By MATT BOONE
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer
Former WWE professional wrestler Batista is the subject of a featured article on the TMZ.com gossip website today.
The article notes that Batista is still in active training under the Cesar Gracie camp for a possible mixed-martial arts pro fighting debut “early next year.”
Although talk in the MMA community has died down a bit, Batista was the focus of a potential fight with fellow WWE veteran Bobby Lashley under the Strikeforce promotional banner.
If today's article on TMZ is any indication, Batista plans on fighting in a cage (or ring) under professional MMA rules regardless of a Strikeforce deal, as the piece notes the desire for a debut match by early 2011.
For those keeping score, Bobby Lashley will step back into the cage later this month, as he's scheduled to fight Chad Griggs on August 21 for the Strikeforce event in Houston airing on Showtime.
The free schedule for Lashley in a few weeks combined with his hunger for staying active and getting as many fights as he can when health isn't an issue, would suggest a Lashley-Batista fight in early 2011 is still a possibility.
You can check out the feature on the TMZ website, complete with photos of Batista training at the Cesar Gracie academy, by clicking here.
