Former WWE star Bobby Lashley wins Bellator debut

Former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Bobby Lashley made a successful promotional debut on the undercard of Bellator 123 by submitting Josh Burns in a heavyweight fight on Saturday, September 6 (PH Time) at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Showcasing a dominant performance in his initial Bellator MMA appearance, Lashley forced Burns to wave the white flag at 3:54 of the second round with a standing rear-naked choke.

The 38-year-old Lashley took his two-year younger opponent to the ground less than a minute in the bout and spent most of the opening salvo hunting for keylock and Kimura submission holds from the mounted crucifix position.

In the second round, the pace slowed as the two men exchanged occasional jabs, but Lashley scored a quick takedown off an ankle pick and returned to the side-control spot.

“I wanted to do a little more with the striking, but I always have to go to my go-to,” Lashley admitted in his post-fight interview.

As Burns would eventually give up his back, Lashley hammered a volley of punches before sliding his arm under his foe’s chin for a rear-naked choke.

Burns dramatically returned to his feet, but he tapped out shortly thereafter, compelling referee Dan Miragliotta to halt the contest and award the victory to Lashley.

Lashley (11-2) is now riding a four-fight winning streak since yielding to James Thompson via unanimous decision in May 2012, while Burns (8-8) falls to 2-5 in his past seven outings and remains winless under the Bellator banner.

The fighter known as “The Dominator” has been a professional wrestling fixture since 2004, having a successful run in the WWE from 2005 to 2008 before joining Total Non-Stop Action (TNA) Wrestling in 2009, where he currently holds the TNA Heavyweight championship.

Fighting out of Denver, Colorado, Lashley made the transition from professional wrestling to mixed martial arts in 2008, competing in organizations such as Strikeforce, Titan Fighting Championship, Shark Fights and India’s Super Fight League.

Lashley inked an exclusive contract with Bellator this past July, which also allowed him to continue his sports-entertainment career in TNA Wrestling due to the loose affiliation between both companies through their television deal with Spike TV.

In other matches at Bellator 123, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (22-2) thumped Pat Curran (20-6) in their 145-pound rematch to capture the featherweight belt via unanimous decision with the scores of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46.

One-time Strikeforce light heavyweight titlist Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (13-4, 1 NC) stopped last-minute replacement Dustin Jacoby (10-4) by second-round technical knockout, while Cheick Kongo (22-9-2) submitted Lavar Johnson (18-10) with a rear-naked choke in round one of the battle between former UFC heavyweights. – Rappler.com