Say Hello to Mr. Grave Digger: Chad Griggs Defeats Bobby Lashley

For a man that once said something along the lines of “let me build slowly or give me Fedor Emelianenko”, Bobby Lashley certainly seemed to have had a bloated opinion of himself and his abilities. During the Strikeforce: “Houston” telecast, however, any hope of Lashley being a championship contender in the near future was sent crashing down to earth. Little-known Chad Griggs proved to be the latest example of the “never say never in MMA” idiom, an idiom that has perhaps never seen more use than in the shocking 2010 year. A former IFL fighter, Griggs was on a three-fight win-streak despite not having competed in over a year. Lashley, to his credit, was a flawless 5-0, and had displayed impressive speed and dominant wrestling in all five fights leading up to this one. And this one seemed to be going the exact same route as all the others, until Lashley fell to the one fatal opponent of all jacked-up hulking behemoth Heavyweights: the dreaded cardio monster.

The first round looked like a mirror image of all his other fights: Lashley achieved a takedown fairly early and controlled his opponent on the ground for several minutes, and despite Griggs getting to his feet several times, Lashley was always able to bring the fight to the ground. The only solace Griggs had throughout the first round was the surprise uppercut he was able to nail Lashley with, which opened Lashley up very badly. The cut appeared below the eye, and though deep and very bloody, Lashley went into round 2 ahead on the score cards and ready for more of the same.

And more of the same is what he got, for the most part. Griggs was in serious danger when Lashley achieved full mount for a prolonged period of time, but perhaps due to his inexperience, Lashley was unable to either TKO or submit Griggs. Even the announcers were quick to point out that Griggs was wide open to several submissions at several points during the fight. In fact, Lashley was so inactive with full mount that the referee in charge stood the fighters up in what must have been one of the only occasions in MMA history when a fighter has been forced to stand up while having by far the most dominant position in the MMA ground game. After Lashley’s cut was checked on once again, Lashley restarted on the feet seemingly without strength. His powerful takedowns were finally blocked, and Griggs unloaded with everything he possibly had to finish the second round. When Lashley had trouble getting to his feet, the referee called off the fight and gave Lashley the first loss of his professional career.

And in all honesty, it was going to happen sooner rather than later. For all the domination he displayed in Round 1, this fight clearly showed that Lashley still has many, many things still left to learn if he wants to be taken seriously as a Mixed Martial Artist, and not just as a former pro wrestling that has bandwagon-jumped into MMA after seeing the success of current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. The future can still be bright for Bobby Lashley…if he checks his ego at the door and focuses on becoming a complete fighter. Until then, Lashley will have to grapple with the knowledge that sometimes even spoon-fed cans can do the near-impossible.

And what do you think, fans and friends? How big of a setback is this for Bobby Lashley’s career?