Heavyweight fighter Bobby Lashley (4-0) says he wants to continue climbing the ranks in Strikeforce and is not rushing into a fight against Fedor Emelianenko. While Brock Lesnar was virtually rushed into a title fight in the UFC, Lashley tells SunSentionel.com that he wants to continue his slow build and get a few more wins under his belt before the fight of his life: “When the fight comes with Fedor, which is going to be two, maybe three fights away, I will be definitely ready for him. It’s hard for me because when Brock (Lesnar) came in [to the UFC] Brock fought for the title after his second fight and everybody was [upset] about that. So I take a step back and say, ‘I’m going to take a different route.’ And I take my time and I have fights and everybody is like, ‘Why doesn’t Bobby fight Fedor?’ You can’t win for losing. There’s nothing I can do so I figure I’m going to do it the right way, and the way I know is the right way, and work my way up. I guarantee you I’m going to give the fans what they want. I’m going to be on this guy like he’s never seen before. So I’ll definitely put on a great show.” Lashley makes his Strikeforce debut at the Strikeforce: Miami Showtime event on January 30th against Yohan Banks (2-1). He is also scheduled to fight on the April CBS card with no opponent named at this time.
IGN has an interview up with Abyss where he talks about the need to prove yourself to the new regime, among other topics… “You know, I do. I think that the day that you quit challenging yourself and the day that you’re satisfied with what you’re doing, no matter what you’re doing – whether it’s wrestling or something else – the day you feel like you feel like you’ve done all you can do and you’ve reached the pinnacle, that’s the day you start going downhill. I think with Hulk being there, I think one of the things it’s going to do is challenge everybody to raise their game to the next level and raise the bar on their own performances. Across the board. Whether you’ve been with TNA since the beginning like I have or like AJ Styles has. Or if it’s a newer guy that hasn’t been there as long. I think everybody’s going to be challenged to compete. And that’s how it should be. Now matter how long you’ve been there you’re constantly trying to prove yourself with every performance that you give. I think that’s the way it needs to be.”
Here are tonight’s confirmed TNA iMPACT! matches:
* TNA Knockouts Tag Team Title Match: Awesome Kong and Hamada © vs. The Beautiful People
* Hernandez and Matt Morgan vs. Beer Money
* Desmond Wolfe vs. Samoa Joe
* Team 3D vs. Lethal Consequences
* TNA World Title Match: A.J. Styles © vs. His Mystery Attacker