Bellator 162's Josh Appelt on Bobby Lashley co-headliner: 'Why am I such a big underdog?'

Tonight, Josh Appelt will step on the cage as a man with nothing to lose.

Returning to Bellator after more than two years, Appelt (12-5 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) is aware of his underdog status against pro wrestler-turned-heavyweight prospect Bobby Lashley (14-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). That doesn’t mean, however, that he’s about to play the part.

“Bobby is a great athlete. He’s beaten and fought a lot of people. But why am I such a big underdog?” Appelt told MMAjunkie. “Does Bobby have that knockout power? No one knows. He has a couple of knockouts. But he’s great at wrestling and he’s great at sticking to his game plan. I’m going go try to go out and just put on a show and touch Bobby up – wrestle with him, strike with him.

“It’s (fight) No. 18 in my career. It’s just another fight. There’s underdogs in fighting, of course. It doesn’t bother me. OK, I’m the underdog. (I) appreciate it. What do you know about me to call me the underdog? I mean, yeah, I haven’t fought in Bellator in a while, but I won three fights in a row in Bellator, I fought twice in seven days – what do you know about me?”

The heavyweight scrap co-headlines Bellator 162, which takes place tonight at FedEx Forum in Memphis. The main card will air on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Appelt’s second stint with Bellator is certainly off to a high-profile start. Not only did he get premium placement, but also some serious competition in former WWE superstar Lashley, who – with an eight-win streak to show for his successful crossover – is now praised by promotion President Scott Coker as championship material.

Lashley’s pedigree is not lost on Appelt – the first one to point out his opponent’s ever-evolving MMA game. But neither the competition nor the increased buzz around the fight play any part in his approach to what he sees as another day at the face-punching office.

“I don’t see a WWE superstar – he’s an MMA fighter to me that’s just trying to make a living to feed his family,” Appelt said. “If I go out there and perform at the level I know I can and put on a good show on Bobby and get my hand raised, it’s going to increase my stock highly.

“But I don’t go out there looking at what’s past Bobby. I look what’s in front of me, and that’s Bobby Lashley – a great competitor and athlete.”

Appelt, of course, brings to the cage his own set of skills: seven TKO career wins, a previous 3-1 record in Bellator, wrestling chops he started honing at age 6, and, more recently, a camp at highly-touted Team Alpha Male.

And yes, he’s aware that team mostly is known for smaller guys – “everybody says that,” he said when asked about the odd pairing. But his arrival was embraced by Justin Buchholz after a management change led him to leave his previous team, and Appelt is perfectly happy with what’s he says “has been a blessing.”

Now, finally on the verge of his Bellator re-debut – after a near-miss in May, when Sergei Kharitonov withdrew due to illness a few days before their scheduled scrap – Appelt is ready to make the most of the unique position he finds himself in against an opponent like Lashley.

Then he hopes to go on showing everyone just what he can bring to the heavyweight landscape.

“It’s a Cinderella story for me,” Appelt said. “I have nothing to lose. I’m going to go out there and fight Bobby and give it everything I’ve got – put on a show for the fans, and hopefully it goes my way, which I keep visualizing it is.

“Everybody brings something different to the table. I think I’m the kind of guy who throws some leather and puts on a good show for the fans. Most of my fights are entertaining and high-paced, and I like to keep it that way.”

For more on Bellator 162, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.