(So close to validation, yet soooo far away…)

Former/possibly current professional wrestler Bobby Lashley returns to mixed martial arts action this November, taking on TUF 10 alum Darrill “The Boss” Schoonover for the Shark Fights Heavyweight title.

Since making his MMA debut in 2008, Lashley has put together a 6-1 record with notable wins over Bob Sapp, Jason Guida, and Wes Sims. Lashley’s hype train was derailed by Chad Griggs at Stikeforce: Houston however, where after a moderately successful first round, “The Dominator” gassed in the second and was unable to answer the third round bell. Lashley has since picked up a unanimous decision victory over journeyman John Ott at Titan Fighting Championships 17.

Current Shark Fights heavyweight champ Darrill Schoonover made his name as the focus of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s verbal assault on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, so much so that he even challenged the former UFC light heavyweight champ to a fight after the show was over. What a mistake that would’ve been. Though Schoonover won his first fight on the show by choking Zak Jensen to sleep with a triangle, the man known as “Titties” ran out of steam in the quarterfinals, where he was knocked out by Marcus “Big Baby” Jones. Schoonover’s lone shot in the octagon was equally devastating, where he suffered a third round TKO loss at the hands of fellow cast mate James McSweeney at the TUF 10 Finale. 

One thing of note: After winning the title in 2009, Schoonover was called up to The Ultimate Fighter, and has yet to defend it. In the time since, he has compiled a less than stellar 1-5 record in various smaller promotions, most recently TKO’ing Adam Padilla in July.