– During a recent interview with Insight with Chris Van Vliet, AEW star Bobby Lashley discussed his MMA career and never getting an opportunity to fight in the UFC. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):
Bobby Lashley on never signing with the UFC for MMA: “At the beginning, when I first started fighting, I think there were little talks with it. They said, ‘Yeah, we’ll give him an opportunity, but he needs to work his way up.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’ It was a decision I had to make. One, I could fight for some other organizations that were offering more money. I always thought, if the situation changes in WWE, I thought that was my calling and where I really deserved to be. I just needed time away because of the situation and things going on. I was like, ‘Here is an opportunity for me to keep it open and then go back.’ I didn’t want to lock in a contract with them because I would have to shut off wrestling,” he said.
On if he ever had discussions with UFC later on: “Yes, but when I did that I was with TNA and I was like, ‘I don’t want to give up pro wrestling.’ That was the biggest thing. I didn’t want to give up pro wrestling. When I talked to Bellator they were like, ‘We’ll let you pro wrestle.’ Done.”
During his MMA career, Lashley went 15-2.
