SAN JOSE, Calif. – Former pro wrestler David Bautista is still very much interested in fighting in mixed martial arts.
The heavyweight took in this past Saturday's "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II" event in support of MMA mentor Nick Diaz and said that talks with the San Jose, Calif.-based promotion are ongoing, though a deal is "not even close to done."
If all goes well, however, Bautista hopes to be in the Strikeforce cage by March 2011.
"I think I can be something really positive for the MMA world," Bautista told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Bautista in May left the industry-leading pro-wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment and shifted his focus from the WWE to acting and a crossover into MMA. In June, he met with Strikeforce executives about a possible contract and began training with Diaz and trainer Cesar Gracie. He's made regular trips to their Northern California gym in the past five months.
As for fighting in a cage for real, the entertainer said he needs between eight and 10 weeks to prepare for a fight and is ready to begin training full-time in January 2011 after he fulfills his obligations to a pair of movie projects.
Other than that, he said, it's about reaching an agreement with Strikeforce on money and the number of fights on his contract.
"My thing is I want to do a multi-fight deal," he said. "I want to have a guarantee of at least three fights. I want a tune-up fight, I want a big fight, and I want a pay-per-view fight."
That's an ambitious plan for someone with no professional MMA experience, but Bautista said he has practical reasons for jumping into the deep end of the pool.
"I've always been honest with myself," he said. "I'm not getting any younger, so three fights is all I can commit to. I don't know how I'm going to feel after those three fights. If I'm 42 and I've had three fights, my window of opportunity is not very large."
Strikeforce officials were not available for comment on a potential deal with Bautista. However, in late August, the promotion's CEO, Scott Coker, told MMAjunkie.com the two sides were in active discussions.
Coker previously has stated he'd like Bautista's first fight to be against fellow former pro wrestler and current Strikeforce heavyweight Bobby Lashley. But that's the second matchup on Bautista's list.
"I'd have an easier fight where I could get comfortable in the cage, and then I'd like to go into a big fight with Bobby, and then I'd like to have a large pay-per-view fight," he said.
Still, the newcomer is confident he could beat Lashley, who recently suffered his first professional loss when he was stopped by Chad Griggs at "Strikeforce: Houston."
Bautista said he and Lashley wrestled against one another in several WWE events, though they were always interrupted because they were both designated as "good guys" that could not lose.
"I think we made magic in the ring together," Bautista. "We're very similar athletes. I think that I'll be a much better standup fighter, and I think with Cesar's guidance, I'd dominate him on the ground. I think I'll be a much more well-rounded fighter than Bobby."
But for those who see a sideshow in the making, Bautista said his desire to fight is no act.
"I'm not going to come into the ring and start yelling and screaming and attacking guys," Bautista said. "I'm going to bring some skill, but also it's going to be with a lot of speed and agility and power behind it.
"I've got all the tools. I'm 41 years old now, but I can go and train for one or two hours nonstop, and I don't have a problem. The reason I was successful in wrestling is because I stayed in shape nonstop. I have the durability. I just have to put it all together and get the skill.
"I think I'll be an exciting fighter. I'm either going to win big or lose big."
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Originally Posted by IWS Zak
