Bobby Lashley: To Be, or Not To Be (an MMA fighter). That is the question.

By TLOS listener, Barry Pape.

So I guess that he isn’t the second coming of Brock Lesnar after all.

Bobby Lashley lost in embarrassing fashion at the Strikeforce:Houston event on August 21, being stopped by Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs in the second round. Lashley was gassed; Lashley was dehydrated, so much so that he had to spend Saturday night in a Houston area hospital. After the fight, Lashley’s boss, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker questioned Lashley’s commitment to the sport.

Bobby Lashley had amassed an impressive record on paper, being undefeated going into his fight against Griggs. His record, however, was deceiving. Sure, he was undefeated, but who had he fought really? Up until the August 21 bout, Lashley’s most credible opponent had been Jason Guida, the brother of UFC star Chad Guida, who has a mighty record of 18-23, and is a Light Heavyweight fighter that really should be fighting at Middleweight. Guida took that fight on relatively short notice, didn’t train very hard for the fight, and still went the distance against Bobby Lashley in the former pro wrestling star’s second career bout. Other than Guida, Lashley has fought certifiable cans, fighters like Wes Sims and Bob Sapp, and just lost to a part time fighter in Chad Griggs.

Yes, Lashley dominated the fight, repeatedly taking Griggs down and even getting mount, but he was not able to finish the fight. Lashley, despite being in dominant positions, did not seem to have the punching power necessary to cause real damage to Griggs, and once Lashley took a knee to the gut in the second round, his health bar went straight to zero and he was not able to continue. These things are not good things, but not all is completely lost.

So what should Lashley do? He really only has one choice, and that is to fight some more credible opponents.

If I was advising Bobby Lashley, I would give him this advice. First, move camps. Lashley trains at American Top Team, a great school without a doubt, but not near where he lives in Colorado. Lashley has been a member of American Top Team for his just over two years in the sport, but apparently he has not taken any of the instruction from ATT to heart. A change might be just what is necessary. Strangely enough, there is a really good trainer less than 300 miles away from him, a man by the name of Greg Jackson. Jackson could design a training program that would improve the things he is weak in, striking and ground defense, while enhancing the thing that he is naturally strong in, his wrestling. Plus, the altitude training will improve Lashley’s cardio, the thing that did him in during the Griggs fight.

The second thing I would advise Lashley to do is to take fights against credible opponents. Lashley has turned down fights in his career against Fedor Emelianenko and Shane Del Rosario on two occasions. By taking fights against fighters with those skill sets, his trainers would have to focus his training on aspects of his game that he has never developed like striking and takedown defense. Up to this point, against the opponents he has fought, Lashley has obviously shirked on his training, deciding to rely on his natural wrestling gifts to weather a temporary storm until he is able to get the takedown and stall the fight. By fighting better, more credible opponents, Lashley will lose with his current skill set.

This is why Scott Coker made his statements after the event in Houston, statements in which Lashley should take not as criticism but as a challenge to his ability as a fighter. If Lashley is truly serious about continuing his career in MMA, he will take steps to improve and become a more complete fighter. His only other option is to become the next Bob Sapp.