The card for the upcoming Strikeforce event in Nashville has been filled. Conspicuous in his absence from the roster is WWE Superstar turned fighter Bobby Lashley, who was originally planned for the promotion’s return to CBS.
Lashley, who trains out of his own American Top Team gym in Colorado, underwent nasal surgery that pushed back his training camp, and according to Strikeforce president Scott Coker, they decided it was best to let him recover and fight another day.
“We had hoped he was going to be on the card in the very beginning, and as we were getting closer to the fight, he had to have a surgery procedure, and I just don’t think the timing was right,” said Coker
Working with ATT in Florida for past fights, Lashley was simply not able to put a full camp together around his surgery. Coker believes that if timing works out, Lashley will end up on either of two events planned for May and June.
“We both agreed maybe it would be best for everybody, and us waiting until the next one or the one after and see how it goes,” said Coker. “Cause he didn’t have a chance to go back to ATT and go train and do it properly because of his surgery procedure, so when I found out it was affecting his training we both felt maybe it was the best thing to pass.”
The expectations have been very high for Lashley since entering MMA competition, maybe even too high. While he does share a similar background in both collegiate wrestling and professional wrestling with UFC champion Brock Lesnar, it’s a different development with Lashley.
Coker is happy the fans want to see him compete, but it’s okay for him to take it slow and easy for his first few fights before jumping into the deep end of the heavyweight pool.
“Here’s the thing about Bobby Lashley… here’s this amazing physical specimen that has a wrestling background, learning his stand-up, but a lot of people have so many high expectations of Bobby, which I think he can achieve,” said Coker. “That’s why we signed him and we believe in Bobby, but he’s still working his way up the ladder so to speak.”
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
Tags: American Top Team, Bobby, CBS, Coker, Lashley, Scott, Strikeforce, WWE