Bobby Lashley is the WWE Champion, set to take the cage at this weekend's Hell in a Cell PPV against Drew McIntyre. But the former MMA star is open to continuing fighting in the MMA cage as well.
Lashley hasn't competed in MMA in nearly five years, but said that he's actually had some talks of late. However, he'd need to have more talks with WWE in order to get it cleared, since he's still under contract
"I would fight again. I have that hunger," Lashley told Fightful. "My boxing coach hit me up this morning and we'll be boxing here in a little bit. I did some strength and conditioning and I'm in great shape. It's one of those things where, I don't have to fight, but that competitive edge and will I've had my entire life. One thing I will be doing is competing in jiu-jitsu tournaments going forward. That's not as stressful on the body. I've always wanted to do a bare-knuckle fight and I've talked to the bare-knuckles [BKFC] owner about possibly doing a fight and maybe I have to bring that by Vince (McMahon) before doing it. I stay read so I can possibly do one of them. If I do MMA, it would have to be under Bellator because I'm still contracted by Bellator. Bare-Knuckles, I don't know if I'd be able to do it based on my Bellator contract, but we have talked about it. Jiu-jitsu, I'll definitely do, even while wrestling."
Lashley went from NAIA collegiate wrestling to pro wrestling, over to MMA and back. More than just dipping his toes in, he's been a national champion in the former, became world champion in pro wrestling, and had 17 MMA fights. We asked him if being in pro wrestling helped satisfy his competitive urges.
"If you came from a wrestling background, you can't just stop cold turkey. If you've boxed forever, you can't stop cold turkey. I've boxed for a long time and still teaching boxing. You'll see a boxer who has been away from the ring and they're still [shadow boxing] in the middle of the grocery store. You have to feed those urges. MVP is a world champion in jiu-jitsu. He has a boo-boo that he's cleaning up, but once he's done, maybe he and I will be rolling a bit more. Riddle has a gi and rolls as well. There are still guys that go out there and train. I get the fix a little, but fighting is fighting. It's a whole different element. It's signing the contract, having the nerves, walking in the cage, the door closing behind you, feeling the mat under your feet, hitting someone for the first time, taking a hit for the first time. A lot of things that you don't normally get from anything else," he said.
Bobby Lashley will be in action on Sunday, June 20, where he defends the WWE Title in Hell in a Cell against Drew McIntyre. You can see the show on Peacock at 8 PM EST. Lashley will also be at this year's WWE Summerslam, August 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets go on sale June 18.