You look at a hulking pro wrestler like Bobby Lashley, and the tendency is to think you know the type. Of course, Lashley (11-2) isn?t just a pro wrestling entertainer ? he?s also an MMA fighter with a long and healthy career.
Hearing from Lashley the day before his Bellator bout tonight in Kansas against undefeated Karl Etherington (9-0), the former WWE star says there?s quite a bit fans don?t know about him. A sampling:
Lashley is a single dad.
?I don?t have the time to rest between workouts like many fighters do, because I?ve got to take my kids to the park, or the circuit, or the doctor. It?s great, but it takes a lot of my time,? he says.
Lashley is a vegetarian. Whoah.
Yeah, he?s got muscles, but he isn?t nearly as big as you may have thought.
?They announce me in pro wrestling at over 300 pounds and I just shake my head. People ask me, ?how do you go from 300 pounds down to heavyweight to fight in MMA?? I?m like, ?dude, I?m no where near 300 pounds.?
The fighter sticks around 240 pounds, he says. And, despite the bad rep big muscles often have in functional sports like MMA, the cerebral fighter says he trains the right way, for both pro wrestling performance, and competition.
?I just look really big because I?m pretty lean, and I have a lot of definition in my body,? he explains.
?But that?s because I know exactly what I?m doing. I eat very specifically, and train very specifically, so that I can have endurance and size.?
Here?s another point of clarification for Lashley ? he loves MMA. Like, really.
Whenever a celebrity professional wrestler gives MMA a shot, there?s almost always just as much skepticism about their commitment, as there is excitement. Lashley was a stand-out amateur wrestler before getting into the sports entertainment game, however, and says he loves the return to hard training that MMA has given him.
And Lashley has proven to not be a flash in the pan, and shown a willingness to work past set-backs in MMA. If his near six-year career, spanning many different promotions hasn?t proven that, he says that opening his own MMA gym should.
?Getting into MMA was definitely a transition period,? he admits.
?It took time to get used to it. But, I also loved it right away, because I loved the training. I love to train hard. That?s why I opened my own gym.?
Lashley appears to be involved in MMA for just that reason ? the love of it. He believes that, at 38, he?ll have more longevity in pro wrestling but he?s game for one last push as a competitor.
?I think my longevity will be more in pro wrestling,? he says.
?Would I like another 5-6 years in MMA? Sure. But that?s probably not going to be possible. That?s why I tell people that I think this might be the last run. I think I have one more run in me.?
Follow Elias on Twitter @EliasCepeda & @YahooCagewriter
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bobby-lashley--separating-fact-from-fiction-180238282.html
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