lordsofpain.net/

Dave Batista vs. Bobby Lashley?

   There's no contract yet for Filipino-Greek Dave Bautista (WWE's Batista) to be on Strikeforce but news around buzzing is Strikeforce CEO Scott Cooker is said to be very interested on bringing him in and matching him up on Bobby Lashley, also a former WWE champ. Cooker said that a good undercard and a CBS deal would make them high on ratings.

   Bautista said that he would like a few fights first before clashing with Lashley. He now training boxing, wretling and jiu-jitsu while Lashley is still recovering from a knee injury.

Lesnar, Booker T Disses Batista About His MMA Plans

   Former WWE champs Booker T and Brock Lesnar, UFC's heavyweight champ, both criticized Dave Batista, also a former WWE champ, about his confirmation that he will be joining the likes of Lesnar and Bobby Lashley or entertainer-wrestlers who jumped to MMA.

   In a recent interview by TMZ, Batista confirmed that he will be joining MMA in a company called Strikeforce. But TMZ also learned that Batista haven't signed up yet with the company.

   TMZ also posted an interview with Booker T, who had a real backstage fight with Batista in 2006 saying he won't "last 5 minutes" with Bobby Lashley and he don't think Batista can match-up with the big boys of Strikeforce.

   While in an interview with MMAFighting.com, UFC champ Brock Lesnar asked about Batista, he responded "Get in line. Everybody and their dog wants to get into fighting. Next question, We're talking about a heavyweight championship fight, not some wannabe."

Batista Talks About His Reasons For Leaving and Doing MMA

   As noted before, Batista was at this week's Strikeforce MMA show and made it clear that he left WWE because he was unhappy with the direction of the company. Dave Meltzer asked Batista if he would do something like Chris Jericho and return in a year or two. Batista said he didn't want to be compared to Jericho and said he had no plans on returning but did not rule out a return one day.
   Batista joked that he was in Los Angeles looking for work and said he's open for offers, be it MMA or acting. Batista has had discussions about doing a reality TV show.

   Apparently Batista has been approached with an offer by a non-major MMA group. Word is that it's a big money offer and is for two fights, likely pay-per-view events and the first opponent would be a well-known former headliner. This is the same offer that Batista hinted around about when he was leaving WWE. Batista has been training regularly at the Affliction gym and has dropped considerable weight since leaving WWE. Most believe that a MMA career for Batista is highly unlikely, given his age and experience, among other things.

   Batista's contract with WWE has expired and he is a free agent. TNA did make an offer to Batista but with the large amount of money they have spent on bringing in other big names recently, they couldn't come close to matching what he had been earning in WWE.


Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Batista Quits Pro Wrestling; Will Do MMA Next?

   Half-Filipino, half-Greek 6-time world champion Batista decided to call it's quit at the WWE after over a decade of body-slamming in the squared circle, mainly because of the injuries he suffered last May 23 PPV, Over The Limit. But the news buzzing around is, after his last appearance on RAW last May 24th, "The Animal" will pursue a career in MMA! With a video of him seen training at Affliction, WWE alumni Jim Ross was asked about his comments about Batista joining the likes of Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar in the MMA, he stated in his blog :

   “I’ve heard some rumblings that when Batista gets healthy that he might try his hand in the MMA world. This rumor is FAR from official but I do know that Batista has been doing some MMA training and has a bona fide interest in the genre,” Ross wrote.

   He then added, “This would be a huge challenge for Batista if he indeed attempts to compete in MMA at a high level which, again, is not a done deal.”

   As for WWE's John Cena "As for Batista, I never know how permanent 'quitting' really is. The only two I've seen quit, and truly not come back yet are JBL and HBK."

   WWE has yet to announce it's official statement about Batista's actions but news around the company is he'll comeback before Wrestlemania 27. His profile on WWE's website is also transferred from RAW to Alumni section.