What’s Next for Bobby Lashley?
It took less than four minutes for Bobby Lashley to crush the monster Bob Sapp. It wasn’t really even a close fight. While beating Sapp does not make someone a top 10 fighter by any stretch of the imagination, it was a step up in competition for a mixed martial artist who is progressing quite nicely and has yet to really be challenged. Now at 4-0 in his professional MMA career, it is time to start taking Lashley somewhat seriously and thinking about what is next for the former WWE superstar.
The UFC has got to be kicking itself a bit for not doing what it took to get him in the TUF house for season 10. Who really knows how much of a possibility that ever was but it would have been just more fuel on the fire for an already fascinating season. That doesn’t mean the UFC couldn’t be the next step for Lashley all the same. Zuffa has created the circumstances for growing division but it’s a division that could meet a lot of dead ends in the not too distant future. Nog and Couture surely have a few more fights left in them but one of them will be on a two fight losing streak very soon and the other will be on the rebound. Velasquez and Carwin are the rising stars but it seems somewhat likely that one of them will derail the other soon enough. Carwin is also no spring chick. Lesnar and Mir could force a rubber match, which would buy some time. Kongo isn’t going to get any further in this division until they ban takedowns or he gets a ground game. Dos Santos is a wild card, who I believe could make a serious run if they give him the right fights. Herring and Gonzaga are inconsistent drifters right now (much like Kongo). In short, it’s a stacked division but they could really use a young stud fighter to bring some more energy. Unfortunately for Lashley, the market for ex-pro wrestlers in the UFC is not so great because the position is filled. Lashley also might not get the time to develop that he hopes for… or at least the time he needs. Because he would come with hype he might have to step into the bigger events quickly, much like but not to the same extent as Brock. At the end of the day the UFC would likely gain more from Lashley than he would from them, at least for the time being. Zuffa would get an exciting blue chip draw and Lashley would get put in a pond that might be a bit too big for him.
The more reasonable solution to me would be signing with Strikeforce or Affliction. The bedfellow relationship between those two organizations is key to HW MMA right now. The talent pool is as impressive or more so than the one under Zuffa contract. You know the winner of Fedor/Barnett is going to be a major target for Dana White but neither will be an easy sign. Lashley could end up getting some quality exposure against quality opponents and could also be developed more carefully. He could easily give some of the more popular HWs a lot of trouble and as long as the Emperor stays out of the UFC, it would give Lashley something to aspire to. The money and stability are in the UFC, but I think Lashley is more likely to be a superstar if he stays outside for bit longer. It might also make him a lot more money in the long term. He would be less likely to run into a super wrestler that could fight fire with fire. A year or two of MMA training and pro fights with the likes of Buentello, Arlovski, Sylvia, Rogers, and Yvel could present him some favorable match-ups and development opportunities before he moves on to either the UFC or fights with Overeem, Fedor, or Barnett.
To make a long story short, Lashley is the kind of fighter I believe could be very good, but he needs to pick his moves wisely. Sure he can sustain a lose or two along the way but if he goes about this right, he might not have to. Anyone who has seen him fight knows he has some dominant raw ability, but that will only get him so far. We are entering an era where being a relatively complete fighter is going to be a prerequisite for being a champion, and Lashley is in a great position to develop into just that.
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