With Tuesday’s finding positive drug test, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal faces some tough penalties from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, his win over Lorenz Larkin overturned to a “No Contest”, a likely fine as well as a suspension that could range anywhere from six months to a year.
On Wednesday, Lawal’s manager Mike Kogan talked to Sergio Non of USA Today saying that he and his fighter were “surprised” by the finding.
All fighters provide “A” and “B” urine samples during the screening process for bouts in the United States. Lawal will ask that his “B” sample be tested by another lab, said his manager, Mike Kogan.
“Both of us are very surprised by these results,” Kogan told USA TODAY. “Neither of us has ever heard of this drug. … We honestly have no clue where this came from.”
Other than food and drink, the only substances that Lawal takes on a regular basis are iron supplements, Kogan said. When Lawal had fluid drained from his knee a few weeks before the bout, he did receive an injection of a non-anabolic steroid, Kogan said.
Lawal’s positive drug test follows on the heals of another Strikeforce fighter who tested positive for steroids, former women’s featherweight champ Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos. The Brazilian failed was busted following her bout versus Hiroki Yamanaka on December 17, 2012 in San Diego and has since denied the use, blaming the result on a supplement for weight cutting.
It was felt that ‘King Mo’ would rematch Gegard Mousasi for the vacant Strikeforce 205-lbs title, but with this latest revelation fans are free to speculate who might battle for the belt.