Making his debut at a Strikeforce event in Miami this past Saturday, the monstrous Lashley took on the even larger Wes Sims in a heavyweight bout.  Sims’ name may sound familiar to fans of The Ultimate Fighter reality series as he was a part of the dreadful Team Rampage, which managed to win just a single bout during the entire show.  Sims was defeated in his only fight on the show, and the losing continued Saturday as Lashley put him away just over two minutes into the first round.

MMA fans have been anticipating Lashley’s debut in the sport for quite some time, but it was well worth the wait as he dominated Sim, taking him to the ground and pounding away at his head until the official had no choice but to call the fight, much to the chagrin of Wes and his corner.

Yes, it is only one win, but it is never too early to begin pondering whether Lashley is on the same path to MMA stardom as Lesnar had previously endured.

As for Sims, he may want to consider substituting the showboating and humor for victories in the ring.  Or, on second thought, he may be better off making a transition of his own; from MMA to WWE.

The six-foot three, 265 pound Lashley, has had a successful start to his MMA career thus far, winning his first two fights. With a 41 second knockout of Joshua Franklin in December 2007 and a unanimous decision victory over Jason Guida in March 2009.

Although the caliber of his opponents have not been spectacular by any means, he was scheduled to fight former UFC star Ken Shamrock before the latter tested positive for steroids. Bobby has recently announced on his personal Twitter page that he is expected to fight Bobb Sapp, who is a former NFL lineman, K1 kickboxing star, with a MMA record of 10-3-1, surely this is a sign that Lashley means business in MMA, as he is willing to face the best, rather than cannon fodder to build up a padded record.

Bobby will make his Maximum Fighting Championship debut on May 15th against Mike Cook (7-3) at MFC 21: Hard Knocks at the River Resort Casino in Enoch, Alta. MFC president Mark Pavelich spoke of signing the former Extreme Championship Wrestling champion

“Bobby Lashley is a phenomenal athlete and a very impressive fighter, who wants to make a big name for himself in martial Arts. He is a very exciting prospect and he will get a monumental opportunity to break into the spotlight at MFC 21”

The former two-time National Association of intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) wrestling champion is apparently still interested in Professional Wrestling, as he made an appearance at Total Nonstop Actions (TNA) wrestling pay per view, “Lockdown” in Philadelphia this past weekend and is expected to appear occasionally for the Florida based promotion.

With another former WWE star Brock Lesnar has already succeeding in the switch to MMA, with kingpin promotion the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as he is the UFC heavyweight champion, a belt he won defeating UFC hall of famer and flag bearer for the sport Randy Couture. Brock will look to continue his dominance at UFC 100 when he defends against current interim UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, who coincidentally beat Brock in his debut in the UFC octagon.

With Lashley now jumping on the bandwagon can we expect more professional wrestlers to switch to MMA? Also can Bobby Lashley make an impact on MMA?

Lashley is relatively new to the sport of MMA, as this will only be his second fight.  He might be short on experience when compared to Shamrock, but he is younger and appears to be much stronger.  He is the latest WWE wrestler to start an MMA career following in the footsteps of Brock Lesnar, current UFC heavyweight Champion.

I think if Lashley can stay on his feet for most of the fight, he will win.  If Ken manages to take him to the ground early he could be in big trouble.  Much like Lesnar, in his first match against Frank Mir, Lashley is inexperienced in the ground game.  If Lashley can come away with the victory, the stage could be set for a match-up against Brock Lesnar somewhere down the road.

On the other hanad, Shamrock is in the twilight of his illustrious career and even his own family members are staring to question his desire to keep fighting.  His step-brother Frank Shamrock, himself an MMA legend, has publicly stated that its time for Ken to call it a career.

“It was so sad to see Ken Shamrock fighting on a c level show. I wish the best for him but think its time to hang it up.” (FrankShamrock.com)

There is no love lost between the two brothers, but Frank makes a good point.  Shamrocks best years are behind him, yet he is still fighting.  I guess its hard for him to come to the realization that he might be too old for MMA.

The Pick: Bobby Lashley winner by K.O., in the second round.

I have really increased my jiu-jitsu training. I was even training on vacation. Again, if you know me, I’m 1000% about anything I do. Now that I’m back in Louisville, I’ve moved from a straight Jiu-Jitsu program into a full MMA training program. I have also been contacted by several agents, a couple of whom represent current and former UFC Champions. But I think that’s putting the cart in front of the horse. I think they think I can fill seats. I’ll sign with someone if and when I feel that I can be a top level competitor.(Victoria’s Myspace Page)

She definitely appears to have the “talent” to be a big draw in the MMA world.  Perhaps they could schedule a super fight between her and American Gladiator /Elite XC vixen Gina Carano.  If they ever met in the ring I would pay top dollar to see that.  I would love to take on both in a triple threat match.

Gina Carano