Liam McGeary captured one of the biggest wins of his MMA career last night (Sat., Dec. 15, 2018) at Bellator 213 live on DAZN from inside Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, when he put a stop to veteran contender Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal via third-round TKO.
Despite the impressive showing — one that rivals McGeary’s submission win over Tito Ortiz three years ago — McGeary’s finish did not come without controversy. After clipping “King Mo” with an initial right hand that dropped the light heavyweight and forced referee Chris West to start moving in for the stoppage, McGeary ran back in and landed a follow-up right.
Considering West was already hovering over Lawal signaling for the end of the fight when McGeary landed the final right hand some may suspect the shot was a sucker punch. McGeary has never been known as a cheap fighter so it’s difficult to point the finger.
Luckily, Bellator MMA president Scott Coker released the finishing sequence via Twitter. Feel free to watch the footage in the above video player and form your own opinion.
Was it a cheap shot? Did McGeary need to land that final punch?
Regardless of whether or not the towering Englishman had to leap in for the final right hand, he worked “King Mo” out on the feet well before that. McGeary, the former Bellator light heavyweight champion, had lost two fights in a row before last night so the TKO finish was much needed.
For complete Bellator 213 results and coverage click here.