Former WWE heavyweight champion Dave Bautista close to signing with Strikeforce
Strikeforce and former World Wrestling Entertainment heavyweight champion Dave “Batista” Bautista look to be closing in on a contract. Bautista is hopeful that he will be competing for
the mixed martial arts promotion by spring 2011.
In an interview with radio station DC 101, Bautista said, “We’re real close. We actually agreed on a number last week and we’re sorting stuff out. We should have a deal done real soon.
Hopefully I’ll be fighting in March.”
The possibility of Bautista signing with Strikeforce will surely raise eyebrows in the MMA world. Bautista is 41 years old and has only been training in MMA for the past five months. His
training has been taking place under the tutelage of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Cesar Gracie.
Gracie had the following to say about Bautista, “He’s got a lot to learn, but his strength alone is impressive.” Gracie continued, “Our camp is known to for bringing people with nothing
and making them into something. We like to make champions.”
Other professional wrestlers that have transitioned over to MMA, such as Ultimate Fighting heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, have had collegiate wrestling experience. Lesnar was a NCAA
Division I champion while wrestling for the University of Minnesota.
One reason that Strikeforce could be thinking about signing Bautista is name recognition and drawing power. Strikeforce has a deal with CBS to air their fight cards in primetime. Earlier
this summer, CBS announced that they would not be airing any Strikeforce cards for the remainder of 2010. If Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker can show CBS a possible big name draw such as Bautista, it may help to get the promotion on the network in 2011.
If Bautista and Strikeforce do come to an agreement, look for one of his first fights to be against another former professional wrestler turned MMA combatant, Bobby Lashley. When asked
about the possibility of having the former WWE wrestlers meet in the cage, Coker said, “I think that fight should happen. If we sign Bautista, why not make that fight?”
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