Bobby Lashley wants to fight Lesnar

Former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley made his Mixed Martial Arts debut over the weekend with an impressive first round TKO of Joshua Franklin at Mixed Fight Alliance's "There Will Be Blood" show. Now, Lashley tells the Miami Herald that he believes a fight between him and UFC Champion Brock Lesnar is inevitable. "I am a wrestler, and Brock is a wrestler. If [Lesnar] wants to match skills, we match skills. There is going to be a meeting between me and Brock. There will be." Lashley told them there is no one in the MMA who could match his wrestling skills. He also said there isn't much of a difference between the WWE and MMA locker rooms. "I like the locker room in WWE. You know, you have a bunch of professionals with a mindset of putting the best performance possible. This is the same thing." Lashley has stated that he's looking to fight 3-4 fights in the "minor leagues" before moving up to a bigger company like the UFC

Like Lesnar in 2004, Lashley stunned pro-wrestling fans last year when quitting WWE. Only months earlier, Lashley had landed the marquee spot of representing Donald Trump in the latter's "Battle of the Billionaires" feud with WWE owner Vince McMahon. Lashley pinned Eddie "Umaga" Fatu at "Wrestlemania 23," resulting in McMahon's getting his head shaved.

Lashley wouldn't give specific reasons why he left WWE, a reticence believed to have stemmed from a confidentiality agreement between the two parties. Internet reports have speculated that his departure was linked to WWE's release of real-life girlfriend Kristal Marshall in September 2007 while Lashley recovered from shoulder surgery.

Lashley did allow that backstage politics played a major role in his WWE departure.

"I'm not going to say there weren't people there who tried to make things difficult for me," said Lashley, who was rushed into a prominent WWE slot shortly after his 2005 debut. "I always worked my (tail) off. There are some guys there who won't even warm up before a match and just go out and do blah, blah, blah. I didn't have the same skills yet as some people there. But I was working at it all the time and at the gym to make my appearance as good as possible.

"Sometimes in life, you have to work around things and keep climbing. I tried, but I was fighting a losing battle."

A national amateur-wrestling champion at Missouri Valley College, Lashley said he considered an MMA career before signing with WWE. He even broached McMahon about the possibility of MMA work while still under contract. Lashley said McMahon asked for patience, as WWE was considering an MMA venture before deciding against it.

"I was watching some people I had trained with become successful in MMA," the 6-2, 250-pound Lashley said. "When I had some time off after my (shoulder) injury, I had the opportunity to roll around with some of the MMA guys. That's when I had that burning desire to become a fighter again. Even when I was wrestling (in WWE), I always had the urge to grab somebody and start throwing punches."

Lashley admits to missing pro wrestling -- his lone match since leaving WWE was in Mexico earlier this year -- and didn't discount the possibility of working for a U.S. promotion again on a sporadic basis. Lashley, though, made it clear that MMA is his top priority even though he is uncertain of his next step after facing Franklin. That's largely because the MMA promotion Lashley signed with -- the upstart American Fight League -- has shuttered operations until at least early 2009.

"If I have to do 15 small shows around the U.S. or go to Japan, I want to start setting my sights on my next opponent as soon as this (Franklin) fight is over with," Lashley said.

Lashley said he is impressed with how smoothly Lesnar's transition to MMA has gone. In just his fourth overall bout last month, Lesnar defeated MMA legend Randy Couture to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title.

"I think one thing he did is shut people up who tried to take away everything he did in his amateur career, put a WWE logo on him and say he couldn't do it," said Lashley, referring to Lesnar's college-wrestling success at the University of Minnesota. "He didn't try to fight his critics. He just kept his nose to the grindstone and earned people's respect."

Although he has never met Lesnar, Lashley dreams of the day when he may be fighting for an MMA title.

"Eventually we'll cross paths, whether it's fighting, training, talking or shaking hands," Lashley said. "We'll see which it is."

This guy looks huge

Why are wrestlers turning down big contracts to fight UFC for less money???