The question that immediately jumps out to fans is how will Strikeforce handle Lawal's career. Strikeforce certainly doesn't want to throw him to the wolves in a title bout with Gegard Mousasi in a few months, but do they feel the need to rush him into main event status because the division lacks drawing main event fighters? Should Strikeforce slowly build Lawal up in order to increase his exposure in North America, a venture that could take some time that Strikeforce may feel they don't have?

The most obvious answer is the latter. Lawal needs to be brought up slowly within the promotion for a number of reasons. First and foremost, casual fans likely have never heard of Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. Most of his popularity stems from his flamboyant entrances and powerful style of fighting overseas, but it has yet to infect the casual MMA fan base in North America. His aggression, power, and brutal take down ability will likely garner him some interest if he's exposed to the right audience, but that will take some time. Obviously, throwing him in against Mousasi right off the bat wouldn't help Strikeforce in any capacity either. North American fans wouldn't have any idea who he was with the exception of the hardcore fan base, and that isn't exactly what Strikeforce is hoping for from his acquisition. Building him correctly could easily pay off huge in the end.

There are some other problems that have been blown out of proportion by some writers and fans. The light heavyweight division within the promotion isn't exactly stacked to the epic proportions of the UFC's light heavyweight division, and that's ultimately where all the criticism is coming from. If it isn't unbelievable like the UFC's division, it must be terrible, right? Wrong. It's actually set up perfectly for Lawal's future.

Currently, the division only holds a couple of marquee fighters. Gegard Mousasi and Renato "Babalu" Sobral are obviously the top two light heavyweights with Gegard holding the championship belt. Rafael "Feijao" Calvancante, Kevin Randleman, Aaron Rosa, Mike Whitehead, Bobby Southworth, Mike Kyle, Antwain Britt, and Ralek Gracie add to the list of divisional opponents with Rosa vs. Calvancante taking place on Nov. 20th, Randleman vs. Stanislov Nedkov possibly taking place on Nov. 7th at Sengoku XI, and Gegard Mousasi battling Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou on Nov. 7th. We can probably add Rameau Thierry Sokoujdou to the list as he'll likely be able to move between DREAM and Strikeforce as part of the alliance.

Many writers and fans alike have stated that Strikeforce has nothing to offer Lawal, but I completely disagree with that statement considering Lawal's best win was in his first professional fight against Travis Wiuff. He has yet to take on anybody who is competent in the striking department while also having a solid takedown defense. Some would make the claim that Ryo Kawamura and Fabio Silva had the technical ability to crush Lawal, but in reality -- they were simply power punchers with bad takedown defense.

Realistically, Bobby Southworth hasn't fought in quite awhile, and he'd be the perfect opponent. Many fans know who he is, but he doesn't present any real dangers to Lawal's wrestling game. Mike Kyle may also fall into that position as he's pretty similar to a Fabio Silva or Ryo Kawamura in that he relies heavily on his power punching to win, something Lawal is used to avoiding and countering. Any of these fights would be progressively better competition than he's faced in the past. Even a battle with Kevin Randleman has some upside for Lawal, and it's a better match-up than beating up a worn down Mark Kerr, although not much better.

Of course, keeping Lawal out of the title hunt for awhile results in other problems. Mousasi, after he defeats Sokoudjou as many would expect, will probably have a shortage of challengers. Ricardo Arona and Paulo Filho are definitely the best possibilities out there as challengers to Mousasi, and Mousasi and Filho already have some ongoing dialogue between each other that will likely boil over at some point. Strikeforce could also go out and grab up some free agents to bolster divisional match-ups.

Robert Jocz, Raphael Davis, Victor Valimaki, and Tim Boestch all sit outside the promotion looking for breaks either back into the big time or their first breaks into a major promotion. Jocz isn't likely a great pick-up since he's a European fighter that the UFC could probably leverage better, but Davis, Valimaki, and Boestch all present unique challenges and benefits. Marvin Eastman is always roaming as well, and he provides a recognizable name to help build Strikeforce's talent, if he actually loses to their talent.

With a couple of key acquisitions to keep Mousasi in the mix against legitimate opponents, Strikeforce should be able to bring up Muhammed Lawal slowly with bouts that not only allow him to increase his skill level progressively, but those bouts will also give him the exposure he needs to become a star with the promotion. While the division isn't stacked like the UFC's light heavyweight division, it provides up-and-coming stars varying levels of competition that they'll need in their progression as MMA fighters. Lawal should benefit from it if Strikeforce manages his career with the promotion correctly.

Look for Lawal to potentially fight on the Nov. 7th Sengoku XI card as he is splashed on the front of the poster.