It's been A LONG time in the making ... but former WWE heavyweight champion Batista has FINALLY booked his first real deal MMA fight ... TMZ has learned.
Batista has been training to get in the ring for years ... and got REALLY close to fighting in the Strikeforce league back in 2010 -- but the deal fell apart.
But now it's on for real -- the 43-year-old powerhouse signed with the CES MMA league -- and is all set up to fight on October 6 at the Duncan Doughnuts Theater in Providence, Rhode Island.
Best of luck to Big Dave. We'll be right here watching, I'm sure.
"This is DIET Double Dew, Kyle! It only has half the caffeine and sugar of Double Dew!"
I haven't watched a ton of UFC lately, and much of what I have watched has been out of the corner of my eye while playing games or reading on my iPad. Too many shows, not enough stars. I guess I'm not a true fan. This doesn't surprise me.