Bobby Lashley v Josh Burns Bellator 123 (contains spoilers and TNA reflections)

Bobby Lashley won his Bellator debut defeating fellow heavyweight Josh Burns (who looks a lot like Albert/lord tensai) in the second round.

Josh burns had a fight record of 8-7 (8 wins, 7 losses), having lost his last 4 fights going into Bellator 123, so he was very much a fighter on his way down; but before people dismiss Lashley`s victory, it`s important to remember that in combat sports (like all sports really) you should never look past your opponent. If Lashley had lost he would have  been humiliated.

Round 1 opened with Lashley coming out strong throwing some powerful looking right hooks, the two fighters clinched and Lashley tripped Burns and passed his half guard taking side control. From side control Lashley trapped Burn`s right arm and proceeded to lock in an americana arm bar (a BJJ technique). Burns refused to tap and managed to wriggle out. Lashley spent the majority of the rest of the first round in side control tenaciously trying to tap Burns with the americana but Burns stubbornly refused to submit. Lashley ended the round with some ground and pound in the last 30 seconds.

Round 2 began with Lashley looking far more cagey as it was clear he was looking for a KO punch but didn`t want to open himself up for the counter attack. Eventually Lashley went back to his wrestling and got a takedown, this time mounting Burns and delivering more ground and pound. Burns could only cover up and had no offence at all. Burns managed to get back to his feet but gave Lashley his back in doing so and Lashley hooked in a rear naked choke to win by submission.

After the fight before the official decision Lashley put on an American top team vest and to my surprise a TNA Wrestling baseball cap. I was surprised they allowed him to wear non-MMA apparel but I guess with both promotions still currently being on Spike they let him do it. As the referee raised Lashley`s hand in victory he very clearly pointed to his baseball cap, I`m assuming in an effort to plug TNA.

While Lashley was unsuccessful with his submission attempts in the first round it was clear from the fight that he does possess decent grappling skills and had he worn down Burns more before going in for the submission he might have been successful with the arm bar. Burns looked absolutely out of Lashley`s league so it will be interesting to see how Lashley fairs against someone of a higher calibre. If this was Bellator testing the waters with Lashley I think they will be pleased and probably set up a tougher fight for him next time.

If Lashley had lost it wouldn`t have been a total disaster for TNA as they tape their shows so far in advance that it wouldn`t effect current storylines; however, I think they should reference this somehow to add to his destroyer gimmick in TNA. As far as how this benefits TNA, they can legitimately now say that their world champion is also a competitive and successful Bellator MMA fighter too. While wrestling does not need MMA to legitimize it`s world titles, having someone like Lashley definitely helps TNA`s image and elevates their world title. While Brock Lesnar in his short time in the sport had a far more successful MMA career than Lashley has so far enjoyed, one thing to consider is that Brock`s fight record was 5-3 when he left the UFC compared to Lashley who now moves to 11-2. Lashley therefore is a more experienced MMA fighter than Brock. Brock also exposed his lack of experience when he came up against better strikers, dropping the belt to Velasquez and being TKO`d by Overeem (not to mention his first lost coming via submission by Frank Mir proving at the time how green he was to MMA). I know Brock suffered from Diverticulitis while in the UFC, which potentially could have cut his MMA career short, but nevertheless he was too one dimensional to successfully hold the heavyweight title for long.

I think Lashley deserves some credit - he`s 38 now and so his time in MMA is short. Lashley may or may not become Bellator heavyweight champion but one thing is clear, he wants to make the most of his career while he can. I don`t know what TNA`s plans are for Lashley and it may be that he has to drop the belt to focus on his MMA career in the future, but however long he has left as TNA champion he has elevated the title again and done a good job for TNA in what has proven to be a turbulent time for the promotion.

wrestletalk tv are reporting that TNA`s plans for Lashley were dependent on his Bellator 123 fight - if he won they would keep the belt on him going into BFG and if he lost they would take the belt from him before BFG. If this report is true then that means Lashley will most likely be going into BFG as the champion.

It`s always a risk for a wrestling promotion to put their world title on an active MMA fighter as any loss in the cage diminishes their world title and the other wrestlers on the roster who he beats. For now it looks as if TNA`s gamble has paid off. They would be wise to have him drop the belt at BFG and give the winner the rub that they deserve from beating Lashley.

Incidently King Mo also won at Bellator 123. His fight was far more wild than Lashley`s but he got the TKO.