Prior to Zuffa purchasing Strikeforce, former WWE star Dave Bautista had been making rumblings about an MMA debut, piggybacking off the financial success of fellow wrestling to MMA stars Brock Lesnar and to a lesser extent, Bobby Lashley.
After the purchase, the talks between the 6’6″ Bautista and Strikeforce’s Scott Coker faded away but he has now found a home for his first MMA bout – Providence, Rhode Island, on October 6th.
The event will be at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center under the CES MMA banner, a regional group that also puts on boxing events. The Boston Herald reported they are trying to get the show on televised pay-per-view.
The 43-year-old will fight heavyweight Rashid Evans, a 1-2 pro from New York. The 6’2″ Evans isn’t exactly seasoned with just three fights in the last three years, last competing in January. After retiring from WWE in 2010, Bautista has done some small acting roles and opened up a Gracie Fighter gym in Tampa, FL, focusing heavily on Brazilian Jiujitsu since then.