Bobby Lashley reveals why he turned down a UFC contract from Dana White
Bobby Lashley has an impressive MMA record. at 15-2, his career in Mixed Martial Arts spanned eight years and he holds victories in top-tier promotions such as Strikeforce (later bought by the UFC) and Bellator. In Bellator, he holds an impressive 5-0 record.
It became clear that the potential for an MMA career was there, but it didn't play out as many would have hoped. With that said, Lashley is currently in a great position in WWE, as he is one of the two world champions of the promotion.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Bobby Lashley revealed that despite his success in MMA, he didn't have a full-fledged training camp. He admitted to being jealous of his recent rival Brock Lesnar for building a gym next to his house and flying people in to train him.
While he did have a relationship with American Top Team and Dan Lambert, Lashley admitted that he originally came into MMA with the intention of fighting once:
"I think because when I came into it, I came into it with the wrong mind frame,” Lashley said. “When I originally came into fighting, I came into it saying I want to do one fight. Then I won one fight, then another fight, and then another fight, and then all these things started getting thrown at me."
Bobby Lashley said that while he had training partners like Josh Barnett, he had to fly in and out to see his children and he was a single father at the time.
The WWE Champion also stated that when any fighter is moving up in levels in their MMA career, they need a definitive plan and a fixed training camp. He said that putting it all together was a challenge:
“I was like, if I want to do this thing full time, get in the UFC and make a run or stay with Bellator and run for that title, I’ve got to put it all together and it was challenging. I didn’t find a way that I could do it and I didn’t want to take any time away from my kids, so I was kind of in an awkward situation,” added Lashley. (H/T MMAFighting)
Due to his connection with Dan Lambert and ATT, Lashley was able to get a contract offer from the UFC. President Dana White told Lambert that he could offer The All Mighty the opportunity to get his foot in the door, but said that only a small contract would be given at first.
This presented another challenge as Bobby Lashley would need to exclusively focus on MMA and essentially put a halt to his pro wrestling career, as the UFC wouldn't allow him to work part-time at another wrestling promotion.
Ultimately, the cons seemed to outweigh the pros, and the contract with Bellator that allowed him to wrestle also opened the door for his WWE return.
Bobby Lashley's second WWE title reign is in great jeopardy
BREAKING NEWS: @fightbobby will defend the #WWETitle in an Elimination Chamber Match at #WWEChamber in Jeddah on Saturday, Feb. 19.
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Bobby Lashley will be defending the WWE Championship against five other men inside the Elimination Chamber. One of these men happens to be Brock Lesnar, who he dethroned at the Royal Rumble to kickstart his second WWE title reign.
While The All Mighty enjoyed a lengthy seven-month run with the title in 2021, the same may not be the case this year, and his reign could be restricted to a little over two weeks.
It will be interesting to see if he can retain inside the Chamber. Some forget that Lashley won the ECW Title inside the Elimination Chamber in the forgettable December to Dismember event in 2006.