5 Opponents for Bobby Lashley if he returned to Bellator

Bobby Lashley is one of the most recent examples of pro wrestlers that found success in MMA. Lashley sparked fantasy matchmaking a few months ago when he said he still had a desire to compete in MMA. The current WWE superstar made his MMA debut in December 2008, making quick work of his opponent Joshua Franklin. It took Lashley only 41-seconds to defeat Franklin by TKO.

After his final bout in 2016, Lashley had a 15-2 MMA record and was on an 8-fight win streak. The win streak was impressive as it included five straight wins in Bellator MMA. Lashley had evolved as a fighter, and it was clear that his wrestling would be a problem for Bellator’s heavyweights.

Lashley left at an interesting time as he was ready for a step-up in competition. Since Lashley’s popularity is now at an all-time high, Bellator should do everything possible to get him back for a one-off. Since Bobby Lashley is still under contract with Bellator MMA, that’s where a potential fight would take place if he returns.

Given Bobby Lashey's WWE status, it's also likely any potential bout would need WWE's stamp of approval. Here is a list of five opponents for Bobby Lashley if he returns to Bellator MMA.

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#5. Bobby Lashley vs. Sergei Kharitonov

Photo credit: Lucas Noonan / Bellator MMA

Kicking off this list of possible opponents for Bobby Lashley in Bellator is MMA veteran Sergei Kharitonov. The 41-year-old Russian is a high-level striker that would surely be a tough test for Lashley. Kharitonov has competed around the world over his 21-year MMA career in top promotions like PRIDE, Strikeforce, and now Bellator. Kharitonov recently lost to former title challenger Cheick Kongo but he wasn’t really outclassed in the fight.

Along with MMA, Kharitonov is also an active bareknuckle boxer, former boxer and kickboxer. ‘The Paratrooper’ has defeated former UFC heavyweight champions Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski, and former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem. During Kharitonov’s Bellator tenure, he has also landed KO/TKO wins over Matt Mitrione and former TUF winner Roy Nelson.

A potential Kharitonov-Lashley bout would be easy to promote as it'd be a typical striker vs. wrestler matchup. With Bobby Lashley making significant improvements through his training at the American Top Team, it would be interesting to see if he’d be able to overpower Kharitonov.

#4. Bobby Lashley vs. Linton Vassell

Linton Vassell - MMA Press Conference

Another opponent that would make sense for Bobby Lashley is former Bellator title-challenger Linton "The Swarm" Vassell. Throughout his Bellator career, Vassell has remained among the top in the light-heavyweight division. However, he decided to move back to heavyweight after back-to-back losses to former champions Phil Davis and Ryan Bader.

Vassell didn’t get off to a great start in his heavyweight return as he was defeated by Valentin Moldavsky. The loss to Moldavsky was the third-straight for Vassell and could’ve signaled the end of his tenure with Bellator. Fortunately, Vassell defeated Sergei Kharitonov by TKO and then followed that up with another TKO win over Ronny Markes.

After back-to-back TKO wins, Vassell is now right back in title-contention at heavyweight and is currently the number five ranked heavyweight in Bellator. Bobby Lashley would clearly have a size advantage and it’d be interesting to see how Vassell would deal with that.

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#3. Bobby Lashley vs. Tim Johnson

Photo credit: Lucas Noonan / Bellator MMA

Tim Johnson would be an excellent opponent for Bobby Lashley if he returned to Bellator. Johnson is a former two-time Division II All-American wrestler, so a bout with Lashley could become a technical wrestling battle.

Johnson has had some exciting moments in Bellator. After a win over Marcello Golm on the final fight of his UFC deal, Johnson began his Bellator tenure going 0-2.

With back-to-back knockout losses to Cheick Kongo and Vitaly Minakov, Johnson’s back was against the wall and he needed a win. Johnson did just that and relished the underdog role by defeating Tyrell Fortune and Matt Mitrione. Johnson then followed that up by avenging his loss to Kongo by splitting the decision in Kongo’s home country, France.

Many heavyweights have underestimated Johnson but that hasn’t fazed him at all. Instead, it seems to have motivated him even more to go in and knock his opponent out.

Regardless of Johnson's loss against 'The Last Emperor' Fedor Emelianenko, a fight between himself and Bobby Lashley still makes sense.

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#2. Bobby Lashley vs. Cheick Kongo

Photo credit: Lucas Noonan / Bellator MMA

A bout that many thought was inevitable in 2016 was Bobby Lashley vs. former title-challenger Cheick Kongo. Kongo would be the favorite in a potential matchup with Lashley, but that doesn’t mean Lashley wouldn’t have a chance.

Lashley would be the underdog based on Kongo being the number three ranked Bellator heavyweight. Another reason why Lashley would be the underdog is because he hasn’t faced an opponent with the quality of Kongo.

Kongo has had an excellent career resurgence since signing with Bellator in 2013. He continues to compete at a high level at age 46. Bobby Lashley would have his hands full and his path to victory may be to shoot for takedowns.

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#1. Bobby Lashley vs. Jake Hager

(Left) @bobbylashley (Right) @realjakehager

Topping this list is none other than No.10-ranked Bellator heavyweight Jake Hager. Bellator has an incredible opportunity to do something that hasn’t been done before with these two.

Since Bobby Lashley is 45-years-old, the promotion should book the fight that would get the most attention possible. Lashley wouldn’t be in Bellator’s long-term plans should he return, especially considering he’s a current WWE superstar.

Bellator president Scott Coker will have to keep that in mind should he discuss a potential one-off bout with Lashley’s management. Since Lashley is employed by WWE and a main fixture in their programming, Coker may also need WWE to sign-off. With the said, it’d be interesting if Bellator booked a bout between fighters that happen to wrestle for rival companies – Lashley for WWE and Hager for AEW.

You may be wondering why WWE would approve of Lashley competing against AEW wrestler Jake Hager. The answer is because Lashley would be the favorite. WWE may be more open to the idea of a Lashley-Hager fight as Hager started MMA much later at age 37. Even though Hager has been successful, he started at an age where most athletes and fighters begin to decline. Lashley having much more experience could be what persuades WWE to approve.

The amount of publicity the fight would receive could benefit Bellator immensely and could be too good to pass up. Lashley-Hager would surely have their respective wrestling companies invested as they’d love to have the bragging rights.