Bobby Lashley official scratch for PFC 'Best of Both Worlds' with ankle injury

Palace Fighting Championships (PFC) today announced the final mixed martial arts line up for "Best of Both Worlds" at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, Calif., on February 6.

And former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley (1-0) -- who was set to do battle against CageSport veteran Mike Hayes (4-0) -- was absent from the card. Event officials today confirmed to MMAmania.com that Lashley -- who had just inked a two-fight deal with the growing California-based promotion -- was yanked because of a significant ankle injury sustained during training.

He recently made his professional mixed martial arts debut with a first round technical knockout win over Joshua Franklin at Mixed Fighting Alliance: "There Will Be Blood" at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Fla., on December 13. He overwhelmed his opponent right from the get-go, opening up a gnarly fight-ending gash on his head only 41 seconds into the bout.

While it wasn’t a true showcase of Lashley’s developing mixed martial arts skills, it was an impressive performance nonetheless. Now training with one of the most highly regarded camps in the world, American Top Team, the potential is almost limitless for a guy with the background, size and athletic ability of Lashley.

There is no timetable for his return at this time, but it can't be soon enough -- Lashley is among the most intriguing athletes to make the transition to the sport. He has followed a path similar to that of UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

Hector Lombard is also a noteworthy scratch "Best of Both Worlds" ... even though his participation was never officially confirmed. The 170-pound judo specialist has been the center of discussion for several bouts planned in the United States recently; however, all of them have fallen through.

"Shango" was supposed to fight Karo Parisyan at UFC 78, but had visa issues and never made his way back onto another UFC card. He also signed with Elite XC last year, but never got a chance to compete for promotion before it went out of business in October.

PFC: "Best of Both Worlds" is a hybrid mixed martial arts and boxing card that will air live on ShoBox come fight night )the boxing portion of the show). Here is the latest card:

Mixed Martial Arts:
Ulysses Gomez (2-1) vs. David Suarez (2-1)
Brandon Cash (4-0) vs. Steve Gavin (3-2)
Alexis Vila (4-0) vs. Ben Nguyen (2-1)
Mike Hayes (4-0) vs. Ron Sparks (3-0)
Joey Cabezas (3-0) vs. Joe Morales (3-0)

Boxing:
Andre Ward vs. Henry Buchanon
John Molina vs. Joshua Kpakpo Allotey
Carina Moreno vs. Sharon Gaines
Manuel Quezada vs. Eric Boose
Mike Dallas Jr. vs. Anthony Martinez
Dewey Cooper vs. Arthur Williams
Tony Hirsch vs. Anthony Cannon