'King' Mo Lawal Maintains His Innocence After Positive Steroid Test

"King Mo" Muhammed Lawal popped positive for drostanolone after his fight against Lorenz Larkin at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine, a fact that has baffled the former Strikeforce champ. He and manager Mike Kogan have held firm that Mo is clean.

Talking to Sherdog earlier this week, the fighter maintained his innocence and now appears to be using the "supplement defense":

"My track record speaks [for itself]," implored Lawal. "I've been through college and NCAA drug testing, you see what I mean, I'm a clean athlete. I've been tested through USADA [United States Anti-Doping Agency] and WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] for international competition and I've always been clean ... This is my first positive test for anything, I don't even know what to say. All I know is that the truth will come to light and I know that I'm a clean athlete, I know that I can guarantee that I am a clean athlete."

,,,

"I've never used any performance enhancer in my life," declared Lawal, who along with manager Mike Kogan seem to be targeting a sizeable stash of supplements and anti-inflammatory injections for a troublesome knee injury leading up to the fight as the potential cause for the positive test.

"Right now we're just looking over everything and trying to come to a conclusion [on how this happened] because it's ridiculous, man," said a frustrated Lawal. "I'm in shock. All I can do is keep on looking at my supplements. I don't even know what to do. I just keep looking over my supplements to see what we can find."

I like Mo, but it's worth repeating the standard line where the athlete is responsible for everything he puts in his body. If you're not 100% certain about a supplement, don't take it.

SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine