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Sat May 16, 2009 12:23 am EDT

Pro wrestler Lashley destroys Cook in 24 seconds

By Steve Cofield

Don't make fun of Bobby Lashley and his pro wrestling background. The former WWE star said he was incensed by the fact that his opponent Mike Cook came to the cage in a lucha libre mask a la Nacho Libre.

Lashley is generally a polite, sportsman but he refused to touch gloves with Cook. He charged Cook in the opening seconds and missed with a huge right. Cook made the mistake of dropping his head. Lashley, a big MMA heavyweight at 6-foot-3, 249 pounds, grabbed onto Cook's head with his left arm. From there, he used his bulk to lean on Cook and it took just a few seconds for Cook to wilt under Lashley's weight. Lashley flattened out Cook (7-4) and re-positioned his right arm to cinch on a choke. Cook's legs could be seen quivering and referee John McCarthy had to step in to stop the fight (video). All that in just 24 seconds during Maximum Fighting Championship 21 at the River Cree Resort and Casino just outside Edmonton, Alberta

"I’m here for business," said Lashley (3-0). "I’m here and everyone wants to and tries to make fun of the wrestling thing. I’m real. If they want to play around, I’ll knock them out or choke them out. And that’s what I did. I choked him out and made him pay. Now he can go put the mask back on and have fun with himself."

Lashley, making the conversion from the fake stuff with Vince McMahon, started training mixed martial arts last year. He won his first fight in 41 seconds when Joshua Franklin couldn't continue with a cut on his forehead. His last time out in March, Lashley won a decision against veteran Jason Guida.

Lashley needed to get through this fight unscathed because he has a stiff test against freakazoid Bob Sapp (pictured below on the right) right around the corner. Sapp, a former NFL player, NCAA All-American at Washington and a huge crossover star in Japan, is 6-4, 345. He doesn't have much stamina but he is dangerous for about 4-5 minutes. Sapp (10-3-1) and Lashley will meet on June 27 in Biloxi, Miss. 

Lashley is finished with the WWE but is still dabbling with pro wrestling with TNA. Former WWE champ Brock Lesnar also made a quick transition to MMA. After just three fights, he won the UFC's heavyweight title by downing all-time great Randy Couture. He defends his strap at UFC 100 in July against Frank Mir.  

Video tip via MMAConvert

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1731 Comments

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  1. Matt O
    1. Posted by Matt O Sat May 16, 2009 12:52 am EDT

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    Cool beans, dawg
  2. floorburn_21
    2. Posted by floorburn_21 Sat May 16, 2009 1:15 am EDT

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    lashey and brock should fight
  3. Arnold D
    3. Posted by Arnold D Sat May 16, 2009 1:22 am EDT

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    cook was toasted...
  4. Steven W
    4. Posted by Steven W Sat May 16, 2009 2:09 am EDT

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    real big, with wrestling experience is all he is.
  5. oduwildman
    5. Posted by oduwildman Sat May 16, 2009 4:02 am EDT

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    Lashley was an NAIA National Champion on the wrestling mats, so he had a "real" wrestling background prior to his foray into sports entertainment. Too much of Lashley and Lesnar's focus is on their "pro wrestling" backgrounds when those wouldn't have even been possible without the amateur wrestling upbringing.
  6. Daniel W
    6. Posted by Daniel W Sat May 16, 2009 4:25 am EDT

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    Whether Lashley is a pro wrestler, real fighter or not,he has huge potential in the sport if he can get good at it. I think he showed how dangerous he can be in this fight by the way he choke that guy out so easy. Not to many guys have that kind of strength,and power like he does. Lashley may not be able to make in a pro boxing fight in his 3rd match,but the flip side of that is a pro boxer wouldn't be able to make it in a mma fight even in there first fight.
  7. RocketMan
    7. Posted by RocketMan Sat May 16, 2009 7:35 am EDT

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    C'mon Nutcracker, is there a point to your senseless expertise? "That says it all about MMA"? and "This guy throws punches that are embarassing..." I'm perplexed by the MMA vs Boxing controversy as this fight proves nothing. MMA and boxing require completely different skill sets. I'm sure there are plenty of Olympic sharpshooters that have great slowfire skills, but they couldn't spend a night in the Bush and survive. Does that mean they can't shoot and have no skills?: no. Likewise, not every guy in Spec Ops could make the US Olympic Team, but it in no way dimishes effectiveness in getting the Job done. Quit bringing your dog to a horseshow and whining about the unfair judging. I happen to be a huge fan of both boxing and MMA and I've trained various martial arts for 30+ years. Appreciate respective sports for what they are, not what they aren't.
  8. steven w
    8. Posted by steven w Sat May 16, 2009 8:30 am EDT

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    lashley should drop his tna wrestling program and just stick to mma now...he was good in wwe and all but he needs to focus cause the opponents are just gonna keep on getting harder in mma
  9. steven w
    9. Posted by steven w Sat May 16, 2009 8:31 am EDT

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    lashley should drop his tna wrestling program and just stick to mma now...he was good in wwe and all but he needs to focus cause the opponents are just gonna keep on getting harder in mma
  10. MMAniac
    10. Posted by MMAniac Sat May 16, 2009 10:02 am EDT

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    its kind of stupid to keep bashing fighters like lashley and lesner. i'm no fan of wwe, but the fact is these guys are winning fights. personally i'd like nothing more than to see them get beat. you don't always have to be a well rounded mixed martial artist if you can dominate in one aspect. all you need is the right gameplan. mixed martial arts training is still fairly new and was ushered in by the ufcs early days when the best was taken from each discipline. any fighter older than 25 or so probably studied in only one or two aspects until this came about so for the next 10 years or so you will still get a lot fighters from other sports. choose to like or dislike any fighter you want but the point is if someone is there they deserve to be there. i'll agree they are often over hyped undeservedly early, but this is a business as well as sport. if you can get someone with name recognition you'd be a fool not to market them aggressively. maybe it will help wwe fans realize how stupid it is and they can get into a real sport.
  11. knuckle sandwich
    11. Posted by knuckle sandwich Sat May 16, 2009 10:05 am EDT

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    the Cook couldn't take the heat.... so he got the hel! out.
    If Lashley can improve his standup who knows if he can get to the top 10? maybe. But it takes more that just a body like us er I mean that to make in the the big time MMA venues...
  12. MMAniac
    12. Posted by MMAniac Sat May 16, 2009 10:16 am EDT

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    Come on now Nutcracker, you have been here way too long to be still bashing MMA. I can understand some boxing fan who hates MMA popping in to make fun of it once or twice, but you live in this damn blog. You like MMA as much as the next guy here, you just happen to like boxing more and feel you need to defend it. Get over it! Most of us like boxing too, but of course more people are interested in MMA now. You supposedly train in boxing, I would expect you to like it more as would I anyone who trains in boxing. MMA appeals to people who have trained in boxing, wrestling, muay thai, jits, judo, karate, sambo, etc. so of course its going to grow faster than boxing because more people understand the intricacies of the sport. In any given fight you can see techniques used that you studied within your discipline.
  13. Instant Money
    13. Posted by Instant Money Sat May 16, 2009 11:14 am EDT

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    He flattened Cook like a pancake. I would have been upset if I bought tickets to see that garbage.
  14. Kauz
    14. Posted by Kauz Sat May 16, 2009 11:16 am EDT

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    Either Nutcracker is oblivious or he just likes to get under MMA fans skin. I prefer to think he is doing the latter. Probably not though.
  15. Kauz
    15. Posted by Kauz Sat May 16, 2009 11:17 am EDT

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    I would agree that Lashley needs a few more fights before he proclaims himself as being "for real."
  16. steven w
    16. Posted by steven w Sat May 16, 2009 11:35 am EDT

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    does anyone here even watch tna? i think bobby needs at least 10 fights to be convinced that he is for real but i would love a lesnar/lashley match
  17. shep2727
    17. Posted by shep2727 Sat May 16, 2009 2:09 pm EDT

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    Are these guys tested for steroids?
  18. whiteking910
    18. Posted by whiteking910 Sat May 16, 2009 2:13 pm EDT

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    Nutcracker just jealous that people actually care about MMA as opposed to boxing.
  19. Man of Steel
    19. Posted by Man of Steel Sat May 16, 2009 2:15 pm EDT

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    I'd like to see Bobby Lashley crush Kimbo.
  20. whiteking910
    20. Posted by whiteking910 Sat May 16, 2009 2:16 pm EDT

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    Lashley needs to decide if we want to be a wrestler or a MMA fighter if he wants to excel in either. Why should UFC take a chance on him if he's going to get hurt taking a bump? I've heard a lot of criticism about Lesnar, but to Lesnar's credit, he is effectively done with wrestling and is totally focused on MMA. Lashley needs to make a similar decision if he ever wants to get anywhere in MMA.
  21. Dark
    21. Posted by Dark Sat May 16, 2009 2:16 pm EDT

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    MMA makes a mockery of martial arts.Choking someone out to "win" is a joke.Bad enough that WWE is fake but when "wrestlers" from WWE cross over to MMA it becomes more of a joke.
  22. Sean K
    22. Posted by Sean K Sat May 16, 2009 2:18 pm EDT

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    There is a difference in being "for real" and being a champion. I think Lashley is saying that he belongs to be in MMA and that he is not just a gimmick to draw PPV fans. The man is a monster, had an outstanding wrestling background (and I am not talking about WWE) and is a great athlete. If he was a joke, how would he win a fight in 24 seconds? He doesn't deserve a title shot, obviously, but I think he has the qualifications to stay in the MMA and, if he develops his skills, he may pose a threat!
  23. John
    23. Posted by John Sat May 16, 2009 2:18 pm EDT

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    Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley. All former or current professional wrestlers. Oh and uh Bob Sapp is a pro wrestler too.
    I always find it amusing when MMA and sports writers in general try to demean pro wrestling with the word "fake" in every column, all the while having to suck up the fact that if not for Dan Severn & Ken Shamrock, two pro wrestlers, there would be no MMA worth writing about. Flash forward a decade and now we have Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley ready to dominate.

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