Bobby Lashley's Next Fight Off Again

[No More Sorrow]

Once again, Bobby Lashley is without an opponent for Shark Fights 21. His scheduled opponent Dave Huckaba had to withdraw from the event for undisclosed reasons. Shark Fights 21 will take place on November 11th at Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, Texas. It will air on FUEL TV on December 23

MMANews.com

 

[PHX]

Guy just can't seem to catch a break when it comes to MMA as of late. Don't think he'll be doing it much longer anyways and probably will return to wrestling at some point again.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Yeah I assume he'll go back to wrestling sooner rather than later. MMA just doesn't seem to work for him. If he does return to wrestling anytime soon i kinda hope he stays away from TNA.

 

[PHX]

All depends on how his relationship with WWE is as when he left he wasn't exactly on good terms with them because of letting his wife go. He seems passable in MMA but I don't ever seen him becoming close to a top name in MMA.

 

[No More Sorrow]

I just think if he went back to TNA they'd do something like Bobby Lashley VS Hulk Hogan or something along those lines.

 

[Troy]

I don't see him lasting much longer in MMA either. He can't be making much money with these smaller companies and he rarely fights. I definitely see him returning to wrestling for TNA by the end of next year.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Let's try this again. Again.

Mark Martinez (4-1) has stepped up to headline Shark Fights 21 opposite Bobby Lashley (6-1) in a bout for the promotion's heavyweight title.

Shark Fights CEO Bud Brutsman today confirmed the news to MMAJunkie.com, saying, "As a Shark Fights veteran, we're happy that Mark is getting a shot at the title."

Shark Fights 21 takes place Nov. 11 at Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, Texas. The event airs via delay on FUEL TV on Dec. 23.

Martinez is the fourth proposed opponent for Lashley, who fights for the first time in eight months. Now enjoying a four-fight win streak, he most recently appeared at a King of the Cage event in April, where he knocked out Josh Luna.

Lashley was originally was scheduled to meet Darrill Schoonover at the Nov. 11 event before a shoulder injury sidelined the veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter 10."

Then rumors had Lashley paired with UFC vet Tim Hague, but Shark Fights officials quickly denied the fight had ever been booked. After that came replacement Dave Huckaba, though he was forced off the card when the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation denied him a license due to an issue with his medicals, according to trainer Justin Castrillo.

Now with an opponent, the Martinez fight is the first obligation of a three-fight deal Lashley signed with Shark Fights in September.

After transitioning from pro wrestling to MMA, Lashley went undefeated in his first five fights before Chad Griggs outworked him to earn a TKO victory at "Strikeforce: Houston."

Lashley, who owns victories over the likes of Bob Sapp and Wes Sims, was a two-time NAIA national wrestling champion who also wrestled for the U.S. Army. That ultimately led to a WWE contract in 2004.

 

[No More Sorrow]

and a few hours later......

Sherdog.com has reported that former professional wrestler Bobby Lashley's originally scheduled opponent for this Friday night's
Shark Fights 21 event, Mark Martinez, has been forced out of their fight for expired blood work.


Despite Martinez's last-minute withdrawal, Lashley will be keeping his spot on the fight card, taking on Minnesota-based fighter Karl Knothe. Lashley has been linked to several different opponents throughout the materialization of his Shark Fights debut, but Knothe's manager, Gavin Rydell, told Sherdog that his client won't be bailing on this fight, as he's looked forward to fighting Lashley for some time.

"Karl's been wanting to fight Bobby Lashley for a while," said Rydell. "He's had some offers before to fight Bobby, but it always fell apart. Karl is excited that not only does he get to fight Bobby Lashley, but it's also for the Shark Fights heavyweight title."
A veteran of close to thirty fights, Knothe is currently riding a twelve-fight winning streak, his last loss coming via submission back in 2007. The Original Son of Punishment sports an overall record of 20-6, with eleven wins coming via submission and seven by either KO or TKO.
After going undefeated in five fights, professional wrestler Bobby Lashley met defeat for the first time at the hands of Chad Griggs, losing in the second round via TKO. The 35-year-old has since rebounded, taking out John Ott by decision this past March.

 

[Troy]

The number of changes to this fight are ridiculous. There are still a couple of days before the fight so I am sure we will see another change or two. Must be difficult for Lashley since he can't really prepare for a specific opponent.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Bobby Lashley was victorious at Shark Fights 21 with a first-round submission on Karl Knothe in the main event, and Lashley told MMAJunkie.com about working with Strikeforce heavyweight Josh Barnett and how he dealt with the various opponents backing out on him. Here are some highlights of their conversation…

Barnett on working with Lashley: “He’s a lot more efficient in the ring versus his earlier fights with a lot of wasted energy and effort. His strikes were conservative but hit the mark. His takedowns are always on point. He listens incredibly well, and he showed a lot of coach-ability. He went out there and executed exactly what we trained to do.”

Lashley on scoring the submission victory: “It was exactly what we working on, from the transition to getting into it. Step by step we went over that same series, like, maybe hundreds of times.”

Lashley on dealing with opponents constantly backing out: “I had to go through a couple of mental drains there to get back into training and figuring everything out. It’s time to keep training and keep going. When you go through a fight, you can have a game plan, and the game plan switches up while you’re in there. Same thing when people are pulling out because they get hurt. I just had to shake it off.

 

[Troy]

Congratulations on the title I guess. The big test is if he can win enough fights in impressive fashion to get a UFC contract or a Bellator contract.

 

[Deuce]

Personally, I think he should go back to wrestling... he was much more entertaining there and was used much more. I am okay with watching Bobby Lashley in MMA but he could've been a 5 time WWE champion in WWE or a 3 time TNA world heavywight champ by now.

 

[Troy]

He definitely made the wrong choice in leaving and it was all because of a woman and they aren't even together anymore! WWE had pushed him like a star before he left and he definitely would have been a multi time champion by now.