Bobby Lashley recently said he wanted to fight either Fedor Emelianenko or Dave Batista as his next opponents. Fedor’s management got wind of this, and responded that this bout was not in the books at this time.

Evgeni Kogan, director of operations for M-1 Global, told Sergio Non of USA Today the following:

“There are currently no concrete conversations about Bobby being the next opponent for Fedor,” Kogan wrote, adding that Emelianenko probably will fight two or three times this year. Possible locations for the summer fight include Monaco and Russia, according to Kogan.

This does not necessarily mean the fight will not happen, but it looks like it is not going down anytime soon. Fedor just ended his three-fight losing streak at the end of 2011 with back-to-back wins over Jeff Monson in Russia and Satoshi Ishii in Japan, and looks to stay on the winning path with a few more matches this year. Lashley is the current Shark Fights heavyweight champ, and hungry for some action against some big-name competition to prove that he belongs in the sport of MMA.

Who do you think these men should fight next if they are not fighting each other?

In an interview with Fighters Only, Lashley told them that Fedor’s management is looking for his next opponent, and his name is on the list of potential matchups. “I’m going to throw everything at him that I can. Of course, my wrestling’s there, I don’t give a damn what he’s doing. I’d put my wrestling up there with almost anyone right now.”

When asked about the sore topic of fighting another former WWE superstar, Dave Batista, Lashley has not ruled out the bout. “I know a lot of people are looking at that fight and saying I shouldn’t take it, but that’s the entertainment aspect of [MMA]. If the wrestling fans want that then it’s an opportunity for me to have a fight, which will probably warrant a good amount of money… I’ll take that fight, no problem.”

The real news from this interview was that Bellator had contacted Lashley with an offer to compete in their next heavyweight grand prix, which seems like the more realistic option. “It was a contract that was just put on the table… I got the call yesterday so I don’t even know any of the details of the deal. I think Bellator is a great company and I would love to be able to fight for them.”

Fox Sports reported yesterday that “Shark Fights” had signed former WWE champion Bobby Lashley to a three-year deal. Lashley is expected to make his company debut in November against an opponent to be determined. The event will air on Fuel TV and will most likely be held in Missouri, where the former ECW champ went to college.

“It’s going to give me the opportunity to get some more fights under my belt,” Lashley said of the signing in a press release from the company.

Shark Fights CEO, Bud Brutsman said that Lashley’s star power will undoubtedly translate to higher ticket sales. “It’s going to be big for us. When you’re a little organization you need to make some noise, and Bobby is the perfect one to make some noise. There is nobody better than him right now that’s out there,” Brustman said. By signing Bobby were saying we’re willing to put our money out there to make it happen, and bring in and sign the bigger-name talent, and not just has-beens and nobodies.”

Lashley was last seen in MMA action this past March where he defeated John Ott at Shark Fights 17 in Kansas. Before that, Lashley tasted defeat for the first time against Chad Griggs at Strikeforce last August. His most recent bit of combat sports was at IGF 16 when Lashley wrestled Josh Barnett, which he ultimately lost via armbar. Maybe pro-wrestling has more to learn from MMA than we may think, eh Triple H?

Ah, puroresu. The concept of pro wrestling that looks vaguely real is lost on American pro wrestling fans, but not in Japan. In the land of the rising sun, pro wrestling is looked at in a variety of different ways, from hardcore garbage wrestling, to comedy matches, to shoot-style that emphasizes actual combat skills. Antonio Inoki’s “Inoki Genome Federation”, or IGF, is one of the latter, and features many notable MMA fighters trying their hand at worked matches (except for the ones who fought in Pride FC, they already had some experience in that).

Heavyweights Bobby Lashley and Josh Barnett met at IGF’s “Genome 16″ in Tokyo on July 10 in a tournament to crown the IGF Champion, and we finally have the video evidence to prove it. Josh is no stranger to the IGF company nor Japanese pro wrestling, and this was Lashley’s return to worked bouts since his days in TNA (and before that, WWE) in his second appearance in IGF. Check out the bout and enjoy some good ole’ pro wrasslin’ today!

This weekend was loaded with MMA like I could not believe, and it was overwhelming to say the least. We already took a look at Bellator 38 earlier with the inverted triangle choke finish, now let’s take a look at M-1 Challenge 24 and Titan FC 17. First up, M-1 made their debut on Showtime a success with a night of great fights, only one of which went to a decision. In the middleweight title fight, Magomed Sultanakhmedov beat on a very game Tyson Jeffries for two rounds to win the vacant belt. This fight showed how tough both of these fighters were, especially Jeffries who seems to be like some sort of cyborg from “The Terminator”, despite taking a beating he keeps pushing on.

Jose Figueroa became the first American M-1 champ as he beat Artiom Damkovsky for the lightweight title. Figueroa kept Damkovsky on his back and battered him with brutal ground and pound that left his Russian opponent wearing a crimson mask worthy of Ric Flair. Also of note, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 light heavyweight runner-up Vinny Magalhaes made short work of previously unbeaten Jake Doerr, punching him out at 1:47 of the first round.

Meanwhile, Titan FC 17 in Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, featured former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley against late replacement John Ott. Lashley was notably bigger than Ott, and while most would think this would be helpful to the former wrassler, Lashley did what he did best; gas after the first round and thank the heavens he was fighting a scrub. Lashley’s only weapon was his takedown, and had Ott been someone who wasn’t a natural middleweight, he may have given Lashley another loss on his record. Phil Baroni also returned to his winning ways against Nick Nolte, which you can watch after the jump. Warning: it played out similarly to the aforementioned match, except with slightly less fail sauce.

At the end of the day, M-1 put on a far better show than Titan FC, and fans will hopefully begin to realize that the crazy management team behind Fedor is not exactly the same as the team that puts on these American fights. Oh, there was also some UFC event this weekend, stuff happened there too. Anyway, hit the jump for Baroni VS Nolte and a sad (but anticipated) moment at M-1 before they went live!

And finally, complaints were heard for a long time about M-1 Global simply not advertising their show enough to fill their venue. Turns out those complaints were a reality, as Jimmy Lennon Jr. implored fans to move down and fill in the empty seats before the show began live. M-1 puts on some very good shows and I wish their advertising was as good as their fighters, as it’s a pity people are missing out on the live experience.

The Titan Fighting Championship earlier today announced its finalized card for next Friday’s seven-bout lineup, which will air live nationally on HDNet.

Titan FC 17, held at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas will feature seven pro fights on the HDNet telecast, which will begin at 10 PM ET. The finalized lineup just announced by Titan Fighting includes a late change to the night’s main event, which will feature former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley. Kansas City-based heavyweight James Jack (6-2) had been scheduled to fight Lashley but has been pulled from the show and replaced by John Ott (9-7). Jack’s departure from the card comes under questionable circumstances.

“We had an agreement with Jack to fight Lashley but he’s essentially gone MIA. James missed several scheduled media shoots and no longer was returning our calls,” said Titan Fighting CEO Joe Kelly. “It became abundantly clear that James had no intention of showing up to fight Bobby on March 25 so we had to make a change.” Ott, a standout amateur wrestler, is veteran of the Bellator Fighting Championships and holds notable wins over Brian Imes, Isaiah Larson, and Mitchell Harris. Normally a competitor in the 185 and 205 lbs. division, Ott, an amateur body builder, is currently walking at 225 lbs, but with this short notice to get ready for a fight it is questionable if that weight will help or hinder him.

While the main event for Titan Fighting Championship 17 has been altered, the remainder of the card remains intact. Former UFC and PRIDE star Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni will challenge local fan favorite Nick Nolte while Abe Wagner, a veteran from the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, will square off vs. Strikeforce veteran Aaron Rosa.

The complete seven-bout card for Titan Fighting Championship 17 is after the jump:

7. Heavyweight: Bobby Lashley (5-1) vs. John Ott (9-7)
6. Heavyweight: Abe Wagner (8-3) vs. Aaron Rosa (15-3)
5. Middleweight: Phil Baroni (13-13) vs. Nick Nolte (3-2)
4. Catchweight (150 lbs.): Eric Marriott (19-5) vs. Willian De Souza (3-1)
3. Lightweight: Alonzo Martinez (28-14-1) vs. Aaron Derrow (9-2)
2. Lightweight: James Krause (11-3) vs. Nathan Schut (13-4)
1. Bantamweight: Anthony “Sharkbait” Guiterrez (1-0) vs. Jon Hollis (2-1)

Dave Batista has been talking about coming to the MMA world for awhile, but not much has seemed to happen with that. When last we heard from the former WWE champ, he wanted his debut to be against another pro-wrestling alumni, Bobby Lashley. Things never worked out and according to Scott Coker, Batista is still training MMA but no match has been made official with Strikeforce or any company for that matter. Lashley recently discussed the topic of Batista in MMA and his thoughts about fighting him.

Lashley, who signed with Titan FC earlier this week, spoke with Pro MMA Now about the topic, and had this to say: “Then as far as Dave Batista, we were pretty good friends when we were in the WWE but when we came out of the WWE, when he went into his fight deal, I think that his target was kind of set on that big fight and that big fight was supposed to be against me. So I think our relationship kind of went two different directions and I think the reason why he was wanting to do that was because he was wanting to use me as his big match and I think that’s what Strikeforce is really hoping for if they have that match with me against Dave. I haven’t really talked to him since I’ve been out of the WWE or since he’s been out of the WWE.”

Lashley continued, “I’m open to a fight with almost anyone and Dave has been training. I’ve heard that he’s been training pretty hard and if that fight were presented I would definitely take it. Of course it is a fight for a lot of wrestling fans because a lot of wrestling fans out there want to see that fight. There are millions upon millions of wrestling fans, but I’m not going to decline that fight. If that fight were ever brought to me I would definitely sign in a second and fight him. That’s the way the fight business is. You have to fight so whoever is brought to you that is who you are going to be fighting.”

Lashley will be competing for the first time since a Strikeforce event on August 21, 2010. His return to the cage on March 25 will come against M-1 Challenge veteran James Jack, who is 6-2-1. The Lashley vs. Jack main event joins the previously announced bout between Phil Baroni and Nick Nolte as the first two contests officially announced for the telecast on HDNet.

We all heard the news awhile back that former WWE Champion Dave Batista has left the world of pro wrestling to attempt a career in MMA with Strikeforce as his most probable home. Much hype has centered around who his first opponent could be, with most fans having an interest in seeing Batista battle another WWE Alumni, Bobby Lashley. James Guttman of ClubWWI.com spoke with “The Boss” or “The Dominator” or whatever name Lashley is using these days, and got a response from the big man:

“I have to be honest. At first, I wouldn’t even think that he would consider it. Then again, with fighting, you never know who’s going to come over and do it. So when I heard Batista was training, I was like more power to him. Because a lot of these guys come in here and they have no experience either. But they take two jiu-jitsu classes, dye their hair blonde, and they’re automatically stepping into the fight industry.”

Lashley mentioned the training that Dave has been doing in preparation for a debut and his respect for his decision. He also made it clear that friendship or not, if it were to happen, it would be a fight.

“I’m completely open to fighting him. Friends or not, when you get in that cage and start throwing punches, the friendship goes out the window for a minute. Because I like Dave, but if we were to have a fight, we would have to close that cage door, forget about the friendship, and try to beat each other up. Then afterwards, we can shake hands and walk away.”

But things are never as easy as setting up a fight in MMA – so what is holding this back from happening? Hit the jump to find out!

Allegedly, Batista has requested $500,000 for his fight (although this nerd has not seen those allegations before so not sure where they came from). Guttman asked Lashley if he thought this is because he will be a one and done deal in MMA, and if he thinks he can really pull off a fight at that price.

“Yeah. I think it’s a measuring gauge for him. Go out there and instead of taking these small fights and working his way up, figuring ‘I’ll go out there and do the bigger fights, the more important fights, the fight the fans want to see. And of course, if I’m fighting the fight the fans want to see, I’m going to want a little more money than if I’m fighting Joe Schmo. Why not go out there and do that fight? See how I feel and if I feel healthy, if I feel strong, then I can continue on with my career. But if I go out and things don’t go the way I wanted, at least I have that big fight. I made a good amount of money and moved on.’ I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

Batista could be a huge draw for Strikeforce, as big as Brock Lesnar being in the UFC, and setting him up for a successful debut is crucial to the well-being of the promotion. Asking for big bucks is only fair, but for half a million, he might be overestimating his drawing power quite a bit. Furthermore, fighting Lashley this early in his career could be suicide, although considering how he looked in his last fight, it might not be such a long shot.

The full interview is up on ClubWWI.com, but you have to pay to join (although if you’re a pro wrestling fan, it certainly seems worth it). What do you think about Lashley VS Batista, whether it happens or not?

EA SPORTS MMA Designer Rocky Rivero breaks down every aspect of the EA SPORTS MMA demo, which will be released tomorrow morning, or Tuesday, September 28th, for those without a lunar calendar in arms reach. In a nutshell, the demo will feature four fighters for you to play as – Jake Shields and Jason “Mayhem” Miller in the middleweight divison, and Bobby Lashley and Alistair Overeem in the heavyweight division.

Your demo bout takes place in the Strikeforce ring (where else?) and graphically the game looks superb. The question now is how well does this game play? We will have answers very soon! It is interesting to note that Rivero says “this is not a button-masher” so timing will be a crucial element in the gameplay. There are also a few other keen things the demo will add, including a chance to unlock a classic version of Randy Couture. Check out the trailer above!

We are one day away from the demo, are you excited yet or are you loyal to UFC Undisputed? And speaking of which, have you registered yet for the incredibly awesome Fight Nerd Video Game Open Tournament yet? These prizes won’t win themselves, and we got a ton of them!

Look out, pro wrestling world, a new contender is preparing to make his debut in the place where fixed matches are more common than Pride FC (yeah, i said it!). Tim Sylvia, who we previously spoke with before his fight at War on the Mainland against Paul Buentello, is set to have two “fights”, with the first coming in two weeks – and that first bout is actually against Josh Barnett!

Last friday on his twitter account, Big Tim mentioned the deal briefly in passing, saying: “O ya japan in 2 weeks pro wrestling.” Just yesterday, Barnett announced that he had been scooped up by Strikeforce and would be fighting for the company at some point in the vague near future. Nightmare of Battle broke the news that Sylvia would battle Barnett at the IGF, AKA Inoki Genome Federation, at “Genome 13″ on September 25. Other matches on the card include a match between two legends with Tatsumi Fujinami vs. First Tiger Mask, Shinichi Suzukawa (former Sumo Wrestler) vs. Mark Coleman, and Tamon Honda & Kendo Kashin vs. Bob Sapp & Bobby Lashley. Interestingly enough, this is on the same night as DREAM’s next event! Even Japan can not escape counter-programming wars!

Check out the video above to get a taste of what we can expect from the IGF as Tim’s opponent, Josh Barnett, takes on Don “The Predator” Frye, except imagine Sylvia’s match being much slower and more painful to watch. Hit the jump for part two!