By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Former WWE and TNA wrestler Bobby Lashley says he wants to face tougher opponents in MMA so he can gain more credibility as a fighter. In a hypothetical situation, Lashley says former WWE star Brock Lesnar would be an opponent he wants to fight.

"I think it would be a great fight. I can't really say I want to fight him because I'm in Strikeforce. If he came over to Strikeforce, yeah, let's have a big fight. If Strikeforce were to release me and I had the opportunity to go to UFC, then let's do the fight. I think there's a lot of people who want to see that fight," Lashley said in a sit-down interview with HDNet's Inside MMA show.

The subject of Lashley's interview was how his MMA career has gone thus far with injuries currently slowing him down, a lack of big opponents on his resume, and following Lesnar's footsteps. Lashley said he wants to step up in the level of opponents he's facing in Strikeforce and would take a fight with one of the top MMA fighters in the world, Fedor Emelianenko.

"If they called me up today and say, 'We want you to fight Fedor,' then what I would say to them is, 'I will fight Fedor,'" Lashley said in response to not being booked against top opponents.

Lashley also explained why he's taken a different path than Brock Lesnar, who burst onto the scene and became UFC Hvt. champion in his fourth professional fight. Lashley says he entered MMA from pro wrestling and wanted to "show the sport a level of respect." He said he didn't want to be one-dimensional and just depend on his wrestling ability. "I want to be complete and test myself," Lashley said.

The entire interview can be viewed below. It's a lengthy interview with Lashley also talking about his transition from WWE to MMA and the criticism that came along with it.



Video URL: http://www.hdnetfights.com/

We suggest these recent related articles...

PUNK INJURY: C.M. Punk's UFC debut delayed (MMATorch)

WM32 NEWS: Ronda Rousey rules out WrestleMania appearance

MOVIE NEWS: C.M. Punk & A.J. Lee to co-star in horror movie