Bobby Lashley and his future in MMA

[Fizzy]

We all saw what happened to Lashley last night. He looked quite good to start, but obviously blew his load in the first round. Now one could say that him getting stood up in the mount was bullshit, and I agree to an extent, but he wasn't doing much of anything with he mount. Now onto the question at hand. With his recent loss even Scott Coker has been saying he doesn't know if Lashley will compete again. The guy is older, and obviously needs to work on a lot if he wants to compete with even the lower end of the Strikeforce heavyweights.

I think that Strikeforce will keep Lashley around for a few more fights. I don't know what his contract says, but I can imagine he will be fighting Batista in his next fight. I don't think Strikeforce will offer him a new contract. He is to old, and way to inexperienced to be paying a lot of money. So what's your guys opinions on him and his future?

 

[Dressler]

Well I think a Lashley vs Bautista fight is certainly a lot more plausible now more then ever. If Lashley had won, I don't think the fight would've happened, but now, I'd say its a solid 95% chance of happening. However, I don't think this is the end of the road for Lashley, one fight in a young career doesn't mean its over, even if you're 34 to begin with.

I still think Strikeforce will keep Lashley around for 2-3 more fights, and if he can win those then I expect him to keep going in Strikeforce. I don't think the UFC will ever take him, but if he can put together another string of wins I don't see why Strikeforce would kick him out.

But expect it next, Lashley vs Bautista, then go from there.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Great thread, Fizzy.

I think Strikeforce would want to keep him around, mainly due to the fact that he's still a name. Strikeforce has very little name power as far as fighters on their roster go. And I think with Coker saying that Lashley might not fight again, he's trying to build interest around him for his next big fight. And you know that next fight will probably wind up being Batista.

Lashley better learn how to not gas out, because his career options are VERY limited. He burned his bridges with the WWE and TNA. He's not going back to wrestling, and MMA is all he has at this point. He's not a good fighter, that's for damn sure. He's beaten some bigger named cans like Bob Sapp and Wes Sims. He struggled against Jason Guida, who is like 17-21 or something like that.

All he has is MMA. If Coker truly believes Lashley might stop fighting, Lashley better convince him otherwise.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Lashley showed us a few things last night other than being one dimensional,

First is that he has some nice takedowns but once he gets his opponent to the ground he draws a blank on what to do next. Instead of using some GnP he just liked to lay on top of Griggs. To be fair Griggs was making it a little difficult for Lashley to work some GnP but there were some openings for him. Yes he did get the mount on Griggs and finally started doing punches but that was way after he had numerous other chances to do some work on the ground.

Second is he has no confidence in his striking, he was fighting a guy 30 pounds lighter than him and didn't even want to stand in bang with him. Lashley was even talking about standing and striking, but didn't attempt to at all.

Third his conditioning needs some work. That is where he really lost the fight. He made it out of the round but couldn't get up after the bell. He seemed a little winded after the first round as well. But if he had a little better conditioning he would've been able to come into the 3rd round and continue the fight. Whether or not how long he would've been able to continue in the round is something else, but at least he would've been able to get there instead of not making it.

Now for his future, I don't think he will be able to fight for the Strikeforce Heavyweight title like he wants to. Their upper tier guys would destroy him. He really needs to work on a lot of things I mentioned before he is a threat to any of those guys. I think they will keep him for a few more fights. Its his first professional loss, you got to give him a chance to rebound from it. I say let him take on Batista or Herschel Walker if he can get buy one or both of them, then give him another challenge maybe against Cormeir, or even Arlovski. If he loses the the bigger challenge let him go.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

The thing about Lashley is that he has great wrestling. He just doesn't have great MMA wrestling. There's a difference. Also, Lashley showed us that he doesn't have power behind his punches. I don't know if that's something he can improve on at this point in his career. He's going to have to figure out other ways to finish people. Maybe a new strength and conditioning coach.

Let's be fair, though. That fucking stand-up was bullshit. You should NEVER stand up a fighter when he has full mount. I understand they were checking the cut, but you RESTART the position Schorle, you fucking idiot.

 

[Captain Jive]

I dont think he should be counted out after losing just one fight. 99% of MMA fighters dont have undefeated streaks. He has a lot to improve on and it will take time, but I think he will be successful. Now if he loses to Batista, then thats another story, but for now, I just think its too soon to say hes over.

 

[FattysGoneWild]

He loses 1 fight and hes damned. Lesnar lost his first fight on his debut. Critics said the same thing and look at him now. Lashley might be the same way.

 

[INDYjon22]

Lesnar and Lashley are a little bit different. Lesnar had success in the NCAA whereas Lashley was successful in the NAIA, I think I got that right. There is a huge difference in the caliber of opponents they wrestled in high school and there is a huge difference in the caliber of fighters they are fighting now. Lashley started with a can, Lesnar started his UFC career with a former Heavyweight champion. Big difference.

On to point, I think people are being a little hard on Lashley. Everybody loses at some point. Fedor losing proves that point. However, if he lets this one loss affect him and his decision to continue fighting then I have to question how much heart he actually has. I would lose a ton of respect for him if he takes his bag and goes home. I think he could still have a decent career, not a championship career but one that would see him get some alright fights and some alright victories. But, he has to decide what he wants to do first.

 

[jmt225]

I think if Lashley doesn't come back to Strikeforce, it'll be HIS choice, not the company's.

You never know, after last night Bobby will probably never want to fight again; it's possible when you hear the damage he suffered. You know he must be feeling that he never wants to experience anything like what he did last night ever again.

Then again, he could use that as inspiration and come back better than ever, who knows?

The only thing for sure is that Bobby Lashley has a TON of potential. If he can work on his pacing and submissions... he'll be a huge threat in the Heavyweight Division. Seriously, his takedowns last night were fantastic, and he looked great at times on the ground, too, easily passing Griggs' guard and securing the full mount. Now only if he can learn what to do when getting side control or full mount, and how not to suspend so much energy trying to get those positions, he'll be fucking great. No doubt about it.

But for now, it's up to Lashley whether or not his MMA career goes anywhere.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

Lesnar and Lashley are a little bit different. Lesnar had success in the NCAA whereas Lashley was successful in the NAIA, I think I got that right. There is a huge difference in the caliber of opponents they wrestled in high school and there is a huge difference in the caliber of fighters they are fighting now. Lashley started with a can, Lesnar started his UFC career with a former Heavyweight champion. Big difference.

On to point, I think people are being a little hard on Lashley. Everybody loses at some point. Fedor losing proves that point. However, if he lets this one loss affect him and his decision to continue fighting then I have to question how much heart he actually has. I would lose a ton of respect for him if he takes his bag and goes home. I think he could still have a decent career, not a championship career but one that would see him get some alright fights and some alright victories. But, he has to decide what he wants to do first.

Correct on the first part of this, Indy.

Also, let me clarify. I was not trashing Lashley or calling him finished. I simply said that Lashley showed that he's lacking power behind his shots and needs to work on his MMA wrestling. I can't see how that's saying he's washed up or done.

Lashley got that nasty cut because he ate an uppercut trying for a double. Sure, this could happen to any wrestler shooting for a take-down, but those wrestlers with GOOD MMA wrestling don't let it happen to THEM.

Also, Lashley doesn't have power behind his shots. If you think he does then you need to rewatch all of his fights. Saying that someone could benefit from a strength coach isn't calling them washed up, it's pointing out a flaw in their game and hoping that they address it.

I think some people need to watch the hyperbolic statements when it comes to someone analyzing a fighter's performance. Being critical of a performance does not mean that people believe they are "done" or "washed out," rather, it means that we saw something in their game and care enough to want them to succeed that we'd waste our time mentioning it. I don't know about you, but when Goulet loses, I don't pick apart his fights and look for things he could improve on. Why? I couldn't give a fuck if he ever fights again.

 

[M. Winters]

Lashley looked average at best. Every time he got into side control he looked completely lost and like he didn't know how to go about getting into mount or advancing his position at all, though if I recall correctly he got into mount once and had some decent GnP. I don't think there's much for him in MMA, at least at this point in his career. Guys like Emelianenko, Overeem and even Rogers would wreck this guy. He has no stand up skill whatsoever, it would be good to throw Batista his way cause that's one guy he could probably beat.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

I think Lashley is still improving, and has a ton of potential. Any smart fan noticed in his first fights that he was one dimensional, this is just the first time anyone has been able to properly take advantage of his weaknesess. His main issue is finishing fights, last night he repeadetly took down his opponent, got into half guard, side control, and full mount (which shouldn't have been stood up, by the way) but he couldn't finish. His wrestling is top notch, when his stand up and jiu-jitsu improves, and he can start to get those submissions, knockouts, then I think he can make quite an impact.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

I think Lashley is still improving, and has a ton of potential. Any smart fan noticed in his first fights that he was one dimensional, this is just the first time anyone has been able to properly take advantage of his weaknesess. His main issue is finishing fights, last night he repeadetly took down his opponent, got into half guard, side control, and full mount (which shouldn't have been stood up, by the way) but he couldn't finish. His wrestling is top notch, when his stand up and jiu-jitsu improves, and he can start to get those submissions, knockouts, then I think he can make quite an impact.

This is exactly what I have been saying. Anytime you're able to gain full mount, as a dominant wrestler, like Lashley is, against a relative can like Griggs, and not finish, it shows a hole in your game.

BS stand-up aside, if Lashley had been landing seriously devastating shots, the ref wouldn't have even been thinking about checking his cut, he'd be more concerned with Griggs' safety.

Sure, Griggs fought in the IFL, but he's a fucking paramedic, dude, who's only been doing this for just under 5 years. He's not excellent in anything. Actually, against IFL competition, which I would say is B league compared to leagues like TPF, he went 1-1. Other than that he's fought cans.

Lashley has some clear work to do. The good thing is that he's a good enough athlete that he can do it.

 

[The Encore]

I would love to see Lashley make a comeback against whoever he faces and win. He had a very good start to MMA and like a wise person once said "You can't win them all". Sooner or later everyone is bound to lose a match or two. I wish him the best in the future, as for a Lashley vs Batista fued... That would be an interesting fight to see. My money would be on Lashley. Because we have not seen Dave in the ring yet.

 

[CyDeez]

To me it is sort of amusing what happened to Lashley.

Just a few weeks ago he was saying in a round about way that Batista is basically beneath him and fighting him would do nothing for his career. But he said he would fight him, for the fans, and then move back to business at hand. He said he thought he was line for a title shot in 2011.

My what a difference 1 fight makes...

Now I think if he does fight again, he would be chomping at the bit to fight Batista. This way, he actually gets to fight someone more green than him in MMA.

All the talk over the last few years, about Lashley facing and/or beating Lesnar. What a freaking joke!

Lashley doesn't even qualify to clean Lesnar's mouthpiece between rounds.

Lashley has ALWAYS been a wanna-be, lack luster, cheap copy of Lesnar his whole career. That goes for now in MMA and also his days in Pro Wrestling. I am still surprised they didn't have Lashley do the F-5!

 

[Reddannihilation]

Lashley certainly gassed himself in the fight and I do think losing to Griggs is a major setback. However, something I've not seen brought up in this thread is the aftermath, specifically Lashley being placed on 4 IV drips in the hospital to treat his severe dehydration, now correct me if I'm wrong but a that's not a particularly common event in MMA. Knowing what I know about human biology, I think it'd be foolish not to put some level of blame on Lashley's physical condition, as a dehydrated person is going to run out of energy and potentially overheat when engaging in athletic competition.

As far as Lashley's future is concerned, sure he can bounce back. Work on his striking, beat a few more lower-ranked contenders and try to actually go for the win when it's presented. But this situation with his dehydration concerns me, there's no way you end up in the state he was in without knowing you're feeling bad going in. Whether it was a personal error or a serious medical issue is something I'm keen to find out. I see Lashley taking the freakshow fight with Batista, easy pay-day.

 

[Rayne]

Well, what we learned about Bobby Lashley is that if you hit him square, you break his spirit. A lot of wrestlers who never get far in MMA have the exact same problem; wrestlers are used to working tired, but not often with their brains scrambled.

Watch that fight again. Griggs catches him clean and Lashley's offense stops. Instead of pushing the fight, he started responding to what Griggs was doing, defending attacks and trying to preserve the win. Sometimes that works. This time it didn't.

His future consists of the easy money fight with Batista, followed by a series of victories against unheralded opponents for an easy payday. I don't see him taking on a serious challenge until 2012; Griggs didn't just break his spirit in the fight, but for the whole fighting game.