Josh Appelt Wonders Why He’s The Underdog Against Bobby Lashley

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Josh Appelt (12-5 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) spoke about his MMA return tonight at Bellator 162, where he’ll fight Bobby Lashley (14-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). The card airs on Spike TV from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.

On people thinking he’s the underdog: “Bobby is a great athlete. He’s beaten and fought a lot of people. But why am I such a big underdog? Does Bobby have that knockout power? No one knows. He has a couple of knockouts. But he’s great at wrestling and he’s great at sticking to his game plan. I’m going go try to go out and just put on a show and touch Bobby up – wrestle with him, strike with him. It’s (fight) No. 18 in my career. It’s just another fight. There’s underdogs in fighting, of course. It doesn’t bother me. OK, I’m the underdog. (I) appreciate it. What do you know about me to call me the underdog? I mean, yeah, I haven’t fought in Bellator in a while, but I won three fights in a row in Bellator, I fought twice in seven days – what do you know about me?”

On not overlooking Lashley: “I don’t see a WWE superstar – he’s an MMA fighter to me that’s just trying to make a living to feed his family. If I go out there and perform at the level I know I can and put on a good show on Bobby and get my hand raised, it’s going to increase my stock highly. But I don’t go out there looking at what’s past Bobby. I look what’s in front of me, and that’s Bobby Lashley – a great competitor and athlete.”

On what sets him apart: “It’s a Cinderella story for me. I have nothing to lose. I’m going to go out there and fight Bobby and give it everything I’ve got – put on a show for the fans, and hopefully it goes my way, which I keep visualizing it is. Everybody brings something different to the table. I think I’m the kind of guy who throws some leather and puts on a good show for the fans. Most of my fights are entertaining and high-paced, and I like to keep it that way.”