Last night in Memphis, mixed martial arts promotion (and former TNA partner) Bellator held their latest show. 162 featured none other than former WWE Superstar and Impact Wrestling World champ Bobby Lashley looking for his eighth straight MMA win.
As you can see in the above highlight clip, Lashley managed that with relative ease. After almost finishing Josh Appelt with ground-and-pound in the first round (his performance was so dominant a lot of observers thought it could have been scored 10 - 8), a quick takedown led to an easy win via rear-naked choke in the opening minute of the second.
Appelt is no world-beater, but he’s not a total pushover. He came into the bout on a three fight win streak himself.
Bellator’s Heavyweight title is currently vacant, and it’s likely Lashley will find himself in contention for it - either via a berth in a tournament or a one-on-one shot with another top contender.
After the match, Lashley shouted out Eddie Edwards, the man who beat him for TNA’s pre-determined championship.
That remains a curious decision, as - unlike a Brock Lesnar in WWE - Impact has Lashley’s services for all their shows by virtue of their taping schedule. And they were telling a story about how dominant he is, until his overconfidence created an opening for Edwards.
We’ll see if they change course (provided they’re still around) if he’s wearing a shoot belt in a few months.