Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:After an appearance on HDNet’s Inside MMA, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Muhammed Lawal has called out Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Lawal, along with fellow Strikeforce fighter Antonio Silva and kickbo…
Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:
After an appearance on HDNet’s Inside MMA, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Muhammed Lawal has called out Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Lawal, along with fellow Strikeforce fighter Antonio Silva and kickboxer Mark Miller, shared their thoughts on the purchase of Strikeforce, as well as potential superfights between the UFC and Strikeforce competitors.
When asked on his ideal matchup, Lawal said he would prefer a bout with the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
“I’d like to see me versus Rampage (Jackson),” he said.
“If he can handle Matt Hamill, and then I win my fight, then we can try and make that happen and I’ll shut his mouth up, for real.”
Lawal is coming off a recent loss to Rafael Cavalcante, which saw him relinquish his light heavyweight title at Strikeforce: Houston last year.
The UFC has recently run into a string of bad luck, losing their next two pay-per-view card’s main events due to injury and illness.First, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were both injured while training for their UFC 130 main event. Neither fighter …
The UFC has recently run into a string of bad luck, losing their next two pay-per-view card’s main events due to injury and illness.
First, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were both injured while training for their UFC 130 main event. Neither fighter will be able to compete on the May 28 card, as Edgar has back issues while Maynard has sustained a knee injury.
Due to the short notice, the new main event of UFC 130 will be Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill.
On Thursday, the promotion revealed that Brock Lesnar would be forced out of his UFC 131 main event battle with Junior dos Santos due to a recurrence of the diverticulitis that forced him out of action for a year, earlier in his career.
The UFC moved fast, replacing Lesnar with Shane Carwin, who was already scheduled to fight on the June 11 card with his original opponent being Jon Olav Einemo.
Jon Jones is another fighter whose loss will be felt by the UFC in 2011. Jones was set to face his former friend and training partner Rashad Evans when a hand injury forced him out of that fight.
At the time Jones withdrew from the fight, there was no official date or location for the Jones versus Evans match up, but they hype for that fight had been building even before Jones defeated “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight championship in March.
Phil Davis has been booked in Jones’ place and he will face Evans at UFC 133, which will take place on Aug. 6.
Bleacher Report takes a look at how the injuries and illness could impact the pay-per-view buys for these upcoming events.
First ImpressionsA cool, sunny day welcomed the grand opening of the new UFC Gym in Corona, Calif.While the event wasn’t actually set to begin until 10 a.m., many fans and spectators lined up as early as 8 a.m. to stand in line for autographs. And if t…
First Impressions
A cool, sunny day welcomed the grand opening of the new UFC Gym in Corona, Calif.
While the event wasn’t actually set to begin until 10 a.m., many fans and spectators lined up as early as 8 a.m. to stand in line for autographs. And if that’s not surprising enough, autograph sessions weren’t expected to even begin until noon.
Vendors and nutrition companies lined one side of the parking lot by a modest stage where the ribbon-cutting was set to take place.
Though definitely a far cry from the size and number of booths at the famous UFC Expos, the vendors and businesses there were more than enough. And, as always, there were more than enough of those annoying handouts to go around.
The gym itself was actually smaller than I imagined it would be, but that’s likely more my faulty expectations than a reflection on the gym itself. In fact, it’s roughly 45,000 square feet; not small by any standards.
Also, this is the third UFC Gym, and the largest of the three. There was more than enough space for several rows of ellipticals, treadmills and other heart-pounding, sweat-inducing machines for members to use.
The staff and a few members gave a quick circuit demonstration with five stations, showing how even a 25-30 second rotation can give an intense workout. By the end of the two-and-a-half minute demonstration, all members were sweaty and visibly worn out.
That’s the kind of intensity that is foreign and fascinating to many outside of the sport, and can now take part in it through the gym.
You know you’re in an MMA gym when you find equipment and machines that look like they’ve been taken straight out of someone’s backyard sitting in front of you, and yet, it strangely doesn’t look out of place. Seriously, where else would you find a tire sitting in the middle of the floor?
On top of that, there was a Jacob’s Ladder right next to some treadmills and a rope workout machine that simulates the climbing rope they made you climb back in gym class in the ’80s.
You see these types of workout machines in specialized workout videos and late-night infomercials, but I’ve never seen them up close. They’d definitely provide a cool, innovative workout.
And if that’s not a big enough giveaway to the kind of gym you are in, sitting dead-center in the gym is, of course, an Octagon.
However, the biggest difference that separates the UFC Gym from an ordinary gym is its family and community focus.
Several kids who were taking classes at the UFC Gym walked into the cage in the afternoon, giving spectators a demonstration of the moves they had been learning.
There are self-defense classes for men, women and children. And the gym has a section devoted for kids called, well, “Kid’s Gym.”
This focus on families and communities goes all the way to the top. As it says on the UFC Gym’s Senior Vice President Adam Sedlack’s Twitter page, the gym is “A new place in the fitness industry. Not your Parent’s Gym; It’s your Gym!”
In a brief conversation with Adam, I was amazed about how passionate he was not only about the business aspect of the gym, but its significance to the community and ability to affect peoples’ opinions of the sport.
Through their UFC viewing parties (free, of course, for members) during some of the recent fights, people unfamiliar with the sport have gotten to see it for the very first time.
And because of the classes and opportunities provided by the gym for these newcomers to take part in some of the intense workouts and training like that of UFC fighters, many have become instant fans.
BJ’s Announcement
One of the awaited events of the day was BJ Penn‘s mysterious announcement that would be given during the first media interview in the morning.
And his announcement was consistent with the theme of the UFC’s increasing involvement within local communities through their UFC Gyms.
BJ Penn announced that construction will begin on a UFC Gym in his native Hawaii, and will be branded with his name.
UFC Gym: BJ Penn should be completed by Jan. 1, 2012, with facilities comparable to that of the one in Corona. It will be replacing the famed “Pipeline Cafe” in Honolulu, which closed its doors in early February of this year.
This is a project that has been two years in the making, and will be the first UFC Gym branded with a fighter’s name.
“I’m trying to be humble and sit here and take it all in, but I’m very, very excited by this whole thing.”
BJ also mentioned that efforts will be discussed to reach out to at-risk youth through the gym and its programs.
Fighter interviews from Phil Davis, Donald Cerrone, Leonard Garcia, and more from BJ Penn will be covered in Pt. 2. This will include additional photos and videos.
After learning of Brock Lesnar’s illness, UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez has decided to switch strategies, in case he is to meet the former heavyweight champion’s replacement, Shane Carwin. Shane Carwin will be featured in the main event…
After learning of Brock Lesnar‘s illness, UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez has decided to switch strategies, in case he is to meet the former heavyweight champion’s replacement, Shane Carwin.
Shane Carwin will be featured in the main event against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131, after being notified from UFC president Dana White earlier this week via text message.
It is also confirmed that the winner between Carwin and Dos Santos will meet Velasquez later this year for the UFC heavyweight title.
Velasquez, who has been out of action since his title bout with Lesnar at UFC 122, acknowledged Lesnar’s absence but he said Carwin was a suitable replacement.
“He was next in line, for sure. He’s a tough guy. I think it was a good call.”
Velasquez, who is 9-0-0, will be paying close attention to this bout, as both Dos Santos and Carwin are two of the best strikers in the heavyweight division.
Carwin accepted the fight on a thirty-day notice, as he has been out of action since last year after undergoing neck surgery.
Meanwhile, Dos Santos has been nothing short of dominant, remaining undefeated during his tenure in the UFC. His most recent win was over Roy Nelson at UFC 117.
Both Carwin and Dos Santos share a total of seven knockout wins combined, which gives reason to believe why Velasquez sees the bout being contested on the feet.
“Before (with Lesnar-dos Santos), it was wrestler vs. striker,” he said. “Now it’s striker vs. striker—but they’re different. I think dos Santos is more technical and hits hard, but Carwin is a really hard puncher. You can’t pound him out. So it’s two hard hitters.”
And although he won’t have the opportunity to compete against Lesnar in a rematch anytime soon, Velasquez is optimistic of the former champion’s future in the UFC and expects him to return a better fighter.
“People get hurt all the time and pull out of fights. But he’ll come back, and he’ll come back stronger,” he said.
As is the case with many former “The Ultimate Fighter” competitors, in the coming years, Zak Jensen will be looking to prove to everyone in the sport that he is more than a reality TV show contestant. Boasting a record of seven wins with three loses be…
As is the case with many former “The Ultimate Fighter” competitors, in the coming years, Zak Jensen will be looking to prove to everyone in the sport that he is more than a reality TV show contestant.
Boasting a record of seven wins with three loses before his run on the show, as a member of Team “Rampage” on “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights”, Jensen lost his first and only bout of the tournament against Darrill Schoonover.
Following his tenure on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, Jensen won two straight contests—both first round stoppages—before dropping three consecutive bouts in mid-2010.
Jensen, who notched the 10th professional victory of his mixed martial arts career in late November, was slated to take on Neil Grove at Bellator 43 earlier this month. The bout, however, was cancelled when Grove, citing a lingering injury, had to withdraw from the contest.
Jensen, in what will be his second professional boxing match, has since agreed to square off against Aaron Green in St. Paul, Minnesota on May 27th.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Zak Jensen about, among other topics, his early days in the sport, his time on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, and his upcoming boxing match.
How did you get involved with the sport to begin with?
Well, I grew up doing Tae Kwon Do—from the time I was about five to the time I was 12—but then started playing football and focusing more on other sports. It was kind of weird how I got back into it; I wrestled in college and boxed for a little bit.
One of my friends from boxing was an MMA promoter and he found out that I was wrestler, talked to me for a little bit, and asked me if I would ever be interested in doing MMA. He called me, and I said, “Sure, what time?”
He said, “About an hour and a half. How close are you to Northfield, Minnesota?” I was about 45 minutes away, so I got into my car, drove down, and weighed-in. I fought that night, took the guy down, and ground-and-pounded him. I fell in love with it and that’s how it started.
Was there any hesitation on your behalf to fight?
None whatsoever. I grew up doing combat sports. Like I said, I grew up doing Tae Kwon Do and I boxed a little during and after college and there was no hesitation whatsoever. I love competition.
What was going through your mind during the car ride to your first fight?
I was a little nervous, but I was just taking it as any other sporting event—the pregame jitters. I basically looked at it as a wrestling match where I could actually hit.
That’s kind of funny, because I took him down with a headlock and, kind of, forgot that I could hit him. So I’m holding him there, and everyone was screaming, and I thought, “Hey, I can actually hit him.”
So I mounted him and started throwing punches—at that time, I didn’t really know how to throw punches from the mount with a lot of force, so they were all arm-punches.
I wasn’t really hurting him—it was funny to see on tape afterwards. I forgot I could actually hit him for about 30 seconds after I took him down [laughs].
[Laughs] You were passionate about the sport from the start?
Yes. I remember watching the first UFC on TV with my dad when I was little and I grew up watching boxing with him—I grew up a fight-fan.
I loved the sport before I was even involved in it, and it’s just kind of grown since then.
When did you realize that you had what it took to make a career out of your passion?
I don’t know. I was just doing it because I loved it and I started winning fights and I got the opportunity to go on “The Ultimate Fighter”—which didn’t really go the way I hoped it would. I know I have the guts to get in there and do it.
I’m working hard and I’m with a great camp. I think the most important thing is having the guts to get in there—I obviously have that—and it’s just building my skills after that.
Where are you training these days?
I’m training at The Academy—it used to be the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, but they changed to The Academy.
Greg Nelson is the coach and it’s where Jacob Volkmann and Sean Sherk train. I’m also doing my cardio at API—the “caveman training” with the gas-masks and the tire-flips and all that stuff.
Is that caveman training as crazy as it looks?
Ah, yes. I actually did it last night—I do it twice a week—and that gas-mask Sherk helped design, I put that on at the end of every session and go and ride the Airdyne and that thing is just crazy.
They have it blacked out, so I can’t see anything. It makes your lungs work so hard; the first time I wore it, my lungs hurt for two days, because the muscles around them were working so hard to get air.
It was definitely an experience, but you get used to it.
How much do you think it helps in an actual fight situation?
This is the first time that I’ve used it, so it will be interesting. It helps you focus more—it is more mental.
Let’s say that you’re stuck in a guillotine and you can’t breath—you might freak out—but with this gas-mask, it’s restricting how much air you get and it puts you in that mental state where you just have to focus, relax, and work through it.
It will help in situations like that.
I saw a picture of Pete Spratt with the gas-mask on Facebook, and he was talking about how people—regular gym-goers—would look at him when they saw him. Has anyone seen you walking around town or in the park or anywhere with that mask on?
[Laughs] I don’t put it on just to walk around town, but when I’m there training at API, they have classes that overlap with my workout.
You can hear people, like, “What the hell is he doing?” People ask me about it—it looks freaky; you look like a Stormtrooper or someone in the military—and it is crazy, but it’s a good thing and I’m glad that I’m doing it.
I guess as long as it helps—that’s the main thing.
It doesn’t matter how goofy it looks, as long as you get results.
What inspired you to try out for ‘The Ultimate Fighter’?
It’s like my soap; I’ve watched every single episode since it started [laughs], and I always wanted to try out for it if I ever had the opportunity.
I was sitting in my apartment the Sunday before the tryouts and I was talking to my manager at the time and I asked him if he knew when the next tryouts were—I had heard rumours that they were doing heavyweights. He said that he’d find out and he said it was tomorrow.
I said, “Okay, where?” and he said, “Seattle.” And I went online, bought a ticket to Seattle, got there at around 1:00 AM, woke up the next morning, and went and did it. It was kind of an impulse-thing, but I’m glad that I did it.
Did you think that you would make it through?
I had no idea—I was just going to go out there and do everything that I could with the grappling.
With the striking, you’re hitting mitts—some people are good at hitting mitts but really suck applying the striking in a fight, so I was kind of worried; how can you gauge someone just by watching them hit Thai-pads?
But I got through the grappling and I got through the mitts—I was more worried about the interview part than anything. After that, you have no control; you have control over how you do your grappling and your striking, but after that, it’s up in the air.
I wasn’t worried about what I could do; I was more worried about the stuff that I had no control over.
Were you surprised when you got the call-back?
I was. It was kind of a surreal moment. I was walking into my apartment with groceries and I got the phone call and I, kind of, just put them down and thought, “Did I really just get that phone call?”
It took me a minute to take it all in. It was like, “Oh, yeah; you’ve got to drop everything you’re doing and you’re leaving in four days.”
Were you at all apprehensive before you went on the show?
A little, but not really. It was more of one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities—where you have to do it. I was getting kind of antsy.
With the forms that you have to fill out—there was an encyclopaedia of paperwork that you had to read through before you go in [laughs]—that was the really daunting thing; am I really signing my life away?
It was just more hoping that everything would go well—I trained really hard before I got in there and it was just show-time, I guess.
Did you know Kimbo would be on the show before you went to Las Vegas?
Had no idea. When we got there, we counted 15 people and were wondering who the 16th person would be. We didn’t know that it would be 16; we didn’t know if we’d have to fight to get on or what.
We were staying at a hotel for the first night, and the first day is when they took us to the training center. We got in the van to go, there were five people in the van—so you don’t know who’s there yet—and then, slowly, people keep on trickling in.
And then, we went up and we were trying to figure it out. We thought that there were two possibilities out of this; I thought that Fedor [Emelienenko] might be an option, but then Dana said, “Well, he’s a fighter, but we’re not sure if he’s a mixed martial artist.”
And then when he said that, we knew that it was Kimbo.
[Laughs] You knew right away?
When Dana started talking about who the next guy was—when he said that we were all mixed martial artists—we knew exactly who it would be.
It was interesting, but I don’t think anyone was worried when he walked through the door [laughs].
What was going through your mind when you saw Kimbo?
“Are you kidding? Really?” I thought, “Okay, we’re going to have very high ratings—people are going to watch this one.”
No one was worried, though. He has no wrestling or ground, so no one was really worried about that, and we’re not fighting in the street without gloves on—it was a different game.
How would you describe your relationship with Kimbo on the show?
It was interesting. He’s an interesting individual; the way he told stories about his life and everything.
One day he was marinating a steak, but he was stabbing it with a knife and twisting it. I said, “Why are you doing it that way? You can just take a fork and, you know, stab it.” He said, “No; you’ve got to stab it and twist it like you’re shanking somebody.”
We were just like, “Okay.” [Laughs] Like, “Have you done that before?” We were wondering if he was trying to intimidate us by showing us that he knew how to shank someone.
He’s just a laidback guy—just like anyone else.
Do you feel that there are a lot of misconceptions of Kimbo?
He’s actually a soft-spoken guy—like most fighters. It’s like we go in there and flip a switch—because it’s work—and that’s all it is. After that, you just relax and hang out.
I don’t want to focus too much on Kimbo, but did you notice an improvement in his skill-set during his time on the show?
I mean, he got a little bit better. He never really worked with us that much; in the beginning he did a little, but other than that, he was off doing stuff with “Rampage” and Tiki [Ghosn] on his own.
How would you describe Quinton as a coach?
He would show us stuff that would work for him and he’d say, “If this works for you, use it and if not, don’t.” He said that he’s not a coach and that’s why he had his assistant coaches—because they would be showing us stuff.
I liked the fact that he was my coach; he did show me how to cover and roll and I’m one of those guys that doesn’t really care if I get it, so I didn’t really have any defensive-stuff.
I use that to this day and if that was the only thing that I took from that, than it was something that has helped me. He was a great guy; one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, actually.
Do you think your experience would’ve been any different had you been chosen to Team Rashad?
I think it would be different, but I’m happy with what I got. I actually wanted to be on Quinton’s team.
Before the show, I didn’t like Rashad because of how he fought; how he acted around the cage and everything—I don’t like that sort of thing. When I found out who the coaches were, I thought that I wanted to be on Quinton’s team, so it worked out the way I wanted it to.
I think it would’ve been different, but I’m happy with who I got as a coach.
Would you go through the tournament again?
Yes, I would. I would go into it knowing more about it.
Like the fact that I’m quite and like to stay to myself—I wrote in my journal a lot while I was there—and it was interesting to see how that got portrayed.
I would definitely go in with a different attitude towards it; knowing what it was like.
Do you feel that you were portrayed in a negative-light?
Not a negative-light, but it didn’t help that you have Wes Sims—that greatest storyteller of all-time in the house. I’m a shy person, and in that atmosphere, it played out like it would with anyone else—if that makes any sense.
If someone is shy and sticks to himself in a house full of extroverted people and people that like to poke at people, you know? I wasn’t expecting Wes to be so crazy, but I had a feeling that something like that would happen at some point.
Was there anyone that left a particularly lasting-impression during you on your time on the show?
Yes; Mr. McSweeney. Afterwards, he apologized for locking me in the bathroom. I’m claustrophobic—if I can leave a space, I won’t get freaked out, but if I can’t, I freak out [laughs].
That wasn’t cool. It’s too bad that he dropped down to 205.
He apologized after the fact?
Yeah; after the show was all done. I’m not sure if it was a heartfelt apology or if he was just saying it to say it, but he said, “I hope everything is okay. TV is TV, man.”
You think he was just trying to get more TV-time?
Yeah, but it’s still, kind of, a B.S. thing to do, so I still don’t like him for it [laughs].
With Wes Sims, I knew who Wes Sims was—I knew that he was a goofy guy—but with McSweeney, that still, kind of, leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
What else did you take away from your experience on the show?
To be able to go out and be a part of something like that meant a lot. I also learned that finding a good training-camp is a must; I could tell that I was behind some of the guys that were training at Greg Jackson’s and bigger gyms—that’s one of the reasons that I’m at The Academy now.
It’s a great gym and everyone is there to train. Cole Konrad, Chris Tuchscherer, Jon Madsen was there—when all of those guys are there, it’s a great camp for me.
It’s hard to find big-guys—that’s another thing. When I was on the show, that’s the most heavyweights that I’ve ever been able to train with—that was awesome [laughs].
You said that you were a big fan of the show—and I guess it might be hard to do this objectively—but did you enjoy your season?
I watched it because I had to; I had to do interviews about it afterwards. I’ve seen about three episodes since that season. I have not seen any of this season’s—at all. I don’t know if I’m over it, because I was on it and I saw everything that goes into it.
It was, like, familiarity breeds contempt—if that makes any sense. I’ve been on the show, I know how they do it, so I’m not too interested in it.
How did you come into contact with Bellator FC?
I was asking my manager, Monte Cox, what was next on the plate and he said that he was talking to Bellator and he would let me know if we had the fight-offer or not.
A couple days later, he texted me and asked if I wanted to fight Neil Grove on May 7th. I said, “Sure. Why not?” I just train and don’t really think about who I’m going to fight.
How did you find out that Neil had to withdraw from the bout?
My manager sent me a text message and said that Bellator just contacted him and said that Grove got injured, so they said that that fight was off and they were trying to get me a replacement.
Were you disappointed when you heard the news?
Yeah, I was really disappointed. They said that it was an injury that was slow to heal and that kind of confused me; if he had an injury, why would he train for a fight? You know?
I was kind of confused, but at that point I was just ready for the fight; I thought it was going to be a great fight and I think I matched up really well with him. It was like I was all dressed up with nowhere to go.
How do you think it would’ve gone?
It would’ve been an interesting fight. My game-plan, obviously, was to take him down, but I always tend to throw my game-plan out the window when the bell rings.
Is that a match that you’d like to have in the future?
Yeah, I would love to have that fight. We’re trying to get it set up for when Neil is healthy again.
Any idea when that will be?
I have no clue. I don’t know how bad Neil was hurt or how bad he was actually injured. Hopefully it happens, because that would’ve been a good fight.
Do you have anything else lined up at this point?
Actually, I just got offered a boxing match on May 27th, so I’m going to take that.
Have you boxed professionally before?
Once. I took the fight on four days notice and it didn’t go too well, because I was thinking about all of the openings for kicks and takedowns [laughs]. It didn’t go too well, but with this one, I’ve had a bit more time and I’ve been working my boxing.
How did this opportunity come up?
I’m friends with a boxing promoter and they had an opening. Every time that there is a heavyweight opening, he’s always asking if I want to get in.
I used to do the “Tough Guy” and I used to do amateur boxing before I got into MMA. He always gave me the option to fight on one of his cards.
Did you ever think about taking him up on an offer like that before?
Yeah, I have. It’s either been too close to a fight that I had scheduled or after I had an MMA fight, so I’ve never had it work out like this. It was the day after I announced on Facebook that my fight was cancelled that I got the phone call for this fight.
Was there any hesitation to sign the contract?
No. I’ve actually sparred with the guy that I was supposed to fight, so I’m not too worried.
What do you think Aaron Green has to offer you?
He’s a really good boxer; he’s a two-time Upper Midwest Golden Gloves champion, so he’s obviously got good boxing, but he doesn’t like to get hit. I’m just going to go out there and be like the bully MMA fighter [laughs] and take the fight to him.
If I stand there and try to box with him, then obviously that’s not going to go my way, because that’s not what I excel at.
If this goes well for you, are you going to pursue more opportunities to box in the future?
If that happens, that’s great—but I’m an MMA fighter and that’s what I’m always going to focus on.
If things like this come up, especially when I’m geared up for a fight and I have a good training camp and I’m ready and that falls through, I’d be more than happy to do it again.
Do you have any MMA-bouts lined up?
We were talking to Titan Fighting Championships for something, but that fell through. As of right now, though; nothing.
Have you gotten any word from Bellator about their heavyweight tournament?
I have not.
Is that something that you’d be interested in?
Of course—I would be very interested in that. Maybe they’ll just schedule me and Neil to fight and make it a tournament-fight—that would be nice.
After your boxing match, assuming you win, what’s the next step?
I’ll get back in the gym and refocus on MMA and if another boxing opportunity comes up, I’ll look at it and if it’s something that fits, I’ll take it. Like I said, though, I’m a mixed martial arts fighter and I’m going to focus on that.
What do you feel the future holds for you?
I’m going to keep training hard and, hopefully, more opportunities will come to fruition and I’ll start getting some big-fights with name-guys and I can come back. I want to start getting bigger fights on bigger stages.
Is there anything that you’d like to say to your fans while you have this opportunity?
Thanks for the support. I’m sorry that the fight fell-through; it sucks but it happens. Hopefully that fight can get rescheduled when Neil is healthy and the fans can watch a really good fight.
After an appearance on HDNet’s Inside MMA, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Muhammed Lawal has called out Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Lawal, along with fellow Strikeforce fighter Antonio Silva and kickboxer Mark Miller, shared their t…
After an appearance on HDNet’s Inside MMA, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Muhammed Lawal has called out Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Lawal, along with fellow Strikeforce fighter Antonio Silva and kickboxer Mark Miller, shared their thoughts on the purchase of Strikeforce, as well as potential superfights between the UFC and Strikeforce competitors.
When asked on his ideal matchup, Lawal said he would prefer a bout with the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
“I’d like to see me versus Rampage (Jackson),” he said.
“If he can handle Matt Hamill, and then I win my fight, then we can try and make that happen and I’ll shut his mouth up, for real.”
Lawal is coming off a recent loss to Rafael Cavalcante, which saw him relinquish his light heavyweight title at Strikeforce: Houston last year.
While the more popular fights seem to be Alistair Overeem versus Cain Velasquez and Georges St-Pierre against Nick Diaz, Lawal’s request to fight Jackson could happen sometime in the near future.
While acquisitions are unlikely to occur until next year, should both Lawal and Jackson remain victorious until then, a light heavyweight bout between these two rivals would be inevitable.
