Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the hottest movie of the spring and, once again, Dave Bautista stole the show in the role of knife-slinging alien Drax the Destroyer.
Of course, many still remember Bautista as “The Animal” Batista, the six-time WWE wo…
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the hottest movie of the spring and, once again, Dave Bautista stole the show in the role of knife-slinging alien Drax the Destroyer.
Of course, many still remember Bautista as “The Animal” Batista, the six-time WWE world champion who had major feuds with the likes of Triple H, the Undertaker and John Cena. What few remember, however, is that the action star’s combat sports career wasn’t just limited to the ring. Back in 2012, he actually stepped into the cage for an MMA fight.
Check out the video here:
After seemingly walking away from a full-time wrestling career in 2010 in order move to Hollywood, Bautista surprised many by first reemerging at an MMA event, Strikeforce: Los Angeles. That appearance teased a move to mixed martial arts, which saw Bautista eventually step into the cage for CES MMA opposite Vince Lucero.
The sloppy fight was widely panned by fans and pundits at the time and Bautista’s performance inspired little confidence regarding his fighting future. No sophomore effort would ever come to be, however, as Bautista hung up his gloves and filmed the first Guardians of the Galaxy film the next year.
Producers involved with the remake of the 1980s cult classic film, “Kickboxer,” continues to generate interest in the movie loaded with MMA stars, as the first look of the “Tong Po” character portrayed by one-time MMA fighter and former WWE Superstar D…
Producers involved with the remake of the 1980s cult classic film, “Kickboxer,” continues to generate interest in the movie loaded with MMA stars, as the first look of the “Tong Po” character portrayed by one-time MMA fighter and former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista has hit the internet.
Featured below is an action shot of the WWE star best known as “Batista” in his full “Tong Po” get-up from a scene shot for the film.
“Fans of Jean-Claude Van Damme have been waiting for a long time for this reboot of the Kickboxer franchise,” said RLJ Entertainment’s Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward. “The film delivers more action and an amazing ensemble of fighters from Dave Bautista to George St-Pierre to Cain Velasquez and Gina Carano. Fans will not be disappointed.”
Former WWE star and MMA competitor Dave Bautista trashed Reebok on Twitter over the weekend. He joins severalothers in criticizing how the UFC’s deal with Reebok affects fighter payouts. A new payout system was implemented in mid-2015 preventing fighters from having their own sponsors at UFC events, after Reebok became the company’s exclusive outfitting sponsor.
Bautista fought once as a professional MMA fighter, when he was victorious over Vince Lucero in 2012. He’s currently making a living as an actor after appearing in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Spectre.
Former WWE star and MMA competitor Dave Bautista trashed Reebok on Twitter over the weekend. He joins severalothers in criticizing how the UFC’s deal with Reebok affects fighter payouts. A new payout system was implemented in mid-2015 preventing fighters from having their own sponsors at UFC events, after Reebok became the company’s exclusive outfitting sponsor.
Here’s what ‘Batista’ had to say:
Anyone who buys that goofy UFC @Reebok shit is endorsing the fighters getting fucked out of their sponsorships. Just a thought #fuckreebok
— The Artist Formerly Known as Super Duper Dave (@DaveBautista) January 31, 2016
@DrSprigs actually it's not.I'm watching the fights and I'm tired of seeing all these Reebok commercials, knowing the fighters got screwed.
— The Artist Formerly Known as Super Duper Dave (@DaveBautista) January 31, 2016
@brandoncooklin thank you! It's not about the guys on top. It's about the fighters who have to take side jobs just to feed their families.
— The Artist Formerly Known as Super Duper Dave (@DaveBautista) January 31, 2016
Bautista fought once as a professional MMA fighter, when he was victorious over Vince Lucero in 2012. He’s currently making a living as an actor after appearing in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Spectre.
CM Punk recently spoke to Yahoo Sports about his new career as an MMA fighter. and revealed some advice he got from fellow former WWE champ and MMA enthusiast Batista. Punk, who has yet to make his octagon debut, currently has an 8-fight deal with the UFC.
“Part of my reason for most of the decisions I make in life is I don’t want to have regrets,” Punk said. “I talked to Dave Bautista [an ex-WWE wrestler who has one pro MMA fight] and he’s a great guy to talk to about this kind of stuff because he did the same thing. He said, ‘You’ve got to do it. You’ve got to chase your dream. You’re going to wake up one day and realize that you were presented an opportunity and you could have done it, but didn’t.’ So it’s a big reason.”
“It was something that he wanted to do. He loves it so he put his mind to it and did it, and I think that amazing,” Punk told The MMA Hour. “I don’t think anybody can criticize that. He has no delusions of grandeur. He’s not trying to get a big, fat UFC contract. He’s not trying to coast on his name from the WWE. He’s just fighting because he wanted to experience it.”
CM Punk also tackled the issue of backlash from MMA fans in his Yahoo Sports interview this week. Punk says he loves the sport of MMA, and that fans should be more patient with him while he trains for his delayed UFC debut.
“The people who don’t like the UFC and want to see it fail are always going to find the negatives,” he said. “You hear them. They say, ‘Oh, they didn’t do this,’ or ‘They’re not doing this right.’ The people who like it are going to buy the pay-per-view, and I want to respect them and the other fighters and this sport by being as prepared as I can. But there’s always going to be people who don’t like it or who have a problem with it.”
“I love the sport, and I have for a long time,” he added. “I’d stay up late and watch the Pride New Year’s Eve shows. I watch all the UFC pay-per-views. I’m a fan. I love this stuff. Literally, I looked at it, and I said, ‘That’s something I want to do.’”
Punk is expected to make his UFC debut at either UFC 199 or UFC 200.
CM Punk recently spoke to Yahoo Sports about his new career as an MMA fighter. and revealed some advice he got from fellow former WWE champ and MMA enthusiast Batista. Punk, who has yet to make his octagon debut, currently has an 8-fight deal with the UFC.
“Part of my reason for most of the decisions I make in life is I don’t want to have regrets,” Punk said. “I talked to Dave Bautista [an ex-WWE wrestler who has one pro MMA fight] and he’s a great guy to talk to about this kind of stuff because he did the same thing. He said, ‘You’ve got to do it. You’ve got to chase your dream. You’re going to wake up one day and realize that you were presented an opportunity and you could have done it, but didn’t.’ So it’s a big reason.”
“It was something that he wanted to do. He loves it so he put his mind to it and did it, and I think that amazing,” Punk told The MMA Hour. “I don’t think anybody can criticize that. He has no delusions of grandeur. He’s not trying to get a big, fat UFC contract. He’s not trying to coast on his name from the WWE. He’s just fighting because he wanted to experience it.”
CM Punk also tackled the issue of backlash from MMA fans in his Yahoo Sports interview this week. Punk says he loves the sport of MMA, and that fans should be more patient with him while he trains for his delayed UFC debut.
“The people who don’t like the UFC and want to see it fail are always going to find the negatives,” he said. “You hear them. They say, ‘Oh, they didn’t do this,’ or ‘They’re not doing this right.’ The people who like it are going to buy the pay-per-view, and I want to respect them and the other fighters and this sport by being as prepared as I can. But there’s always going to be people who don’t like it or who have a problem with it.”
“I love the sport, and I have for a long time,” he added. “I’d stay up late and watch the Pride New Year’s Eve shows. I watch all the UFC pay-per-views. I’m a fan. I love this stuff. Literally, I looked at it, and I said, ‘That’s something I want to do.’”
Punk is expected to make his UFC debut at either UFC 199 or UFC 200.
Dave Batista should never be in an Octagon unless Vince McMahon decides to use one in a new gimmick match. Batista made his MMA debut Saturday night against a hefty gentleman named Vince Lucero. He was victorious by first-round stoppage, but less than …
Dave Batista should never be in an Octagon unless Vince McMahon decides to use one in a new gimmick match. Batista made his MMA debut Saturday night against a hefty gentleman named Vince Lucero. He was victorious by first-round stoppage, but less than impressive. After an underwhelming performance, I was left missing the beast gimmick from his WWE days.
Physically, Batista looked much tougher than Lucero, but as an MMA fighter, he wasn’t vastly superior. Both men were exhausted midway through the first round. This was not a top-level MMA showing by any stretch. The only thing that was more brutal than Batista’s performance was Joe Lauzon’s post-fight interview. J-Lo was like a cross between Rocky Balboa and Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley.
Lucero landed shots on Batista early, but they didn’t seem to have an effect on him. That said, were he hit with those shots by a more formidable heavyweight, Batista would have been in trouble.
He is obviously a decent athlete; he’s strong as an ox and a generally tough guy. However, it takes far more than that to be a serious MMA fighter. Batista is 43 years old, and this performance was proof that he has a lot to learn from a technical standpoint.
Lucero basically surrendered to his belly on the mat once he was gassed. Batista failed to appropriately mount his opponent. He ultimately pounded Lucero out, but the submission was there for the taking.
It was clear Batista had no clue on how to simply execute a rear-naked choke. If Batista were 23 instead of 43, my evaluation of his performance wouldn’t be as harsh. Sadly, that isn’t the case.
In the WWE, Batista has value and impact simply by walking into an arena. It isn’t as pertinent that he execute maneuvers in the ring impeccably. You can watch any of Brock Lesnar‘s recent WWE matches as proof of that.
Not executing properly in the MMA world will result in serious injury. Here is to hoping the next pay-per-view we see Batista in takes place on Sunday and not Saturday.
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(It could be argued that the gun gave him an unfair advantage.)
Former WWE professional wrestling star Dave Bautista made a successful MMA debut last night in Providence, RI. Bautista beat Vince Lucero via TKO (ground strikes) in the first round of their main event bout.
Lucero, a late replacement, out weighed Bautista by nearly forty pounds and came into the cage with well over forty professional fights under his belt but couldn’t survive the pro wrestler’s ground attack. Early on, Lucero hurt Bautista on the feet with punches.
Once he was able to get space and clear his head, however, Bautista took things to the ground with a double leg take down. From there he moved to side mount, then mount and rear mount before unloading a series of unanswered punches that forced the referee to stop the fight.
“I am better than I showed,” Bautista told interviewer Joe Lauzon after the win.
Perhaps, perhaps not. But Bautista definitely has more guts than other celebrity performers out there who play tough guys on TV or film but have no idea what it is like to train for and take part in a real fight.
The pro wrestler promised that he would continue to fight and thanked his Tampa area team and coaches. Check out the fight video as well as full event results after the jump.
(It could be argued that the gun gave him an unfair advantage.)
Former WWE professional wrestling star Dave Bautista made a successful MMA debut last night in Providence, RI. Bautista beat Vince Lucero via TKO (ground strikes) in the first round of their main event bout.
Lucero, a late replacement, out weighed Bautista by nearly forty pounds and came into the cage with well over forty professional fights under his belt but couldn’t survive the pro wrestler’s ground attack. Early on, Lucero hurt Bautista on the feet with punches.
Once he was able to get space and clear his head, however, Bautista took things to the ground with a double leg take down. From there he moved to side mount, then mount and rear mount before unloading a series of unanswered punches that forced the referee to stop the fight.
“I am better than I showed,” Bautista told interviewer Joe Lauzon after the win.
Perhaps, perhaps not. But Bautista definitely has more guts than other celebrity performers out there who play tough guys on TV or film but have no idea what it is like to train for and take part in a real fight.
The pro wrestler promised that he would continue to fight and thanked his Tampa area team and coaches. Check out the fight video as well as full event results after the jump.
Dave Bautista def. Vince Lucero via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:05
Chandler Holderness def. Todd Chattelle via TKO (elbows) – Round 1, :27
David Loiseau def. Chris McNally via TKO (cut) – Round 1, 2:30
John Howard def. Brett Chism via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:31
Mike Campbell def. Gemiyale Adkins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Calvin Kattar def. Saul Almeida via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Luis Felix def. Marc Stevens via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Tyler King def. Josh Diekmann via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-28)
Greg Rebello def. Chris Guillen via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:26
Brennan Ward def. Shedrick Goodridge via TKO (punches)- Round 1, 2:36
Andre Soukhamthath def. Rob Costa via TKO (cut) – Round 2, 4:44
Nate Andrews def. Leon Davis via submission (guillotine), Round 2, :29
Kevin Horowitz def. Tyson Chartier via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the hottest movie of the spring and, once again, Dave Bautista stole the show in the role of knife-slinging alien Drax the Destroyer.
