It was a rough start, but former WWE star Dave Bautista weathered the early storm and came out on top in his mixed martial arts debut Saturday night.Headlining CES MMA’s “Real Pain” event in Providence, R.I., Bautista somehow survived the heavy hands o…
It was a rough start, but former WWE star Dave Bautista weathered the early storm and came out on top in his mixed martial arts debut Saturday night.
Headlining CESMMA‘s “Real Pain” event in Providence, R.I., Bautista somehow survived the heavy hands of late replacement Vince Lucero before finishing the veteran of more than 40 fights via technical knockout late in the first round.
A number of UFC veterans also came out of last night’s show victorious, as John “Doomsday” Howard and former middleweight top contender David “The Crow” Loiseau both finished their opponents with devastating, early TKO stoppages.
After the fights, Bautista, Lucero and more gave their thoughts on how the main event went, fighting for a good cause as well as the former WWE champ’s future within the sport of MMA.
Bautista‘s own mother even weighed in with her thoughts on her son’s performance and how far he has come over the years.
Yours truly was there to cover all the exciting action, so check out an exclusive highlight and recap video from the CES MMA post-fight press conference in the video embedded above.
Former six-time WWE champion and star standout Dave Bautista made his professional mixed martial arts debut in the headliner of this evening’s Classic Entertainment and Sports 12 event.Vince Lucero, a grizzled veteran of more than 40 fights, took…
Former six-time WWE champion and star standout Dave Bautista made his professional mixed martial arts debut in the headliner of this evening’s Classic Entertainment and Sports 12 event.
Vince Lucero, a grizzled veteran of more than 40 fights, took to the cage to welcome the former bodybuilder to the world of “real fighting.”
The bouts early goings saw Lucero land plenty of unanswered and undefended punches to the head of Bautista, who looked to be battling a severe case of nerves. With over three minutes having ticked away from the clock, Bautista finally seemed to shake the butterflies and secured a solid double-leg takedown.
The conclusion of the bout felt imminent. Bautista controlled Lucero on the mat, took his back, nearly mounted and ended up unleashing a barrage of strikes to the sides of Lucero’s head. Vince, who picked up two victories earlier this year, had no answer as he clamored to simply avoid the strikes of Bautista.
A brief melee ensued in the wake of referee Dan Miragliotta’s intervention, although no serious extracurricular insanity unfolded beyond a few verbal insults hurled from both sides of the cage. Ultimately the two put whatever fueled the conflict to rest, as Lucero congratulated a smiling Bautista moments later.
Thank the higher powers that be we were able to avoid a WWE–esque spectacle.
Dave Bautista now sports a 1-0 record as a professional mixed martial artist. While his debut was a bit stiff, and he took some punishment, the former professional wrestler proved capable of maintaining composure and adapting in actual combat.
What’s next for the 43-year-old star (you can spot Bautista in the upcoming action flick, The Man with the Iron Fists) remains to be seen, although if we learned anything from tonight’s performance, it’s that Bautista dodged a bullet in avoiding signing with a major promotion.
Victorious or not, this is one former wrestler who doesn’t look to be quite prepared for the leap to the big leagues yet.
When Brock Lesnar made his MMA debut, the entire sport was abuzz. Lesnar annihilated Olympic judo silver medalist Kim Min-Soo, and though he fell short against Frank Mir in his first UFC bout, his speed, strength and wrestling pedigree had pundits pred…
When Brock Lesnar made his MMA debut, the entire sport was abuzz. Lesnar annihilated Olympic judo silver medalist Kim Min-Soo, and though he fell short against Frank Mir in his first UFC bout, his speed, strength and wrestling pedigree had pundits predicting a title run for the raw wrestler.
Suffice to say, no one is talking about Lesnar’s pro wrestling pal Dave “Batista” Bautista’s potential after his first MMA bout against journeyman Vince Lucero at CES MMA “Real Pain” at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. While Lesnar started his UFC career with a former champion, Batista took on an opponent who looked like his only championship glory came in a hot dog eating contest.
The overweight Lucero ran wild on Batista, Hulkamania style, styling and profiling like an obese Ric Flair. He cracked Bautista with a hard punch and clowned for the crowd as he pushed the former WWE champion up against the cage in the clinch.
Eventually, Bautista managed to get the bout to the mat. He controlled the action but never really established a rear mount—it appeared he couldn’t successfully wrap his legs all the way around Lucero’s ample midsection.
Bautista started to work his punches, and with Lucero complaining of punches to the back of the head, thankfully, finally, the referee called a TKO stop to the bout, proclaiming the WWE star the winner of a fight that can be charitably described as awful. It could have only gone worse if Dave had somehow managed to lose. He had the courage to fight and pulled out a win. For that, my hat is off to him.
Batista, however, wasn’t quite done. He kept after Lucero, talking trash and taunting his fallen foe. No one is quite sure what happened between the two men.
Guest interviewer Joe Lauzon did little to shed light on the situation. When he got an opportunity to talk with Bautista after the fight, he asked him generic questions about his nerves and whether he would fight again. The mystery post-fight scuffling, alas, remains a mystery, a terrible end to a rough night of fights.
For the 43-year-old Bautista, it was much ado about nothing. He has teased an MMA appearance for years, training with Cesar Gracie and Stephan Bonnar among others, attempting to convince the sports world that his swollen muscles would translate from the world of pro wrestling into a successful career of face punching.
When negotiations with Strikeforce fell through after the promotion was purchased by Zuffa (the UFC parent company), it was a dream that seemed dead. After watching his debut, we would have been better off if that had indeed been the case.
Bautista didn’t come out to his trademark WWE theme music. He didn’t wear the snazzy white suit that defined his days as part of the Evolution gang alongside legends like Triple H and Flair. He didn’t use a single powerbomb or even give his opponent two thumbs down.
All that reminded us that this was “Batista” was his ridiculous musculature. That, and that alone, isn’t going to be enough. His post-fight interview was a bore. His actual fight was abysmal. Though he pledged to fight again, I wonder how many will make the journey with him a second time?
This was Dave Bautista’s chance to reinvent himself. Here’s hoping he still has Vince McMahon’s number somewhere, because UFC president Dana White isn’t likely to be calling anytime soon.
Former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Dave “Batista” Bautista makes his professional mixed martial arts debut tonight on pay-per-view, and Bleacher Report will bring you the results and analysis from the main card beginning at 9 p.m. ET. …
Former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Dave “Batista” Bautista makes his professional mixed martial arts debut tonight on pay-per-view, and Bleacher Report will bring you the results and analysis from the main card beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Bautista, who owns a Gracie jiu-jitsu school in Florida, faces Vinnie Lucero in the main event. Former UFC star David Loiseau also appears on the card.
For all of the results and notes on the action, stay tuned to this post beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET as I bring you a quick wrap from the preliminary card.
According to a Fox Sports report, the Amarillo, Texas- based organization has signed former WWE champion Bobby Lashley to a three-year deal and he will likely make his promotional debut in November. The event, which will be aired on Fuel TV, will likely take place in Missouri where Lashley attended college.
(Now if SF could just convince Batista to sign on the dotted line, the circle would be complete.)
According to a Fox Sports report, the Amarillo, Texas- based organization has signed former WWE champion Bobby Lashley to a three-year deal and he will likely make his promotional debut in November. The event, which will be aired on Fuel TV, will likely take place in Missouri where Lashley attended college.
Rebounding from the first loss of his 6-1 MMA career against Chad Griggs at Strikeforce:Houston last August by defeating John Ott at Titan FC 17: Lashley vs. Ott this past March in Kansas City, Lashley, who runs his own American Top Team affiliate in Colorado, says that he’s excited about the deal.
“It’s going to give me the opportunity to get some more fights under my belt,” Lashley said of the signing.
Shark Fights CEO, Bud Brutsman said that Lashley’s star power will undoubtedly translate to higher ticket sales.
“It’s going to be big for us. When you’re a little organization you need to make some noise, and Bobby is the perfect one to make some noise. There is nobody better than him right now that’s out there,” Brustman said. By signing Bobby were saying we’re willing to put our money out there to make it happen, and bring in and sign the bigger-name talent, and not just has-beens and nobodies.”
Man, they sure are lowering the bar these days. According to TMZ, Dave Bautista (aka former WWE professional wrestler “Batista“) and renowned MMA trainer Cesar Gracie have created a new tag team, and will be opening a Gracie Fighter Jiu Jitsu franchise in Tampa. Though the gym is currently only open to “close martial artist friends,” it will be opened to the public next week; you can see a couple photos of the joint here.
The last we heard about Bautista’s MMA career is that it was dead thanks to the UFC acquiring Strikeforce. I’m not sure if I’m more surprised that Bautista can’t stop pretending he’s a real fighter or that Cesar is whoring out the Gracie family name like that. I hope his cousin Renzo gives him a good talking to about this whole ordeal.
Man, they sure are lowering the bar these days. According to TMZ, Dave Bautista (aka former WWE professional wrestler “Batista“) and renowned MMA trainer Cesar Gracie have created a new tag team, and will be opening a Gracie Fighter Jiu Jitsu franchise in Tampa. Though the gym is currently only open to “close martial artist friends,” it will be opened to the public next week; you can see a couple photos of the joint here.
The last we heard about Bautista’s MMA career is that it was dead thanks to the UFC acquiring Strikeforce. I’m not sure if I’m more surprised that Bautista can’t stop pretending he’s a real fighter or that Cesar is whoring out the Gracie family name like that. I hope his cousin Renzo gives him a good talking to about this whole ordeal.
We can only imagine what a normal training day is like at Batista Top Team. Let’s see here, we’ve got jiu jitsu for dummies followed by tire-flipping. After that you have your choice of “Juice” 101, How to Sell a Punch, or 10 Steps to a Meaner Mug. You’ve got your work cut out for you, Ron Kruck.
This seems more like a publicity stunt than anything — or maybe it’s Bautista’s attempt to convince Dana White that he’s not a fake-fighter after all. What’s your take?
Former six-time 
