James Guttman sent this in:
BOBBY LASHLEY DISCUSSES A POSSIBLE MMA FIGHT WITH DAVE BATISTA, BATISTA’S HEFTY ASKING PRICE, MEMORIES OF EKI “UMAGA” FATU, AND MORE
By WorldWrestlingInsanity.om
In honor of World Wrestling Insanity’s five year anniversary, James Guttman welcomed Bobby Lashley back to ClubWWI.com for his second shoot interview with the site. The first time Bobby joined James was in January of 2009, just a few months before he began his successful MMA run. Now, Lashley returns to discuss both pro wrestling and mixed martial arts in an uncut shoot interview that covers topics ranging from advice from the stunning Mike Cook win to Vince McMahon to his first MMA loss. A full list of topics can be found at: http://www.worldwrestlinginsanity.com/am2/publish/newsnotes/ClubWWI_Bobby_Lashley_Returns.shtml
One topic that both MMA and pro wrestling fans have been talking about is the prospect of a bout between Bobby and former fellow WWE star Dave Batista. Batista has stated that he wants to enter the fight scene now that he is no longer an active pro wrestler with Bobby Lashley named as his possible opponent. How does Bobby feel about the idea? Guttman asks and Lashley explains to ClubWWI.com members:
“I have to be honest. At first, I wouldn’t even think that he would consider it. Then again, with fighting, you never know who’s going to come over and do it. So when I heard Batista was training, I was like more power to him. Because a lot of these guys come in here and they have no experience either. But they take two jiu-jitsu classes, dye their hair blonde, and they’re automatically stepping into the fight industry.”
Lashley mentions the training that Dave has been doing in preparation for a debut and his respect for his decision. He also makes it clear that friendship or not, if it were to happen, it would be a fight.
“I’m completely open to fighting him. Friends or not, when you get in that cage and start throwing punches, the friendship goes out the window for a minute. Because I like Dave, but if we were to have a fight, we would have to close that cage door, forget about the friendship, and try to beat each other up. Then afterwards, we can shake hands and walk away.”
As the ClubWWI.com interview continues, James points out that the fight itself looks less and less likely due, in part, to Batista’s reported asking price of $500,000. He asks Lashley about this request and whether it’s a sign that Dave is thinking it might be a one shot deal given his age. Bobby responds:
“Yeah. I think it’s a measuring gage for him. Go out there and instead of taking these small fights and working his way up, figuring ‘I’ll go out there and do the bigger fights, the more important fights, the fight the fans want to see. And of course, if I’m fighting the fight the fans want to see, I’m going to want a little more money than if I’m fighting Joe Schmo. Why not go out there and do that fight? See how I feel and if I feel healthy, if I feel strong, then I can continue on with my career. But if I go out and things don’t go the way I wanted, at least I have that big fight. I made a good amount of money and moved on.’ I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
James Guttman’s discussion with The Dominator isn’t limited to MMA. Bobby’s extensive wrestling career has seen him in both WWE and TNA, both of which he talks about including differences between the two companies and working alongside his wife on TV among other topics. Unquestionably, though, the biggest moment of Lashley’s sports entertainment career was his main event at WrestleMania 23. With Donald Trump in his corner, Bobby took on Vince McMahon’s monster Umaga. Since his last appearance on ClubWWI.com, Eki “Umaga” Fatu tragically passed away. JG brings up Lashley’s history with Eki and Bobby shares his thoughts:
“Man, you know. When he passed, when I heard he passed, it was a numbing feeling, man. There were a lot of guys who passed from when I was with WWE. One is enough but there were several and when I found out it happened again…It was hard. It was hard. It was very hurtful. That guy, I’ll tell you, was an incredible, incredible, incredible guy. Always in a good mood. Always had positive things to say. Always joking around. He was just like that big gentle giant, but at the same time, he was a big tough dude. We had so many memories of traveling around and just battling each other. Mexico. The whole feud. There are so many things I remember about that guy. Man, it’s hard because when I think about him, it makes me sad that he’s not here anymore. But by the same token, anytime I hear his name, it puts a smile on my face because of the person he was.”
Bobby’s two ClubWWI.com interviews equal over an hour and, alongside shoot interview with over 250 of wrestling’s biggest names ranging from Jesse Ventura to Jerry Lawler to Dan Severn, can be heard the minute you log in.