King Mo is back!
As back as he can be, at least.
After months of controversy centered around what his former boss may or may not be riding, a loss to Quinton Jackson he felt was a win and a Bellator regime change that gave him a new lease on life, Muhammed Lawal starched Dustin Jacoby at Bellator 123.
It was something of a return to form for the former Oklahoma State wrestling standout, though the knockout win was a departure from his mat-heavy tendencies.
With a great showing and a few Bellator 205ers out there keen to throw hands, here are three fights for Mo to consider in his next bout.
Tom DeBlass
Lawal was supposed to match with DeBlass at Bellator 123, but a knee injury kept the jiu-jitsu ace off the card. The bout is theoretically competitive based on style and Mo’s occasional penchant for inconsistency, so there’s reason to book it again.
That said, it’s not the most easily sold of fights for Bellator. DeBlass is a UFC washout who isn’t overly well-known and certainly isn’t going to blow the doors off the sport with his capacity to promote a bout. He’s just a tough guy who’s pretty good at MMA.
If challenging Mo on competitive merit is the goal though, there’s a lot to like here.
Tito Ortiz/Stephan Bonnar Winner
If the goal of new Bellator boss Scott Coker is to build a division, a logical bout to make for Lawal is against whoever comes out of the November meeting between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar.
In-cage promotional absurdity aside, those two are among the more relevant guys the promotion has at light heavyweight on its roster, and they’d fall right in between “tuneup fight” and “plausible test” for King Mo.
Sometimes you have to play the hand you’re dealt, and this potential scrap would be Bellator and King Mo doing exactly that in terms of an opponent.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Though Mo and Jackson’s meeting in May was a tournament win for Rampage, Bellator has since abolished the tournament format, and that may free it up to do some more interesting things with its roster.
One such thing? Well, that would have to be rematching the two, as they headlined a pay-per-view together and generated some legitimate heat in the process—heat that only grew after the controversial decision of the bout.
In terms of fights to garner interest for the promotion, there’s almost nothing Bellator could do that would be bigger than this one.
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