Batista MMA career in limbo after Strikeforce buy-out

 

Batista MMA career in limbo after Strikeforce buy-out

27 May, 2011

Dave Bautista, better known as fromer WWE superstar “Batista”, has had to shelve plans to enter the cage and embark on an MMA career.

Batista, a six-time world champion and firm fan favourite in the WWE, had hoped to emulate Brock Lesnar and make a successful switch from the pro wrestling ranks to MMA.

Since leaving WWE a year ago, Batista has been publicly courted by Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. Negotiations were slow and complex.

But that didn’t stop Batista from engaging in a public slanging match with another former pro wrestler, Bobby Lashley, who has been building his own combat career (6-1) since leaving Vince McMahon’s company in 2008.

The two were building up heat ahead of a potential fight that would have surely generated big numbers for Strikeforce.

A clash between Batista and Lashley, both Wrestlemania headliners, would have generated huge interest from the crossover fanbases of pro wrestling and MMA.

However, since the UFC’s shock purchase of Strikeforce, Batista has admitted that any agreement is “dead”. The last few weeks have bought no further news and it seems that his fighting career is genuinely over before it started.

Unlike Lesnar, who had top drawer genuine wrestling credentials from his college days, Batista would have had to start from scratch in building an MMA skill base. At 42 years old, it would have been a mammoth task to expect him to make an impact.

However, like many MMA fans, I’m genuinely disappointed that he won’t get the chance to even try.

Ralph Welch

info@ultimatefightclub.co.uk