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,…
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.
I wrote earlier this week that Friday night’s dueling UFC and Bellator cards were a throwback to the old Monday Night Wars in professional wrestling. Some of you were angry with that assessment, because professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are two different things, and any mixture of the two is unthinkable. But then Bellator […]
I wrote earlier this week that Friday night’s dueling UFC and Bellator cards were a throwback to the old Monday Night Wars in professional wrestling. Some of you were angry with that assessment, because professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are two different things, and any mixture of the two is unthinkable. But then Bellator […]
I’ve seen a lot of MMA over the years. A lot. Putting together The MMA Encyclopedia, I watched footage from all over the world, from the despondently bad to the resplendently life-changing.
And I’ve never seen anything quite like the pull-apart brawl b…
I’ve seen a lot of MMA over the years. A lot. Putting together The MMA Encyclopedia, I watched footage from all over the world, from the despondently bad to the resplendently life-changing.
And I’ve never seen anything quite like the pull-apart brawl between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar at Bellator 123.
This segment was so bizarre, I didn’t feel confident enough to discuss it alone. So, joining me round-table style, are Bleacher Report’s lead MMA writer Jeremy Botter and MMA editor Brian Oswald.
Snowden: The moment Spike TV cameras caught a glimpse of an overweight masked man sitting next to former UFC star Stephan Bonnar, I suspected something gloriously terrible was going to go down. And boy did it ever.
Bonnar stepped into the cage wearing a Sears special gray suit to challenge Tito Ortiz and revealed his secret weapon to a baffled television audience. Almost no one recognized Justin McCully. And why should they?
An obscure hanger on, he’s likely familiar only to the hardest of hardcores. If the point was to get people talking, Bellator succeeded. If the point was to get them to say nice things, well…
Botter: You say gloriously terrible, Jonathan, but I say just downright glorious. And I’ll tell you why. We already have one mixed martial arts promotion, and we all know Bellator isn’t going to touch the UFC.
Even with Bellator as Strikeforce 3.0, it just won’t get the kind of traction it needs to compete against the brand leader. They can put on fun fights and pretend they’re in the same sport, or they can create some new wrinkles like having old, terrible mixed martial artists show up wearing pro wrestling masks. I know which one I’d prefer.
Is it terrible? Yes. Does it give you that feeling in the pit of your stomach, like you’re watching TNA wrestling? You know the feeling. I know you do. TNA is terrible because they are terrible at pro wrestling. But Bellator being TNA? That’s what I call a fun alternative.
Give me Herschel Walker vs. Bobby Lashley. Give me Alberto Del Rio wearing a mask, making his return to mixed martial arts. Give me something different, and I probably won’t care how terrible it is.
Oswald: So bad it’s good. It’s a tagline that Bellator seems primed to embrace.
Signing a past-his-prime UFC Hall of Famer (who should have never been inducted into the HOF) so he could call out a past-his-prime former UFC champ (who should be in the HOF).
Pitting them in the cage for a face off and shoving match. If all that weren’t enough, there was a man in a mask. Under that mask was another mask. And under that mask was a worn face that only the hardest of hardcore fans recognized.
It was contrived. It was was confusing. It has me wondering just how low will Bellator go. How about putting Tito Ortiz vs. Stephan Bonnar in the main event over a title fight featuring Michael Chandler vs. Will Brooks. That is a pretty good start in a race to the bottom. Count me in.
Snowden: How far can Bellator take this before it becomes “too far”?
Should McCully be named special guest referee? Will he loom ominously over Bonnar’s shoulder during every televised interview?
Make no mistake—this is pro wrestling theater. They’ve taken it to a place no one ever has before. I hope they keep pushing boundaries, if only to see enraged fans on Twitter decrying the death of “pure sport.”
Connecticut hosted a loaded card of MMA fights during Friday’s night Bellator 123, highlighted by a heated title bout between Pat Curran and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.
The 11th season started strong with four marquee bouts highlighting the main ca…
Connecticut hosted a loaded card of MMA fights during Friday’s night Bellator 123, highlighted by a heated title bout between Pat Curran and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.
The 11th season started strong with four marquee bouts highlighting the main card. Along with the Featherweight Championship clash, TNA Wrestling star Bobby Lashley entered the octagon with resounding results.
Bellator, aired on Spike TV, went up against rival UFC during an eventful Friday night for MMA fans. Time will tell how that bold move paid off in the ratings.
Let’s take a look at the results from Mohegan Sun Arena.
Cheick Kongo def. Lavar Johnson (Round 1 Submission)
Lavar Johnson started Round 1 with a full head of steam, which caused his undoing once Cheick Kongo took him down.
After a furious start, Kongo subsided the fast pace by trapping Johnson on the mat. He kept his aggressive opponent at bay, lulling him to sleep before going for the kill.
Before the first round could close, Johnson gave Kongo an opening to apply his rear-naked choke hold. The 39-year-old heavyweight pounced, earning a quick submission victory.
He had not won by submission since March 21, 2010, when he forced Paul Buentello to surrender at UFC Live 1. As noted by MMAJunkie’s Mike Bohn, even that submission victory did not occur in the traditional sense. One must travel back over a decade to find the last one.
For Johnson, the loss continues a bitter rough patch. The 37-year-old striker has now lost five of his last six fights, three by Round 1 submissions.
Bobby Lashley def. Josh Burns (Round 2 Submission)
Masterfully transitioning back from professional wrestling to MMA, Lashley annihilated Josh Burns in a one-sided effort ended by a Round 2 submission.
Less than a minute into the opening round, Lashley scored a takedown. From there, he controlled the tempo throughout the fight, until Burns tapped out on a standing rear-naked choke.
After leaving MMA for nearly 10 months, Lashley returned to TNA, also aired by Spike TV, after an unsatisfying run with Strikeforce. His wrestling background has expanded his star power, which placed pressure on him early in his MMA career. He discussed those difficulties with Bohn.
I didn’t have to (sign with Strikeforce), and I wish I didn’t do it. I don’t think there are too many fighters who started their career and went straight to a major promotion like I did. It’s a double-edged sword. Me, coming from a wrestling background, of course everyone wants to throw me up there because – the promoters were like, ‘If we’re going to pay you more, you’ve got to fight on a bigger stage so we can get something out of you.’
He is now 11-2 in MMA action after winning his Bellator debut. The 38-year-old has ended four of his last six fights via submission, raising his stock after a lengthy hiatus from the octagon. Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden joked that he still has some adjusting to do.
After suffering another loss, Burns remains winless at Bellator with a 0-5 record. “The Hammer” is now 8-8 overall and 3-5 over the past three years. The 36-year-old never stood a chance during his recent defeat.
TamdanMcCrory def. Brennan Ward (Round 1 TKO)
Well, that was quick.
Twenty-one seconds after the opening bell, TamdanMcCrory knocked out Brennan Ward with a vicious combination. So much for giving the fans their money’s worth.
The 27-year-old hadn’t competed in five years, but he showed no rust upon instantaneously seizing his 12th victory. After gaining such a convincing win over Ward during his Bellator debut, McCrory set the rest of the middleweight division on notice.
Ward, on the other hand, has dropped back-to-back bouts after starting his promising MMA career at 9-1. The 26-year-old will need to break that drought to erase the humiliation of losing in 21 seconds.
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal def. Dustin Jacoby (Round 2 TKO)
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal redeemed his last Bellator loss against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson with a dominating victory over Dustin Jacoby.
The action heated up in the second round, where the two foes traded fierce swings until Lawal took the striker off his feet. After lending a bevy of punches to his grounded prey, the official stopped the fight, awarding Lawal a victory via TKO.
Since joining Bellator in 2013, the 33-year-old is 5-3 with three TKO victories. According to The MMA Report’s Jason Floyd, Lawal‘s latest triumph puts the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion one step closer to ruling the Bellator division.
Jacoby served as a late replacement for Marcus Sursa and Tom DeBlass, who both dropped out with injuries. The 26-year-old, whose record slips to 10-4, might regret his decision to step in two weeks after defeating Lucas Lopes at TFC 29.
Patricio Freire def. Pat Curran (Unanimous Decision) for Bellator Featherweight Championship
In the highly contested main event, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire won the rematch over Pat Curran to claim the Featherweight Championship.
The two foes once again went the distance, but this time Freire was declared the victor by decision.
On Jan. 17, 2013, Curran defeated Pitbull via split decision after five grueling rounds. Since losing the contested bout, Freire had won his last three Bellator battles, three by KO or TKO.
Easing into the showdown, the two initially fought a conservative opening round. The title remained up for grabs after two rounds, although Freire entered Round 3 bloodied. Even Curran’s own crew didn‘t know how to score the rounds, via Bloody Elbow.
Yet Pitbull nearly took control with a frenzied attack that momentarily knocked the champion off his feet. Bleacher Report’s MMA Twitter page described the sequence.
Although neither could land a finishing blow, Freire gradually gained control on the match. Per the Spike TV broadcast, Freire landed 44 punches to Curran’ 32, which explains why the Brazilian celebrated after the fifth round ended. Awaiting the decision, he raised his hand in victory while Curran stood nervously.
Turns out the both knew the final outcome. Each judge ruled in favor of Freire, making him the new champion by unanimous decision.
Looking ahead, one must wonder whether the two will settle the score in a rubber match. They delivered big time in both battles, and are evenly matched enough to make their third showdown another intriguing clash.
If you ask him, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal will tell you he’s reinvigorated, inspired and ready to “promote violence.”
The former Division I All-American wrestler entered Bellator MMA’s light heavyweight division fresh off a successful stint in Str…
If you ask him, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal will tell you he’s reinvigorated, inspired and ready to “promote violence.”
The former Division I All-American wrestler entered Bellator MMA‘s light heavyweight division fresh off a successful stint in Strikeforce that saw him capture the light heavyweight title before losing it via TKO in his first defense.
Despite his inability to establish a lengthy reign at the top, King Mo was highly regarded ahead of his Bellator debut in January of 2013. With his wrestling talents and ever-evolving, powerful striking game, he looked to be the next big thing for the promotion—a lock to become a champion in short order.
While he did enter the promotion with a bang, scoring a knockout victory over Przemyslaw Mysiala in the Bellator Season 8 light heavyweight quarterfinals at Bellator 86, he was then knocked out by current 205-pound champion Emanuel Newton in a shocking upset at Bellator 90. From there, King Mo never truly found his groove inside the Bellator cage, going 3-2 since that time.
Now, however, King Mo has a stable camp in American Top Team in his corner, and he’s ready to go to work. Heading into his Bellator 123 scrap with Dustin Jacoby on Friday, Lawal feels violent and hungry, and he’s out for blood.
“(You can expect) the most violent King Mo,” Lawal told Bleacher Report. “That’s what I’m going to do—promote violence and get that fight done.”
Part of the reason for Lawal’s rediscovered enthusiasm is the recent shake-up atop the Bellator MMA management mountain. Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney was fired this summer and quickly replaced by former Strikeforce founder and CEO Scott Coker, who has an amicable relationship with Lawal.
Now, Lawal says Coker is inspiring the same levels of positivity and happiness for Bellator that he did for Strikeforce.
“It’s not just me, it’s everybody. Everybody seems a little happier,” Lawal said. “There’s a nice buzz among the entire staff at Bellator. It’s just the energy and how you see people when they walk around. They kind of had their heads down before, and now you see them with their head up, and they kind of smile at you. They’re more cheerful.”
In addition to Lawal’s happier demeanor regarding Bellator management, his Bellator 123 scrap with Jacoby will mark the third time the former Strikeforce champ heads to the cage with a full camp at Florida’s esteemed American Top Team behind him. After moving to American Top Team after his decision loss to Newton at Bellator 106, Lawal said he’s found the stability and training he always needed.
“I have coaches now, and I have bodies,” Lawal said. “Before, I had no bodies. My boxing coach, Jeff Mayweather, went to the hospital, he had surgery for his gallbladder (before the fight with Newton)…So I didn’t have nobody for my whole camp.”
Now with a full camp and a solid game plan queued up, Lawal is ready to steamroll Jacoby at Bellator 123. While Jacoby is primarily a kickboxer who previously fought under the UFC banner as a middleweight, Lawal does not see the size and power advantage being so obvious. In his eyes, he’s a natural middleweight as well, and the fight will come down to technique, not power.
“Yeah, people like to say that (about Jacoby), but I’m a natural middleweight,” Lawal said. “Right now, I’m probably about, before practice, I was like 209. I could make 184, easily. I used to wrestle 184. At the Olympic trials, I fought at heavyweight, but I weighed in with my clothes on.
“I can make 184. That’s no problem. So I’m not a big 205’er either. So I’m not looking to size…I got guys at American Top Team who are 185’ers and walk around at 220. I never see 220. Luke Rockhold, he got bigger than me. He’s a 185-pounder. So, I’m small for the weight class, and really, I’m probably a bigger 185-pounder, but I just fight up.”
As Lawal’s MMA career gets back on track, his pro wrestling career hangs in limbo. As a wrestler for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, Lawal cultivated a respect for the sport, but recent reports from TMZ suggest the promotion will no longer air on Spike TV or perhaps anywhere.
“I wish I knew (what was happening with TNA),” Lawal said. “I hope they stay on Spike TV, but you never know. Yeah, man, I hope I do (continue to wrestle).”
In a somewhat surprising statement, Lawal recently took his love for pro wrestling to the extreme, proclaiming that work inside the ring is more difficult than fighting inside the cage. While that possesses a bit of a shock factor at first glance, Lawal clarified this sentiment, saying that pro wrestling requires more preparation and takes a harder toll on the human body.
“You get two bums, right? Two bums,” Lawal said. “Put them in a cage. You get a fight. You’ll get a fight. You’ll get a fight. It might not be the most technical fight, but you’ll get a fight. Everyone is born with that defense mechanism. You hit me, I hit you back. You kick me, I kick you back. I bite you, I scratch you, whatever.
“Now, in pro wrestling, you get two bums, put them in the square circle, you would get garbage, absolute garbage…Pro wrestling, you have to learn how to fall, you have to learn how to do moves, you have to learn how to take the moves, you have to learn how to hit the ropes, you have to learn how to jump over or through the ropes.
“You don’t practice the match. While you’re in there, you freestyle the match. People don’t realize that. There’s no rehearsing a match. So, if I would wrestle you, I grab you, and we just wrestle the match right there. You tell a story with the match. You can’t just go out there and throw out some bull, because people won’t buy it.”
Lawal continued, highlighting the brutal effect pro wrestling can take on the body by comparing MMA legend Randy Couture, 51, to wrestling legend Kurt Angle, 45.
“Part two, you get Randy Couture. How old is he? Then you get Kurt Angle, who is the same age as him. Look at their bodies,” Lawal said. “Who is more beat up? In MMA, the referee says, ‘Protect yourself at all times.’ You get tapped. You get tapped out. You can pull guard. You can look for a submission, you can throw a kick. You can push him into the cage.
“But in pro wrestling, guess what? For today’s crowd, you have to do things bigger. Suplexes, throwin’ people over the top ropes, chair shots, tag matches, hardcore matches.
“Guess what? In MMA, you might fight three or four times a year. In pro wrestling, people doing pro wrestling do three matches a week, maybe two matches a week for a whole year.”
In the end, though, King Mo’s next task takes him to the cage, where he’ll be forced to use his kicks, punches, knee, elbows and lifetime of grappling talents to topple Jacoby at Bellator 123.
With a new regime leading the way, Lawal advises everyone to tune in and check out what’s new with Bellator. The results, he suggests, might just surprise you.
“It’s a new regime,” Lawal said. “I can’t tell nobody what to do, but I can say this: Come see our new changes we have going on. We have Coker. Strikeforce was a great show. Look for Bellator to be an upgraded version of Strikeforce.”
Bellator 123 will be in Connecticut on Friday for MMA action.
Featherweight champion Pat Curran puts his belt up for grabs against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in the main event of a five-fight main card. Curran and Pitbull fought once before back at…
Bellator 123 will be in Connecticut on Friday for MMA action.
Featherweight champion Pat Curran puts his belt up for grabs against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in the main event of a five-fight main card. Curran and Pitbull fought once before back at Bellator 85, where Curran took a narrow split-decision win.
Also on the card, Cheick Kongo battles Lavar Johnson, and King Mo Lawal takes on Dustin Jacoby. In addition, Bobby Lashley meets Josh Burns. It was originally a four-fight main card, but Bellator elevated Brennan Ward vs. Tamdan McCrory to the main card on Thursday.
Bleacher Report will have complete play-by-play of the main card for you at 8 p.m. ET on Friday evening.
King Mo is back!