Bobby Lashley in negotiations to fight Bob Sapp

Despite an appearance for the pro wrestling promotion TNA this past Sunday in Philadelphia, PA during its “Lockdown” pay-per-view event, former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley will continue to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.

Not only will Lashley continue to compete in MMA, but sources have informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com that the former NAIA amateur wrestling champion is currently in negotiations to face former PRIDE and K-1 star Bob Sapp in a super heavyweight attraction.

According to sources, the proposed Lashley vs. Sapp fight would headline a June 27 show at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi for a brand new startup promotion. Five Ounces of Pain reported Monday that Chris Horodecki is slated to compete on the show against King of the Cage veteran William Sriyapai.

All indications are that Sapp and Lashley have both verbally agreed to the matchup and the only thing preventing the fight from being announced officially is final confirmation.

Sapp is 10-3-1 in MMA and was once one of Japan’s biggest stars earlier in the decade. A former offensive lineman with the Chicago Bears, Sapp first made a name for himself in combat sports as a kickboxer while competing under the K-1 banner.

He is perhaps known best to the MMA community for his second round armbar submission loss to former PRIDE and interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira during PRIDE’s “Shockwave” event in August of 2002.

Sapp’s last MMA fight was against the masked Akihito Tanaka during FEG’s “K-1 Dynamite!!” event this past New Year’s Eve. Tanaka was a former pro wrestler competing under the assumed identity of a Japanese anime’ character.

Lashley is 2-0 since making his MMA debut this past December against Joshua Franklin during a Mixed Fighting Alliance event in Florida. The former ECW heavyweight champion required just 41 seconds to earn a TKO victory over Franklin. He then returned to the cage in March during Square Ring Promotions’ “March Badness” PPV event and defeated Jason Guida via unanimous decision.