The rematch between Bobby Lashley and James Thompson has been scrapped — again.
Thompson is injured and has to pull out of his Bellator 138 bout with Lashley on June 19 in St. Louis, MMAFighting.com confirmed with Bellator officials Wednesday. Dan Charles will step up on short notice to fight Lashley. MMAjunkie.com was the first to report the news.
Lashley and Thompson were supposed to fight at Bellator 134 on Feb. 27 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, but Lashley got hurt and had to withdraw. Thompson beat Lashley by unanimous decision at Super Fight League 3 on May 6, 2012 and Lashley, the former WWE star, has been longing for a rematch ever since.
Lashley (12-2) has not lost since that fight, a string of five straight wins. The 38-year-old has won both of his bouts since coming to Bellator via stoppage. The sculpted, 6-foot-3 heavyweight is coming off a win over Karl Etherington by first-round submission (punches) last October.
Thompson (20-14, 1 NC) is unbeaten in his last six fights and coming off a TKO win over Eric Prindle in his Bellator debut in June 2014.
Charles (9-2) has won two in a row in Bellator, the latest a unanimous decision victory over James Wilson last October. Charles, 29, trains out of Power MMA in Arizona with the likes of Ryan Bader and C.B. Dollaway.