You Say King, Strikeforce Says Mo: Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal Signs with Strikeforce

by Mike Fagan on Oct 13, 2009 11:20 PM EDT in News Comment 77 comments

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and could make his promotional debut as early as December, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations.

The deal allows the undefeated Lawal, a NCAA Div. 1 All-American wrestling champion for Oklahoma State in 2003 and decorated international competitor, to continue competing on the Japanese circuit.

I suppose it was only a matter of time. Mo's made it known that he's in no rush to jump to the UFC. Strikeforce will provide him a good opportunity to continue his progression as a fighter while exposing him to the American audience.

The big question, of course, is who does he fight? Guys like Mike Whitehead, Kevin Randleman, and Bobby Southworth would provide quality fodder for Mo's rise. If all goes well, Mo would eventually fight former champ Renato Sobral and current champ Gegard Mousasi.

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Comments

Awesome awesome awesome

BOOSH

by Farthammer on Oct 13, 2009 11:24 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs

Knew it all along.
=)

You say King…

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think you did

But it’s still the best case scenario. I’m curious to see how he’s utilized.

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 12:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good pickup for them

by Phildo on Oct 13, 2009 11:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, this does wonders for their 205 division, which is very very thin.

Hopefully they can land about 3 or 4 more decent Light Heavies while sorting out the ones they have.

by TDITZ on Oct 14, 2009 8:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Strikeforce just got a little more interesting

"Did you feel you did well against Lindland?" "
Hell no.. I wanted to break the law"
---Rampage

by TearsofaClown on Oct 13, 2009 11:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Mo vs Whitehead.

by Meshuggeth on Oct 13, 2009 11:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

you have to like Strikeforce for allowing their fighters fight overseas. awesome news!

by pop_gun_war on Oct 13, 2009 11:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It has worked out great for Overeem, I can’t say it has benefited Strikeforce much.

by Dropkick434 on Oct 13, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Overeem was in fighting in K-1 and DREAM before he re-signed with Strikeforce a few months ago, so he has to finish out his duties at the moment.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Overeem was in fighting in K-1 and DREAM before he re-signed with Strikeforce a few months ago, so he has to finish out his ~~duties~~ cycles at the moment.

Fixed

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Oct 14, 2009 1:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Duty cycles? Nerd! =)

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 1:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah sure…

by Dropkick434 on Oct 14, 2009 2:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Strikeforce LHW Division Growing:

Gegard Mousasi [CHAMP]
Renato “Babalu” Sobral
“King” Mo Lawal (HW & LHW)
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante
Kevin “The Monster” Randleman
Mike Whitehead
Bobby Southworth
Mike Kyle
Antwain Britt
Aaron Rosa
Ralek Gracie

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 12:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s a pretty terrible division. That’s why I’m curious how Mo will be utilized.. What is the best case scenario in your mind? A Gegard/Mo fight? That’s squash. It’s pretty treacherous. I hope they can make additional concessions.

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A Gegard/Mo fight? That’s squash.

A squash for whom, exactly?

by George Lucas on Oct 14, 2009 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope that’s rhetorical…

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 12:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s not. They’re both really good fighters. I don’t see why you think either one of them would be so outclassed that the fight would be considered a squash.

by George Lucas on Oct 14, 2009 2:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's pretty silly

But okay..

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 3:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Come on now!

I don’t think Mo would make it past the first. His opposition has not been world-class by any means. Wiuff was his best challenge.

by TDITZ on Oct 14, 2009 8:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The one who just murdered a top 10 fighter

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Oct 14, 2009 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Babalu hasn’t been a top 10 fighter since like 2007.

by George Lucas on Oct 14, 2009 2:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Come on, top 15.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 2:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I imagine it’s a squash for Gegard. If Strikeforce is smart, they’ll build Mo. Pitting him against Mousasi early will be BAD NEWS.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Oct 14, 2009 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Think the same, Mo’s striking is pretty awful, he’s just throwing haymakers.

by grein on Oct 14, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Terrible?

2nd Best LHW division in all of MMA.
=)

I actually think it has a ton of potential.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Titanic was the 2nd most successful of 2 sister ships.

Keep firing Assholes!

Never trust a man with no shirt on.

by Ubernoober on Oct 14, 2009 12:48 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Ha.. Touche

I think that acquiring Mo is a step in the right direction (and that he’s better off in SF than in the UFC right now), but a lot more work needs to be done.

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 12:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

and russia is the second biggest superpower...

….
..
..
…
.

two out of the top 25 ranked fighters is what we are talking about…

by Beren on Oct 14, 2009 1:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ryan Lead had a lot of potential too. So did Rick Mirer.

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Oct 14, 2009 1:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ryan Lead probably had more real ability than Ryan Leaf.

Also, Jamarcus Russell.

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

u forgot reggie bush and brady quinn

by The Bronzeville Bully on Oct 14, 2009 1:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Quinn hasn’t had the chance the other two have had, though the same could be said of him in the future.

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 1:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

he couldnt do worse than 2-17 could he?

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Oct 14, 2009 2:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

D00D

Seriously…..

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 2:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Some of it was on himself. He did stage a lengthy holdout in the beginning.

by The Bronzeville Bully on Oct 14, 2009 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Whoops

I meant Leaf must have had lead in his head instead of a brain.

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Oct 14, 2009 1:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cade McNown was good, LAWL!

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Oct 14, 2009 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

rashaan salaam and curtis enis

by The Bronzeville Bully on Oct 14, 2009 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t even get me started… Salaam… lol, the man had a breakaway touchdown, and he dropped the ball without even getting hit on like the 10 yard line. ARGH!

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Oct 14, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

CFL is the second best league in football

by The Bronzeville Bully on Oct 14, 2009 1:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, it’s kind of bad. The top two guys are the most promising right now and Lawal, but Babalu got trounced by Mousasi.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Oct 14, 2009 9:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Correction, it is kind of NOT bad for just starting this division a few months ago.
=)

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bad is bad no matter how you slice it.

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Oct 14, 2009 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OOPs...

I forgot Sokoudjou… they have a good set of fighters.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Soko is borrowed, he’s signed o DREAM.

by CSKit on Oct 14, 2009 1:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wasn’t sure if only for one fight or not.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 1:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Are Prangley and Ruiz still in strikeforce at all?

by George Lucas on Oct 14, 2009 12:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ruiz is. Not sure about Prangley, possibly.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 1:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Prangley needs to be! He would be a great SF addition. Dude has been on a tear.

by TDITZ on Oct 14, 2009 8:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Canadian Football is the second best football league in the world too.

by Dropkick434 on Oct 14, 2009 2:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Strikeforce's Light Heavyweight "Division"

Strikeforce has a handful of very talented guys and no shortage of has beens and never was/will be’s. It’s a division only their mothers could love, and even then it’s probably 50/50.

Consider me a garbage filter. Here’s who we should actually count:

Gegard Mousasi
Renato Sobral
Mo Lawal
Mike Kyle
Rafael Cavalcante
Antwain Britt
Aaron Rosa

And understand, I’m being extremely charitable. Feijao and Kyle are lousy, but if you want to buy into Feijao’s hype, then you’ve got to include the guy who clobbered him as well.

Rosa realistically is unlikely to be anything, but again, I’m a nice guy.

I only kept Antwain Britt in there because he just so happens to be one of my two favorite fighters. He can probably crush Mike Kyle, too, but that really doesn’t mean much.

I guess the one thing you can’t take away from Strikeforce is that they have the second best Light Heavyweight division in the world. That means almost nothing, of course, but it could actually be worse

...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.

"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard

by Brett Jones on Oct 14, 2009 7:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Feijao is lousy?
Really…LOL.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He looked like garbage in the Kyle fight. He apparently has a lot of talent and potential but I have yet to see any of it in the cage.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Oct 14, 2009 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

P.S.

Del Rosario will probably drop to LHW as well.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

BE is loading super slow tonight, 503 errors all over the place. What’s up?

Is some pro-Virginia Boxing Commission hacker trying to bring you down?

by George Lucas on Oct 14, 2009 12:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wow, i figured King Mo would do the hip/cool thing

and call out everyone in the LHW div in the UFC. much like everyone else NOT in the ufc in most any other weight class calling out the belt holders of the UFC. King Mo is actually doing something completely different and in fact the proper way to go about getting into the high levels of MMA, namely the UFC. start with JV then make the jump to varsity.

ufc fan boy all the way

by georgehouse on Oct 14, 2009 1:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You mean like the UFC HW’s calling out Fedor?
=)

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 1:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Calling out, in that case, is stretching the term.
For applicable reference, see; Shinya Aoki.

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 1:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Frank Mir?

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 2:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was gone for a month

I saw some comments he made, but nothing suggested he would fight him if given the chance. If you’ve got something for me, let’s see..

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 3:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If by “everyone else” you mean Shinya Aoki, then yes he didn’t do like “everyone else”.

by CSKit on Oct 14, 2009 1:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Unless they wanna throw him to the title quickly heres how I see it

1. Mo/Randleman
2. Mo/Southworth
3. Mo/Mousasi or Babalu

by IRodC on Oct 14, 2009 1:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Mo Mo, Mo problems.

Keep firing Assholes!

Never trust a man with no shirt on.

by Ubernoober on Oct 14, 2009 1:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see Mo losing to Mousasi twice in brutal fashion, then in three years they’ll rematch in the UFC where Mo wins by knockou—-oh wait a minute…

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Robert Downey Sr. on Oct 14, 2009 2:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

By then--

Mo will have moved down..

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 2:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I actually hope they don’t rush Mo into a fight with Mousasi. He needs to take his time and get the striking aspect down.

Twitter: @FlyByKnite

by FlyByKnight on Oct 14, 2009 2:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Giving or receiving?

I like Mo; but Mousasi will steal his lunch money under any circumstances imaginable.

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 2:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes because we know how Mousasi handles world-class wrestlers like… um…

by George Lucas on Oct 14, 2009 2:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Or how he can't, for that matter

You’re really driving home an unusual argument. I don’t know anyone that would even begin to consider Mo a viable contender to Mousasi at this point..

I STILL poop rainbows.

by Blackout612 on Oct 14, 2009 3:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd like it if Mo dropped to MW, as he has always said that he could do..

If he develops into a major threat at MW, we could be seeing a #2 ranked guy in the future.. the best MW that strikeforce has is a welterweight. haha.

If it’s true that he can drop to MW, give him lindland. then maybe lawler..

weoweoweo .deviantart .com -- @antontabuena

by Anton Tabuena on Oct 14, 2009 4:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Jacare and Mayhem will have something to say about that very soon.
=)

King Mo is fine at LHW.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Oct 14, 2009 4:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Shields beats Mayhem..

Do you think Mayhem pulls this off? now with Jacare, Shields could have more problems stylistically I think..

But either way, King Mo would have more trouble with Mousasi than any of those three MWs.. (assuming he can really make the cut to MW without problems)

weoweoweo .deviantart .com -- @antontabuena

by Anton Tabuena on Oct 14, 2009 5:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There is no way

That Shields beats Mayhem. Shields is SO ridiculously overrated. His BJJ is good. But NOT top notch enough to beat anyone with decent BJJ themselves like Jacare or Mayhem.

And his striking is absolutely abysmal.

King Mo needs to stay at LHW. He belongs there – I don’t see him cutting to MW.

by rainmaker6 on Oct 14, 2009 5:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

King Mo to Strikeforce

A good signing. I think his entrance is a bit overrated (and I am all for theatrics), so we’ll see how that plays in the US or if he changes it up a bit.

The best case scenario is that Mo is a charismatic, English speaking version of what EliteXC pretended that Feijao was to be; a top contender and potential world-beater. He’s certainly got the great wrestling base to take him a long way (captain obvious, I know), so even though he’s got a garbage heap of Light Heavyweights to climb, he’s got a couple of intriguing matches waiting for him atop the heap.

...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.

"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard

by Brett Jones on Oct 14, 2009 6:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Strikeforce need referee Samio Kimura for serious “Mo” call for sure.

by shiroobi on Oct 14, 2009 8:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Awesome!!!! I am starting too like Strikeforce more and more

Out of the LHW division in Strikeforce I am loving that King MO and Antwain Britt are both signed, I have seen Antwain fight live 3 times and I am huge Muhammed Lawal fan and see him becoming as big as his head trainer one day Dan Henderson. I also would like too see Strikeforce sign Jamal “The Suit” Patterson. I saw Jamal (former IFL fighter) face Antwain and submitt him in about a minute, however I still have faith in Antwain because it was a fight he could have won if he didn’t get caught. It would be great too see a rematch one day between them. Antwain has some serious KO Power. Lawal is getting better and better and then you have Mousasi who is great. I think the addition of Lawal is great for Strikeforce and for MMA and look forward too watching him tear up the division (until he fights Mousasi and then its lights out)

by GoldmedalGrappling on Oct 14, 2009 9:14 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs