One of the more colorful personalities in mixed martial arts is former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Muhammad ‘King Mo’ Lawal (7-1). Lawal is scheduled to meet former ADCC submission champ Roger Gracie next month at the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson event in Illinois.
Lawal is coming off a title loss to, now former champ, Rafael Cavalcante last August at the Strikeforce: Houston event. It was ‘Mo’s’ first pro loss, and just one bout removed from capturing the 205 lb title from Gegard Mousasi in April of last year.
Speaking to FightHype.com, Lawal spoke about his upcoming fight noting that with the inclusion of elbows into the rules after Zuffa’s purchase of Strikeforce, that it opened a whole new “element” in his fight game that he could use against his opponent. He also didn’t appear worried about Gracie’s submission skills, noting that the former ADCC champ was only good with a “Gi”.
“I got the standup, but I’m really liking the fact that we can throw elbows, so I think I will be okay using my strong suit, my wrestling, and posting some bows now that they are legal in Strikeforce. They weren’t legal when I last fought, so now there is a different element for me to use. He won’t be able to stop my takedowns. I can stand with him, but at the end of the day, I think I can control where the fight goes. He has good Jiu Jitsu, but that’s only in a Gi. I don’t think he’s gonna be ready for everything else. I’m just going to go out there and take the fight where I need to take it… Everyone is worried about his skills on the ground because he’s Roger Gracie, but without a Gi, the game is different.”