James Thompson on Bobby Lashley's MMA career: 'I don't know what he's thinking'

Bobby Lashley and James Thompson

James Thompson isn’t particularly impressed with the way in which Bellator 145 opponent Bobby Lashley has gone through his MMA career.

Thompson (20-14 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and Lashley (13-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) square off tonight in a heavyweight rematch of a fight that took place at Super Fight League 3 in May 2012. “The Colossus” won the bout by unanimous decision, but he suffered a broken orbital bone in the process due a hard strike from Lashley in the first round.

After multiple attempts to reschedule the fight, Thompson and Lashley are finally set to clash at Bellator 145, which takes place at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

The typical trend for an MMA fighter is to build a solid record at the beginning of his career and graduate to stiffer competition. Thompson said Lashley hasn’t done that, and despite going 6-0 since the loss, Thompson is disappointed by the chosen matchmaking for his opponent’s career.

“It would be unfair to say he hasn’t improved, because he has, but he hasn’t really tested himself,” Thompson told MMAjunkie. “When you look at his career and the people he’s fought, I don’t know what he’s thinking. You’ve got to test yourself to get to that next level. I don’t think he’s done that at all.

“I think he’s been happy to keep going along and doing his (professional) wrestling as well. I don’t believe he’s tested himself to the full. So it’s hard to say when someone hasn’t tested themselves to say how much they’ve improved.”

Thompson said he represents the step up in competition Lashley needed. The former WWE superstar lost a close decision the first time around, and the rematch will be a telling benchmark of his progress in more than three years since.

Although Lashley has been the more active athlete in recent years, Thompson said he’s more passionate about the victory. The PRIDE veteran hasn’t fought in exactly 18 months and said he’s eager to get back to work, especially after a rough chapter in his personal life that included a life-consuming gambling addiction.

“With me it’s always been about the mental; I’m in a good place now,” Thompson said. “I want to fight. I want to fight now more than I ever have in God knows how long. I’ve come through the worst of it in my career. Even though I’ve been winning recently, I still feel like I’m just getting to a point where I want to get in there and fight and am excited to do that. I’ve got a big heart, and I feel like it’s going to pay off.”

For more on Bellator 145, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.