Author: Ben Fowlkes

‘King’ Mo Lawal: I’m Done Holding My Tongue

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse ExclusiveFormer Strikeforce champion “King” Mo Lawal thinks he did several things wrong in his loss to Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante back in August.

For one, he didn’t use his wrestling as much as he should have, he sa…

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Former Strikeforce champion “King” Mo Lawal thinks he did several things wrong in his loss to Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante back in August.

For one, he didn’t use his wrestling as much as he should have, he said. For another, he was much too humble before the fight. No, that last part is not a typo.

“King” Mo – the man who is never at a loss for words, particularly when those words help him explain how much better he is than most of his peers – feels it was partly his pre-fight humility that hurt him in the cage.

“I wasn’t me,” he told MMA Fighting at last week’s EA Sports MMA media event. “I thought I was going to win, but I tried to play all that humble sh-t. What it comes to is, that’s not me. I know I’m the best, and I’ve got to be able to talk like I’m the best. I’m not going to do all that, ‘Oh, he’s a tough opponent’ stuff. Not anymore. F— that stuff. It doesn’t work for me. I tried to do that so I wouldn’t get this backlash, but it doesn’t work for me. So now, people don’t like me? F— them.”

‘Mayhem’ Miller Still Hoping to Fight Nick Diaz After Latest Run-In

Filed under: StrikeforceTo hear Jason “Mayhem” Miller tell it, he still isn’t entirely sure why he and Nick Diaz got into it again backstage after Strikeforce’s October 9 event in San Jose, Calif. One minute he was minding his own business, he told MMA…

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To hear Jason “Mayhem” Miller tell it, he still isn’t entirely sure why he and Nick Diaz got into it again backstage after Strikeforce’s October 9 event in San Jose, Calif. One minute he was minding his own business, he told MMA Fighting, and the next a water bottle went zipping past his face.

The weirdest part, according to Miller, is that it all happened just as he was on the verge of congratulating Diaz on his decision win over K.J. Noons.

“I had just finished doing interviews in the back room, and I was walking the same way that he was coming down, and I was actually going to be like, ‘Hey, good job, Nick.’ But he’s coming towards me and he starts mad-dogging me! I was like, really? You’re really going to mad-dog me right now? You just fought for 25 minutes!”

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 121

Filed under: UFCThe last time I heard a crowd go as crazy as the fans in Anaheim did when Cain Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, they were all getting free cars from Oprah. The fight fans on Saturday night may have had to drive home in the same b…

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The last time I heard a crowd go as crazy as the fans in Anaheim did when Cain Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, they were all getting free cars from Oprah. The fight fans on Saturday night may have had to drive home in the same boring old rides they came in, but after that furious four-minute main event I guarantee you no one was complaining.

But UFC 121 gave us more to talk about than just the main event. All across the undercard careers were being salvaged and lost, and at least one fighter managed to leave the Octagon victorious but still riding a wave of boos.

Let’s break it all down and look at our big winners, losers, and everything in between.

The MMA Wrap-Up: Post-UFC 121 Edition

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Now that Cain Velasquez has captured the UFC heavyweight title and Brock Lesnar was sent limping back to his Minnesota compound after UFC 121, The MMA Wrap-Up returns to ask some essential questions about what this means for the heavyweight division and for MMA as a whole. Come on, you know you don’t want to miss that.

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Now that Cain Velasquez has captured the UFC heavyweight title and Brock Lesnar was sent limping back to his Minnesota compound after UFC 121, The MMA Wrap-Up returns to ask some essential questions about what this means for the heavyweight division and for MMA as a whole. Come on, you know you don’t want to miss that.

Velasquez Downs Lesnar for Heavyweight Title; Shields Earns Title Shot at UFC 121

Filed under: UFCANAHEIM – Cain Velasquez came into his heavyweight title fight at UFC 121 hoping for a five-round battle. He ended up needing just over four minutes to stop Brock Lesnar via TKO and claim the UFC heavyweight title in front of 14,856 fan…

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ANAHEIM – Cain Velasquez came into his heavyweight title fight at UFC 121 hoping for a five-round battle. He ended up needing just over four minutes to stop Brock Lesnar via TKO and claim the UFC heavyweight title in front of 14,856 fans at the Honda Center on Saturday night.

It may have been a relatively brief affair, but what it lacked in length it more than made up for in intensity.

Lesnar set the pace right away. As soon as the bout began, the champion took one step directly to the side and then charged across the cage at Velasquez, bringing all of his 264 pounds crashing directly into the challenger.

When Bully Tactics Fail at UFC 121, Brock Lesnar Flounders

Filed under: UFCANAHEIM, Calif. – Moments before he made his entrance to a chorus of jeers and cheers at UFC 121 in the Honda Center on Saturday night, a bearded Brock Lesnar appeared on the big screen to identify himself as the baddest man on the plan…

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ANAHEIM, Calif. – Moments before he made his entrance to a chorus of jeers and cheers at UFC 121 in the Honda Center on Saturday night, a bearded Brock Lesnar appeared on the big screen to identify himself as the baddest man on the planet – a claim he’s repeated often lately, and one which few have bothered to argue.

Not long after that, the big man was sitting on the canvas, watching Cain Velasquez celebrate as the new champion while a cageside doctor attended to Lesnar’s bloody face.

Funny how quickly reality can shift in this business, often right out from under your feet.

For the moments in Saturday night’s main event where he was charging forward, Lesnar looked every bit as ferocious as advertised. But when it failed to stop Velasquez from offering up any offense of his own, that’s when we were reminded that we really don’t know all that much about this guy who, just minutes earlier, was calling himself the best.