Mo Lawal will be back in mixed martial arts competition this summer when he returns to the Bellator cage as part of their Summer Series bouts on Spike TV. Spike TV President Kevin Kay confirmed the news with MMA Fighting.
Lawal, the former light heavyweight champion of Strikeforce, is 1-1 in Bellator. As a season 8 participant in their light heavyweight tournament, Lawal defeated Przemyslaw Mysiala at Bellator 86 in January via first-round KO. However, in one of the biggest upsets of the entire season, Lawal was stopped in the first round of his semifinal bout with Emanuel Newton by spinning back first in the first round of their fight at Bellator 90 in February. Newton went on to win the entire tournament by defeating Mikhail Zayats at Bellator 94 in March.
Lawal is 9-2 in professional MMA with one no contest.
The organization announced three tournaments to be held as part of the upcoming Summer Series: heavyweight, light heavyweight and bantamweight. Lawal will be a participant in the 205-pound tournament. For the first time ever, however, this summer’s tournaments will be four-man competitions. Bellator tournaments are traditionally eight-men who begin their road to a title shot as part of a quarterfinal round.
No dates or locations have been announced for any of the events in the summer season.