Bobby Lashley's Pro Fight Debut

Former ECW champion, Bobby Lashley is set to make his debut with the Mixed Fighting Alliance this coming Saturday. He debuts in the "There Will Be Blood" card at Miami's American Airlines arena facing Joshua Franklin. Franklin is also making his pro fighting debut. One man may leave undefeated with the other winless. The question is does Bobby Lashley's WWE background prepare him enough for his new career choice?

Lashley spoke to South Florida Sun-Sentinel about his days in the WWE and how it may impact his pro fighting reputation. According to the article, Lashley came to the WWE because he needed money at the time and wasn't sure "if the opportunity would present itself again". Lashley was a accomplished wrestler for 18 years prior to WWE with hopes of competing in the Olympics. Lashley suffered a bad leg injury when he was an innocent bystander in a bank robbery and that caused his amateur career to come to a screeching halt.

An excerpt from the Sun-Sentinel article:

"It wasn't only about the money in the WWE, I enjoyed the crowds," Lashley said. "I was in WrestleMania representing Donald Trump [in 2007] in front of 85,000 people [at Ford Field in Detroit]. It was crazy.

"I know what people are saying. I think I lost some of my credibility as a fighter, wrestler and competitor being in the WWE. I know I have a lot to lose."

Lashley's now been training to compete in the pro fighting environment and he will follow in the footsteps of other former wrestlers such as Dan Severn, and the recently successful Brock Lesnar. Time will tell if Lashley can mimic the success of Brock by achieving gold in MMA.

Read the Sun-Sentinel article here.