Tag: Muhammed Lawal

King Mo Lawal to Bellator: That’s Great, but Who Is He Supposed to Fight?

If you follow Twitter, you probably know that Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has signed a deal that will allow him to compete in Bellator and wrestle for TNA on Spike TV. While a lot of the details remain unknown, we know that he doesn’t have a deal with Spi…

If you follow Twitter, you probably know that Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has signed a deal that will allow him to compete in Bellator and wrestle for TNA on Spike TV. While a lot of the details remain unknown, we know that he doesn’t have a deal with Spike. Instead, he has individual contracts with TNA and Bellator that will see him become a cross-over star. 

I’m happy for Mo. In my experience, he’s one of the nicest people in MMA and after the hell he’s gone through health-wise, he deserves some great news. But I can’t help but scratch my head at what challenges he’s expected to face in Bellator.

The last light heavyweight tournament was used to crown current champion Christian M’Pumbu. Hell, any light heavyweights not in the UFC are still under contract in Strikeforce. 

I’ll be totally honest; I’m actually more interested in what he’ll be doing in TNA. Based on a leaked graphic, it appears like his first program is expected to be with Sting. While TNA doesn’t have the depth of the WWE, they at least have some legitimate talent that can make Mo look good while he’s still green.

This is all assuming that said talent won’t try and bury him, as he’s expected to make an impact at the top of TNA almost immediately. 

And that’s a legitimate concern. Professional wrestling is notorious for having ridiculous politics that have seen talented individuals relegated to mid-card status because the main-eventers failed to put them over.

The booker for TNA, Hulk Hogan, was one of the worst offenders. In the ’80s he killed the build for everyone from Macho Man to Sgt. Slaughter. He did the same when he signed with WCW and beat Ric Flair for the heavyweight belt in his first match with the promotion. Who’s to say he won’t do the same when he’s finally in a real position of power?

I don’t want to come off as super negative, because this could be one of the best things to happen to the two brands. Bellator is in desperate need for light heavyweight talent and Mo is a great cornerstone. Same as TNA. They need to shake off their identity as the place where old wrestlers go to die.

Mo will add some more legitimacy to their product. I just don’t see the upside for Lawal outside of some solid paydays.

I just don’t understand what benefit there is for him to actually fight in a tournament. Bellator would be better served just having Mo usurp M’Pumbu right away. If he runs through the tournament and kills off your prospects, who will he fight in the future?

Not only that, but let’s say he’s upset in the first or second round—or worse, injured. Why risk that when you can put on a real fight right away?

As usual, I’ll wait until Mo makes his debut in TNA before I totally write this deal off, but my initial gut reaction is that this sounds great on paper and will be an absolute failure in practice. Pro wrestling is incredibly tough on the body, which could see him forced out of Bellator even before the seventh season.

Hopefully I’m wrong. I just don’t see that happening. 

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Roger Gracie to Make Middleweight Debut Against Keith Jardine in July


(And for my next trick, I will enter a state of comatose using only a roided man’s fists and sheer determination.) 

On the heels of a devastating one-punch knockout at the hands of Muhammed Lawal in September, it looks like Roger Gracie will make his moderately-anticipated middleweight debut at an upcoming Strikeforce event in July. Rejoice. Across the cage from the Jiu-Jitsu phenom will be none other than UFC veteran and member of the undead army, Keith “The Dean of Mean” Johnson Jardine. Jardine has had a rough run of things as of late, dropping six of his last nine including a recent ill-fated title bid against Luke Rockhold in January.

But a matchup with Gracie is one that Jardine stands a better chance of winning than any fight in recent memory, believe it or not. Jardine has never been submitted in professional competition, and Gracie’s complete lack of the kind of striking game that has felled Jardine in the past might just make for a victory over a big name that has eluded “The Dean” since his UFC 89 split-decision win over Brandon Vera. In fact, the closest Jardine has even come to scoring an upset victory in recent years was his Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley performance that saw him fight to a majority draw with the heavily favored Gegard Mousasi.

Though it was previously reported that Gracie was on his way up to the UFC, those rumors were quickly squashed by UFC President Dana White, who stated, “[expletive] that [expletive] you [expletive] [expletive] Samuel L. Jackson [expletive] smartphone [expletive] hotspacho [expletive].” Something like that. *

In other fight booking news…


(And for my next trick, I will enter a state of comatose using only a roided man’s fists and sheer determination.) 

On the heels of a devastating one-punch knockout at the hands of Muhammed Lawal in September, it looks like Roger Gracie will make his moderately-anticipated middleweight debut at an upcoming Strikeforce event in July. Rejoice. Across the cage from the Jiu-Jitsu phenom will be none other than UFC veteran and member of the undead army, Keith “The Dean of Mean” Johnson Jardine. Jardine has had a rough run of things as of late, dropping six of his last nine including a recent ill-fated title bid against Luke Rockhold in January.

But a matchup with Gracie is one that Jardine stands a better chance of winning than any fight in recent memory, believe it or not. Jardine has never been submitted in professional competition, and Gracie’s complete lack of the kind of striking game that has felled Jardine in the past might just make for a victory over a big name that has eluded “The Dean” since his UFC 89 split-decision win over Brandon Vera. In fact, the closest Jardine has even come to scoring an upset victory in recent years was his Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley performance that saw him fight to a majority draw with the heavily favored Gegard Mousasi.

Though it was previously reported that Gracie was on his way up to the UFC, those rumors were quickly squashed by UFC President Dana White, who stated, “[expletive] that [expletive] you [expletive] [expletive] Samuel L. Jackson [expletive] smartphone [expletive] hotspacho [expletive].” Something like that. *

In other fight booking news…

Coming off a brutal knockout loss of his own to Dan Henderson in December of 2010, Renato “Babalu” Sobral will return to the ring for the first time in nearly two years at OneFC’s “Destiny of Warriors” event, which goes down at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 23rd. After signing with OneFC in December of 2011, Sobral was expected to face Melvin Manhoef and his explosive shins at OneFC 3, but pulled out of the bout to participate as Wanderlei Silva’s wrestling coach on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. Sobral is currently 36-9 in MMA competition, most recently sandwiching a win over Robbie Lawler between a pair of KO losses to Gegard Mousasi and Henderson, the former of which cost him the Strikeforce light heavyweight title.

Sobral will be facing a game opponent in Tatsuya Mizuno, who holds notable victories over Melvin Manhoef and Trevor Prangley and has only gone to the judges scorecards once in his professional career. Mizuno is coming off an arm-triangle submission victory over Ilima Maiava at the mediocre-but-improved ProElite 3 event back in January.

Who you got for these, Potato Nation?

*OK, it went nothing like that. There was no interview. We apologize for deceiving you. 

-J. Jones

King Mo Lawal Fired from Strikeforce: Does MMA Have a Racism Problem?

Earning a nine-month suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, former Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal was subsequently released by the promotion after an expletive filled Twitter tirade. &n…

Earning a nine-month suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, former Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal was subsequently released by the promotion after an expletive filled Twitter tirade.  

In his tweet, King Mo made some heavy claims against NSAC commissioner Pat Lundvall, saying:

“I honestly feel like Lundvall was a racist bitch asking me if I can read or speak english. Go on somewhere with that bull—- b**ch!!!”

While most people—including UFC President Dana White—feel like his outburst was an unfortunate mistake, the incident does bring up an interesting question.

Does mixed martial arts have a racism problem?

Looking at the history of modern sports, most mainstream leagues in the United States not only had problems with this issue, but all of them still experience it today—albeit on a smaller, less obvious scale.

It took Major League Baseball over half a century to finally break the color barrier with the debut of Jackie Robinson on April 15, 1947.  A year earlier, the National Football League had its color barrier broken when Kenny Washington stepped onto the field for the Los Angeles Rams.

But while most people see racism in sports as a thing of the past, major sports are still dealing with it even today.

Just look at the whole Jeremy Lin phenomenon.  While his accomplishment of being the first Asian-American player in the National Basketball League was historic, the overblown media coverage and the subtle—and sometimes not so subtle in the ESPN headline mishap—racism has once again brought this issue back to light.

Even overseas, situations like France’s national soccer federation being accused of wanting to limit the number of Arab and African players in its training academies are a testament to racism still being a global problem.

But in MMA, a sport barely even two decades old, racism has never really been an issue.

Sure, there have been minor mishaps along the way, and it is far from being the most politically correct culture—such as various misogynistic and homophobic incidents—even the offenses, while bad, do not even come close to the skeletons in the closets of the mainstream sports.

In terms of racism alone, however, I can honestly say that MMA is the most ethnically diverse and accepting sport in the world as a whole.

In what other sport is the most legendary figure of all-time a scrawny, non-English speaking Brazilian?

Boxing may come close, but its own long history of mistreatment against minorities is just as bad as the non-combat sports.  The treatment the sport and society gave the first African-American heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, in 1908 was horrendous.

Throughtout MMA’s history, the sport has shown nothing but acceptance for fighters of all backgrounds.  Maybe it’s due to the global nature of martial arts, but from Japan to the United States, great warriors of any race or nationality are praised.

Looking at the landscape of the sport today, it amazes me not how far MMA has come, but how much more diverse it is becoming.

In the UFC alone, each of its seven champions come from varied backgrounds.  The heavyweight, middleweight and featherweight champions all hail from greatly different parts of Brazil. The welterweight champion comes from Canada while the remaining members are all American.

However, the 205 lb. champ Jon Jones is an African-American fighter from New York, lightweight champion Benson Henderson is half Korean-American and half African-American, while bantamweight king Dominick Cruz hails from Arizona and is of Mexican descent.

How much more diverse can you get?

Even without adding in the global roster of fighters coming from South Korea, Iran, Sweden, Japan, Nigeria, England and many more, the UFC would still be a diverse bunch just from its American contingent.

And that’s the thing that MMA critics just don’t understand.  On a visceral level, fighting is a primal reaction that just lives in our DNA, a product of ancient barbarism.

But on a cerebral level, MMA and martial arts as a whole holds such a deeper meaning, tapping into such a deep part of a person’s soul that it unites him or her to a real family in the martial arts community.  Regardless of where you come from, if you truly appreciate the art—or arts—and train hard, people will respect you.

This warrior spirit and the truly global connection with fighting in general already gave the sport a leg up in terms of being socially conscious.

Even beyond racism, MMA has turned into a true open door for all.

In what other sport would a female championship headline a major promotions card filled with male fights like Strikeforce did with headlining the historic Meisha Tate versus Ronda Rousey championship bout?

The elderly have even gotten in on the game, as Dr. John Williams breaks world records for being the oldest winning pro-MMA fighter at 70 years of age.  No matter where you come from, even if you are fighting with one arm like undefeated XFC lightweight Nick Newell, MMA will not turn you away.

So does MMA have a problem with racism?  That question can be said of society as a whole, so any niche will have some issues.  But when compared with all the major sports and despite all of its mishaps in the past, MMA definitely is the most diverse sport in the world.

 

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King Mo: What’s Next for the Former Strikeforce Champion?

“King” Muhammed Lawal remains on the sidelines recovering from a severe staph infection following multiple surgeries on his damaged knee. Lawal is also serving a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for tes…

“King” Muhammed Lawal remains on the sidelines recovering from a severe staph infection following multiple surgeries on his damaged knee. Lawal is also serving a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for testing positive following Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine.

After the hearing, and his now infamous Twitter responses, he finds himself without an employer. So what is next for the talented light heavyweight?

The answer should be the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Lawal took responsibility for his actions and apologized for his comments about NSAC commissioner Pat Lundvall. How “King” Mo handled the situation speaks to his character and much like Miguel Torres, he deserves a second chance.

UFC president Dana White has always been adamant that he is willing to give second chances to those who make the effort to handle their mistakes. Lawal has certainly done that.

MMAJunkie.com caught up to White who gave some hope to see the former Strikeforce champion back in the cage, “The fact that he called her and reached out to her, I mean that’s what he should have done. It’s respectable. I respect that.”

Now that Lawal is not hamstrung by the Strikeforce contract, he would be a welcome addition to the UFC light heavyweight ranks. If he is granted his license later this year, of course.

A return to Strikeforce would only see his talents wasted in a shallow talent pool. No one wants that.

There is always the possibility that we could see Lawal back in Strikeforce or take a fight on other shows. If so, where are the marquee matchups for him?

The most obvious would be a potential fight against Fedor. An interesting, and unlikely, fight that could highlight a card in Russia or Japan. But outside of Emelianenko, there is not the premier fight for Lawal outside of Zuffa, both the UFC and Strikeforce, in the light heavyweight division.

The UFC 205-pound division offers many more interesting matchups for the decorated wrestler. Not the least of which is the battle against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. A fight fans have been clamoring for.

While Jackson was penciled in for his final UFC fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, a surgery forced that fight to be postponed. It is possible that Rua could be put in a matchup with another top contender in the division leaving Jackson without an opponent. A perfect scenario for the UFC.

It is a fight the fans want to see. Both men should be coming off layoffs around the same time making the timing impeccable.

In the case of what is next for Lawal, one has to think that the matchup with Rampage is logical and the best use of his talent. He will have suffered the punishment for his actions from the NSAC, there is no reason to continue to punish “King” Mo by forcing him into the doldrums of the regional circuits or to Japan.

For an upstanding fighter such as Lawal who has owned up to his mistakes, let’s put him inside the Octagon, under the bright lights of the UFC, against his nemesis “Rampage” Jackson. High-character individuals such as Lawal should be rewarded with a second chance. It is a win-win for the UFC and should be the next step for “King” Mo and Zuffa.

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Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal Issues Apology to Commissioner Pat Lundvall

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has probably had better weeks.  Early Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission issued the fighter a nine-month suspension and a substantial fine. Later in the day, he found himself released from his Strike…

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has probably had better weeks.  Early Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission issued the fighter a nine-month suspension and a substantial fine. Later in the day, he found himself released from his Strikeforce contract. 

Lawal’s NSAC hearing was based around the fact that his drug test for his January 7 fight against Lorenz Larkin came back positive for the steroid drostanolone.  Lawal, a former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, was victorious in that bout, earning a knockout at the 1:32 mark of Round 2.

When the positive test results were announced, Lawal and his manager, Mike Kogan, were quick to name the culprit, an over-the-counter supplement that Lawal had taken, S-Mass Lean Gainer.

Speaking on the MMA Hour, Kogan said:

To the best of my research, this product was taken off the shelves some time in mid-2011, for exactly the same reason that we’re facing right now. Its primary and only relevant ingredient of that particular product is a substance known as Methyldrostanolone, which is basically just a pill format of Drostanolone

Kogan and Lawal did not contest the findings, instead they hoped for leniency during the hearing, as Kogan said on the MMAHour:

We had no intent of taking any illegal substance and we believe we have enough evidence and enough character references to make that point very clear.

That hope for leniency did not seem to come to fruition. When the hearing was held, Lawal was suspended for nine months and forced to give up 30 percent of his purse from the Larkin fight and his entire $15,000 bonus while the fight result was changed to no-contest.

When handing down punishment, the NSAC seemed to hone in on the fact that Lawal had signed his pre-fight medical questionnaire without mentioning an injury or the over-the-counter supplement (S-Mass Lean Gainer) he used to rehab from that injury.  During the course of questioning Lawal on the pre-fight form, Commissioner Pat Lundvall asked Lawal if he understood English and if he could read English. 

Those two questions did not sit well with Lawal, a Tennessee-born graduate of Oklahoma State University. Following the hearing, Lawal took to Twitter and posted:

I honestly feel like Lundvall was a racist [expletive] asking me if I can read or speak English. Go on somewhere with that [expletive]

Not long after that post, Lawal was released from his Strikeforce contract.  According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, via MMAFighting:

Following the outcome of today’s hearing with the Nevada State Athletic Commission and his subsequent reaction, STRIKEFORCE has released Muhammad Lawal from his contract.

Later in the week, Lawal, speaking to CSNBayArea, issued an apology to Lundvall for calling her “the b-word,” but said he remained offended by her line of questioning.

I was out of line for calling the woman the b-word and I was wrong for that. I was kind of mad about the comments, I was offended by the comments made towards me and I was out of line. I was too emotional. I apologize for that. With that being said, I still feel that I was offended, but I’m in the wrong for what I said.

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Cutting Through the Noise: On King Mo, Racism, and Speaking English

As it turns out, it isn’t always good to be the king.On Tuesday, March 27, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal for nine months, fined him 30% of his $80,000 fight purse, and stripped him of his $15,000 win bonus for …

As it turns out, it isn’t always good to be the king.

On Tuesday, March 27, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal for nine months, fined him 30% of his $80,000 fight purse, and stripped him of his $15,000 win bonus for failing a post-fight drug test following his Jan 7 fight against Lorenz Larkin, as well as failing to properly disclose information regarding his supplements and knee injury on a medical questionnaire.

Though just two days old, this story has been broken down, discussed, rehashed, and assessed from just about all possible angles. Nary a soul, save perhaps Lawal himself, believes he was unfairly punished by the NSAC.

Rather, the controversy stems from a seemingly innocuous question, asked some 10 minutes into the hearing, from NSAC commissioner Pat Lundvall (the audio can be found below, at around minute 6:55, courtesy of MMA Weekly):

“Can you understand English? Can you read English?”

Perceiving Lundvall’s question as not only disrespectful, but racist, Lawal later posted a tweet (which has since been deleted) saying he felt Lundvall was “a racist bitch in asking [him] if [he] can read or speak english.”

Shortly thereafter, Strikeforce announced Lawal had been cut from their roster, sparking the aforementioned discussion and rehashing of the situation by MMA media and fans alike.

The various reactions to this situation that I’ve encountered all seem to generally agree that Lawal’s NSAC punishment was just, his reaction was foolhardy, and that Lundvall’s question was maybe a bit rude, if not downright inappropriate.

One notable exception, that I take particular issue with, is Kevin Iole’s reaction. In a piece for Yahoo Sports entitled “Media had it all wrong: Commissioner wasn’t racist and Lawal got what he deserved,” Iole presents the case that Lundvall was simply doing her job, building a case during questioning about why Lawal failed to accurately fill out the pre-fight medical questionnaire:

Lundvall’s reason for asking Lawal if he read and understood English is what lawyers do when they’re building a case during questioning. She was boxing him in and leaving him no room. When he said yes, she asked about why he didn’t disclose the knee injury on the questionnaire he filled out at the weigh-in and why he didn’t mention he was taking something for it.

It had zero racist intent. She was trying to expose that Lawal hadn’t been forthcoming with the commission until he was forced to do so.

Iole’s point is well taken. Lundvall was attempting to box Lawal in. But that does not make it right, nor does it make it appropriate.

The correct time for a question meant to determine language fluency is at the beginning of a trial or hearing. It’s a common and accepted practice during a plea litany to ensure the defendant understands English and doesn’t need a translator in order to adequately partake in the legal proceedings. Determining one’s understanding of the language being spoken needs to occur before questions are asked, not during.

Rolling your eyes, taking an annoyed tone, and asking this question 10 minutes into the NSAC proceedings, when the defendant—a college graduate, I should add—has been responding to English, in English, is purely incendiary and unprofessional. She may as well have said, “Are you an idiot?”

As for whether or not the question can be perceived as racist, well, that’s another issue altogether.

I am a white male. I have never been the victim of racism. By all reasonable standards, I am not a qualified arbiter for what is, or is not, racist. For me, or any other person who hasn’t themselves faced racism, to say that Lawal is incorrect in his perception of Lundvall’s question is out of line.

If someone that clearly knows I speak English asked me if I spoke English, I wouldn’t assume they were attacking my intellect based upon my race. But I’ve never had my intellect questioned because of my race. For other reasons, sure, but never because of my race. 

Lawal explains in an interview with Bloody Elbow—where he also comments that Lundvall rolled her eyes—that this has happened to him many times. It’s through that experiential lens which Lawal interpreted Lundvall’s question. It doesn’t excuse his reaction, which was unprofessional in itself, but who are we to deem his feelings incorrect?

Regardless of where you happen to stand on this issue, I think all can agree on this point: If Lundvall’s question—and, more importantly, the timing and way in which she asked it—was completely acceptable and ordinary, this wouldn’t be a discussion.

Res ipsa loquitor. The thing speaks for itself.

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