Forty-two-year-old former WWE superstar Dave Batista said he had a deal on the table with Strikeforce but those talks ended once Zuffa purchased the San Jose based MMA promotion in March.
The 6’6″, 290-pound behemoth spoke to TMZ over the weekend:
“We were [negotiating a deal], but the UFC bought them out and they never said anything to me about it. … I was talking to a couple other federations but I really had my heart set on Strikeforce. I thought we had a deal. … It didn’t break down until they sold out. I just had no idea. Nobody ever said anything to me. Scott Coker never said anything. We had a deal on the table, we were trying to fix a few things and the next thing I know they got bought out.”
Batista, a six-time world champion in the world of professional wrestling, was training MMA under the tutelage of Cesar Gracie, the coach of such well known MMA stars as Nick and Nate Diaz, Gilbert Melendez and Jake Shields.
Batista said he was “real disappointed” the deal with Strikeforce fell through.
Anyone think there is a chance talks with Strikeforce could resume now they are under the Zuffa banner or is Batista better off cutting his teeth in the smaller shows?