"Mo" Lawal Makes Moves Toward Mixed Martial Arts

by Luke Thomas on Mar 12, 2008 10:04 AM EDT in News Comment 1 comment

One of the best American wrestlers in the country has decided to begin cross-training MMA and will do so with Team Quest. To wit:

Muhammed "Mo" Lawal, a 2008 U.S. wrestling gold medal hopeful has relocated from Colorado Springs' Olympic Training Center to Team Quest's Murrieta, Calif., complex to cross-train in mixed martial arts, Sherdog.com learned Tuesday evening.

"He's the most phenomenal wrestler I've ever worked with," stated Team Quest's Ryan Parsons, who has trained several collegiate grapplers turned MMA champions.

Hailing from Murfeesboro, Tenn., Lawal wrestled at Oklahoma State and Central Oklahoma, where he captured the Division II national championship in 2002. More recently, "Mo" won first place at the 2006 U.S. Open and the 2007 Pan American Games.

"Mo is an incredibly gifted athlete. He has a 42-inch vertical leap, a work ethic second to none and learns extremely fast," Parsons said. "His experience competing at the highest level in wrestling and his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts are great assets in his quest to become a champion."

His first MMA match will be after the 2008 Olympic Games is Beijing. Peep a video of "Mo" tearing up a Russian in a freestyle competition after the jump.

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Re: "Mo" Lawal Makes Moves Toward MMA

If you haven't watched amateur wrestling in a while, you owe it to yourself to check this video out: it will re-emphasize how wrestling can make a fight into something unrealistic and boring. And this was good for wrestling!

Dear Mo,

If you come to MMA, don't be a boring wrestler. Train strikes and submissions first, and don't rely on your athleticism. The last thing we need is another lay-n-pray artist who spends all his time clinching or laying on top of people.