Undefeated heavyweight prospect Bobby Lashley doesn't know why he's been removed from the CBS-televised "Strikeforce: Nashville" event on April 17.
However, he's confident he will return for the promotion's next major card, "Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery" on May 15 in St. Louis, Mo.
"If Strikeforce had some reason why they pulled me, I'm not going to get upset with them," Lashley told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) today. "I'm disappointed that I'm not fighting, yes, because I wanted to fight. If I fought April 17, then I'd be able to plan my next one and maybe pick up another fight in June or in late May. But that's not the case."
Lashley (5-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) earlier today wrote on his Facebook page that he will not be fighting on the April 17 card. MMAjunkie.com first reported his participation in the event as a non-televised fight that could be broadcast via tape delay if time permitted during the two-hour broadcast.
The former TNA and WWE "professional wrestler" said his position on the May 15 card is unknown. Strikeforce officials were unavailable for comment on the reason behind Lashley's removal and his status in the immediate future.
In his most recent appearance, Lashley fought Wes Sims at "Strikeforce: Miami" on about a week's notice after two proposed opponents fell through. He signed with Strikeforce this past November and was moved to the January card when a bout with rumored opponent Ron Waterman failed to materialize at "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers."
"Possibly," Lashley said when asked if the promotion is having trouble finding him opponents. "It's just the right opponent. There's only a handful of guys that are serious top guys. and I think all those guys are wrapped up in a fight.
"Right now, they're going around finding guys that are not actually signed with Strikeforce and get these guys in there so I have a fight. So when I do have an opportunity to fight [Fedor Emelianenko], [Andrei Arlovski] or [Antonio Silva], I'm ready."
Lashley recently opened an American Top Team affiliate school in Aurora, Colo., and said he'd fight every month if it were an option.
"I'm playing the catch-up game," he said. "Some of these guys have 10, 20, 30 fights under their belts. I have a mere five fights. So, of course, any opportunity I have to take a fight, I want to jump on it."
Despite his lack of experience relative to Strikeforce's top heavyweights, Lashley feels pressure both internally and externally to climb the heavyweight ranks.
"It's not so much that I want to rush it," Lashley said. "It's the fans. I'm not saying all the fans; (it's) the hardcore fans. They get on the forums and say, 'Bobby should be fighting Fedor.' But when Brock (Lesnar) got a title shot right away, they got pissed off about it.
"You can't please the critics regardless of what you do. So I'm just trying to fast track it a little bit more."
He's still aware, though, that he could damage his career if he takes on too much, too soon.
"I'm not going to make bad decisions because everyone says I should fight this guy or that guy," Lashley said.
All he can do now is train hard and hope to close the experience gap as quickly as possible.
"After I'm up there, and I start fighting those guys, the longevity's going to be there" he said. "Because I'll have a little less pressure because I've been there and done that."
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