Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (8-1) is MMA’s man of the hour after signing a deal to join Bellator Fighting Championship and TNA Impact Wrestling.
Thursday’s news couldn’t come at a better time for Lawal since the embattled Strikeforce veteran faced such a whirlwind of endless drama in recent months. From serious knee surgery resulting in a life-threatening staph infection to a positive post-fight reading for Drostanolone to the controversy surrounding his calling a Nevada State Athletic Commissioner a “racist bitch,” Lawal seemed to be a negative news magnet for the MMA media lately.
Lawal suddenly changed from Zuffa’s goat into MMA’s golden goose as the word of his new cross-promotional contract spread. His journey from victim to victor might have been a painstaking one, but it certainly appears to be paying off right now.
The first hint of any writing on the wall leading to Lawal’s ultimate exit from Zuffa may have come when he compared Strikeforce to a dying cancer patient last year.
“It feels a little weird, because it’s not the same,” Lawal said in the wake of Zuffa, LLC’s formal announcement, proclaiming their acquisition of Strikeforce. “It’s like a cancer patient, like a dying cancer patient. That’s how I feel like the organization is. We’re just waiting for it to die, to pass. As long as I can get my fights in and they’re still around, I want to get them in.”
Zuffa didn’t pull the trigger on firing Lawal until March 27th of this year, perhaps due to Zuffa President and part-owner Dana White staying out of the fray and allowing Scott Coker to maintain a “business as usual” approach to running Strikeforce.
The tweet that broke the camel’s back for White resulted in profuse apologies from Lawal for the misunderstanding with the commissioner, but all to no avail. Bantamweight UFC Fighter Miguel Torres found himself in Lawal’s shoes last December after his own controversial tweet got him fired. The league hired Torres back after listening to his sincere apologies, but Lawal didn’t get anywhere near the same treatment. As a Strikeforce fighter, perhaps Lawal was more expendable than Torres.
Bellator appeared to be the most likely landing point for Lawal after Zuffa gave him his walking papers, but not many experts could have predicted a wrestling contract on top of a new MMA home for King Mo. For any MMA fighter with a background in wrestling, Lawal’s contract is intriguing and exciting. The unique arrangement is also bound to gain a tremendous amount of free press due to the novelty of such a deal and Viacom’s position to make it.
Lawal shouldn’t take long to get up to speed on professional wrestling. He was a three-time U.S. Senior National Wrestling Champion at the University of Central Oklahoma and won the NCAA division II national championship in 2002, compiling an overall college record of 103-22. Though many might argue that pro wrestling is not a sport, this contract sort of makes Lawal the Bo Jackson of combat sports.
As far as Lawal is concerned, distance from Strikeforce does not make the heart grow fonder. Now situated in a strong position to bark back at his old bosses, Lawal let loose Thursday night on MMA Uncensored Live. The show is hosted on Spike TV, a station which is quickly turning into an anti-UFC platform.
Bellator and Spike TV Parent Viacom recently struck up a partnership giving the media giant a direct stake in the tournament-based fight league. Spike, the channel that launched “The Ultimate Fighter” for the UFC, will spend 2013 re-branding itself with the Bellator banner once their rights to rebroadcast UFC content expire at the end of this year.
TNA Impact Wrestling is also a Spike TV production.
During his leadoff appearance on MMA Uncensored Live, Lawal compared working for Zuffa to being out in the hot sun all day “begging for water” and added later that the company often treats fighters like numbers. He contrasted his relationship with Bellator and TNA by saying that it’s like working in air conditioning. Lawal also said his new employers are “more personable” than their Zuffa counterparts.
This move comes on the heels of the UFC snatching Hector Lombard (31-2) away from Bellator at the end of April, leaving the league without their middleweight champion.
The bold Lawal signing smacks of smart business sense, revenge, and perhaps even a hint directed to Alistair Overeem—sign with Bellator and you can wrestle out your MMA suspension with TNA. Viacom is not taking competition with the UFC lightly, and this could be the start of a chain reaction of similar signings their Zuffa colleagues can’t match or beat. Zuffa is notorious for not allowing participants in the league to fight elsewhere or compete in any other formal sport. Strikeforce fighters are grandfathered in to an extent, but that league is no longer a direct competitor of the UFC. Bellator is.
There are countless Zuffa fighters who might find a dual wrestling/MMA contract attractive from a financial perspective. This is not to mention all the other concrete and undocumented perks that such a deal would naturally provide. Though not all MMA fighters have significant wrestling backgrounds, there’s not many who don’t train in wrestling to stay up to par in the sport. This deal doesn’t just turn the heads of former high school and college wrestlers, it lays down the gauntlet for Zuffa and says “eat this.” The WWE is also a Viacom competitor, so this move and potential follow up signings like it mean Vince McMahon will have to stay on his toes as well.
Maybe even more important than the carrot this deal dangles in front of potential future dual-contract signers from other MMA leagues is the broader meaning of Mo’s signing—You can stay with Zuffa and be chastised for speaking out, or you can sign with the competition and be amply rewarded for being loud and proud.
Lawal will reportedly begin wrestling for TNA sometime before his current nine-month MMA suspension expires, clearing him to fight for Bellator. TNA Wrestling was founded in 2002 and airs programming every Thursday on Spike TV.
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