Former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion ‘King' Muhammed Lawal spoke with MMAFighting.com's E. Casey Leydon regarding a variety of topics including Cung Le getting his drug suspension rescinded, and how Scott Coker compares to former Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney.
On Cung Le drug testing fiasco:
"The thing is, if you're going to test for all that stuff - hormones, all that stuff - you have to have a widely accredited laboratory. The lab that popped him wasn't approved by WADA, so they lose all credibility."
"I'm happy for Cung [Le]. I know Cung - he works hard. I saw a picture (of him looking ripped) but sometimes pictures can be deceptive (sic) because if you've been training for hours and are dehydrated, your going to look ripped."
"When you see a person at the weigh-ins, they all look ripped - cause they're dehydrated. But then the next day, at the fight, the six-pack is gone, no veins in them (sic), and they look normal. It happens all the time."
On Bjorn Rebney vs Scott Coker:
"It feels different. I don't know how to explain it but Coker came in and brought the morale (with him)."
"No one was happy with [Bjorn Rebney]. Ask Ariel [Helwani] - we couldn't even go talk on his show. You look at the turnout - how the media is more involved now. I feel like people are starting to take us more seriously because Coker brought more legitimacy to Bellator."