Wes Sims is ever the showman, but that’s about all he offers at this point. Strikeforce wanted to showcase undefeated Bobby Lashley in his first fight with the promotion, and Sims helped deliver the desired outcome. The 6-foot-8 veteran clowned a bit at the beginning of the fight and made himself an easy target for the pro wrestler-turned-MMA fighter.
Lashley got top control just 38 seconds into the fight and mauled Sims on the ground. Sims took 30-40 shots to his head and body. He then turned and gave his back. Lashley landed a few more shots, forcing referee Troy Waugh to step in at 2:06 of the first round.
Lashley, who turned pro in December 2008, improved to 5-0, and only one of his fights have gotten out of the first round.
UPDATE: Lashley and Sims almost brawled at the postfight press conference. Sims approached Lashley and pushed him before the scrap was broken up by fellow Strikeforce fighter Mo Lawal.
Sims claimed that the fight was stopped early and he was fighting two-on-one. Sims said he complained to the referee that Lashley was cheating when he kept jabbing his throat with his thumb. He called Lashley a turd who was handed the fight because that’s the result Strikeforce wanted for its newest signee.
A veteran of WWE and now with TNA, Lashley has been a target for some of his MMA opponents who have mocked his involvement in the fake stuff. But he has yet to lose a legit fight. Sims started the fight by holding his left hand high in the air. A classic move, a la "Big" John Studd, used in wrestling to lure an opponent into a test of strength. Lashley stayed calm and when the grossly out-of-shape 258-pound Sims got lazy and too close, he pushed forward for an easy takedown.