Bobby Lashley: CM Punk Will Surprise A Whole Bunch Of People In The UFC

Bobby Lashley is probably one of the best wrestling to MMA success stories to date outside of Brock Lesnar. Though he hasn't made it to the UFC, Lashley fought in Strikeforce, one of the UFC's biggest former rivals, and is 2-0 in the current number two MMA promotion in the world, Bellator MMA - all while maintaining an active schedule in TNA Wrestling, where he's a two-time champion. That sort of success makes him something of an expert on the transition, and he spoke this week about the latest name to make the jump, CM Punk. On the TNA Maximum Impact Tour, Lashley had the following to say to Mancunian Matters:

"He's going to be in the UFC and he's going to surprise a whole bunch of people and I think he's going to beat people who he's €˜not supposed to beat€™. He's here to fight, I know he's training his a** off and he's really going to prove to people that he's here to do martial arts and that he's not just there as someone who wants to live off the glory of the UFC."

Lashley also stated, in essence, that success breeds success, and once you learn to be successful, as Punk has, it sticks with you. As for his own MMA career, Lashley was forced to withdraw from a February bout with James Thompson due to injury, and while he wants to avenge an earlier career loss to Thompson, his next opponent isn't clear just yet - but he expects to be back in the cage later this year. According to Lashley, he currently has a contract "in front of me right now for Bellator and I'm looking forward to that. We€™ll sign this contract and this year I hope I'll be fighting for the world title."