In a sport built on respect and discipline like mixed martial arts, it’s not often that there is legitimate bad blood between two fighters. What’s even more rare is when it’s two fighters who don’t even work for the same promotion, who have never fought one another, that simply do not like one another.
However, that’s exactly the situation between Strikeforce’s “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal and the UFC’s Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
The ongoing war of words between these two fighters is well-documented and only grew in intensity after Saturday night’s Strikeforce event in Las Vegas.
In a post-fight interview, the ever-confident Lawal trashed Jackson to reporters, brushing off even the possibility that Jackson could take him in a fight.
“Why you got bring up that bum’s name?” Lawal asked reporters who suggested the possible grudge match with Rampage for his next fight. “If [Jackson] wants to come to Strikeforce and get beat, he can.”
“To me in my mind and in my eyes, he don’t got it no more.”
Though Lawal apparently believes that Jackson is no longer a top-level fighter, the point remains that a fight between these two light heavyweights could make for some serious fireworks in the cage.
We haven’t yet seen King Mo in a real war with someone who he truly doesn’t like, but Jackson has been there before many times, including his intense rivalry with the man who coached opposite from him on The Ultimate Fighter, Rashad Evans.
The fight itself between those two wasn’t even for a title, but the real-life feelings between the competitors sparked great interest from fans as the fight headlined one of the most-watched UFC events in history.
Zuffa has a chance to capture that kind of rivalry again. It’s time to book the fight between “King Mo” and “Rampage.”
Given Rampage’s recent struggles against top talent in the UFC, it’s hard to believe that he’s going to get back to title contention anytime soon. Why not bring over a well-known fighter like Jackson to headline a big Strikeforce event against Lawal?
Zuffa can’t sit and wait, hoping that there is going to be some sort of sudden influx of talent in the Strikeforce light heavyweight division. The division is practically bare, with Lawal having essentially defeated everyone worth noting other than Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.
Saturday night’s fight card was headlined by Keith Jardine, a fighter making his middleweight debut at the age of 36 and had only won two of his previous eight fights. He was fighting for a title against Luke Rockhold.
That fight alone gives us a pretty obvious indication of where the current Strikeforce roster is.
The reality is that after the UFC grabbed the likes of Alistair Overeem, Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson and Jake Shields, there just really isn’t much left.
Why not give back to the Strikeforce roster in the form of Jackson, a fighter who fans easily recognize and love, and put him in a fight that everyone wants to see against an opponent that actually makes sense?
King Mo vs. Rampage Jackson could be one of the biggest fights in the history of the promotion and it could realistically help save the dwindling Strikeforce light heavyweight division.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com