Tag: Muhammed Lawal

King Mo on Jon Jones: "Many People Could Beat Him"

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal is keeping everything in perspective, including the excessive hype surrounding UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.Since defeating Ryan Bader in February, Jones has kept the ball rolling in 2011, dispatching of legendary l…

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal is keeping everything in perspective, including the excessive hype surrounding UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Since defeating Ryan Bader in February, Jones has kept the ball rolling in 2011, dispatching of legendary light heavyweights Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida.

While the world sees Jones’ potential to be a future all-time great, some have already likened the young lion to Muhammad Ali and propelled him past Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre in the pound-for-pound ranks.

“Jon Jones is doing his thing, but he’s new on the scene. It’s funny because [MMA fans] are quick to forget people,” King Mo said in an interview on MMAWeekly Radio.

“Two years ago, Jose Aldo was on top of the world, and a year before that, Miguel Torres, ‘Oh, no one can beat him.’ Before that, Urijah Faber, ‘No one’s touching him.’ The fans want to be analysts, and they’re just fans, so they get excited easily.”

Aldo is an interesting example of how quickly opinions can change amongst MMA fans. The UFC featherweight champ hasn’t lost a professional bout since November 2005 and has defended his WEC/UFC title four consecutive times.

After destroying former champion Urijah Faber in April 2010, the MMA world hoisted Aldo on its shoulders and proclaimed him as the No. 3 best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, behind only GSP and Silva.

Now, the champ would be lucky to crack into the top five of most rankings, despite his continued dominance over the 145-pound division.

“No one is unbeatable. People get excited about the biggest thing. MMA is almost like a trend,” said Lawal. “People in MMA follow trends, even the fighters and the styles. What style is hot? Tapout and Affliction. ‘Oh, this fighter is hot, so he’s unbeatable.’ And the first person to beat him is unbeatable.”

Jones may not be invincible, but it’s tough to fathom anyone derailing him at this point in his career. In every bout, he seems light years ahead of the competition. King Mo sees Jones as a special talent, but he also understands that a slip up could come at any time.

“Many people could beat him. Jon Jones can beat himself by buying into the hype or just not training. Mike Tyson beat himself. There’s other guys out there stylistically that could be bad matchups. I’m not going to say who because I know. I’m not going to let the cat out the bag because I know.”

As far as pound-for-pound rankings are concerned, King Mo isn’t quite ready to hand the top spot over to Jones just yet. He doesn’t see the rankings as merely dominating a specific division. The top spot belongs to fighters who find success in multiple weight classes.

“Pound-for-pound, I’d probably say Anderson because he’s fought at 185 and 205,” said King Mo. “When I think of pound-for-pound, I think of guys that can go up in weight and be able to do just as good.”

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King Mo Backs Off ‘Cancer Patient’ Comments, Wants to Fight Where Money Is

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King MoIn September, “King” Mo Lawal said he viewed Strikeforce as something like “a dying cancer patient,” saying he was just waiting for the promotion he’s been fighting in since 2009 to die. But Lawal doesn’t feel that way anymore.

With Lawal set to fight Lorenz Larkin on the January 7 Strikeforce card — the first card on a new agreement between Zuffa and Showtime to keep Strikeforce alive through 2012 — Lawal now views Strikeforce as alive and well.

“I was wrong to say it was a cancer patient. The cancer went into remission and Strikeforce is back,” Lawal said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

That doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that Lawal will be part of Strikeforce in the long term. Lawal has made no secret that he’d like to be involved in bigger fights (and bigger paydays) in the UFC. And although he said his request for a fight with Rampage Jackson in Japan never came close to fruition, he said he’s hoping for big fights and big money next year, after his current contract expires following the fight with Larkin.

“I’ve got one more fight on my contract and then my contract ends in February,” Lawal said. “King Mo just wants to go where he can get paid and get paid without the check bouncing.”

Lawal said he has no problem remaining with Strikeforce, and he wasn’t upset to learn that Zuffa will continue to operate the UFC and Strikeforce separately, rather than absorb Strikeforce fighters into the UFC.

“I just hope they can get us good fights and get us paid well,” Lawal said. “I’m not disappointed.”

The 12-0 Larkin, who has come up through the Strikeforce Challengers series, represents an interesting challenge for Lawal. If Larkin can pull the upset, it would certainly hurt Lawal’s negotiating position as he looks to sign a new contract, but Lawal doesn’t see that happening.

“Get this win, which I will,” Lawal said. “And then I’ll see what the options are and see what happens.”

 

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King MoIn September, “King” Mo Lawal said he viewed Strikeforce as something like “a dying cancer patient,” saying he was just waiting for the promotion he’s been fighting in since 2009 to die. But Lawal doesn’t feel that way anymore.

With Lawal set to fight Lorenz Larkin on the January 7 Strikeforce card — the first card on a new agreement between Zuffa and Showtime to keep Strikeforce alive through 2012 — Lawal now views Strikeforce as alive and well.

“I was wrong to say it was a cancer patient. The cancer went into remission and Strikeforce is back,” Lawal said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

That doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that Lawal will be part of Strikeforce in the long term. Lawal has made no secret that he’d like to be involved in bigger fights (and bigger paydays) in the UFC. And although he said his request for a fight with Rampage Jackson in Japan never came close to fruition, he said he’s hoping for big fights and big money next year, after his current contract expires following the fight with Larkin.

“I’ve got one more fight on my contract and then my contract ends in February,” Lawal said. “King Mo just wants to go where he can get paid and get paid without the check bouncing.”


Lawal said he has no problem remaining with Strikeforce, and he wasn’t upset to learn that Zuffa will continue to operate the UFC and Strikeforce separately, rather than absorb Strikeforce fighters into the UFC.

“I just hope they can get us good fights and get us paid well,” Lawal said. “I’m not disappointed.”

The 12-0 Larkin, who has come up through the Strikeforce Challengers series, represents an interesting challenge for Lawal. If Larkin can pull the upset, it would certainly hurt Lawal’s negotiating position as he looks to sign a new contract, but Lawal doesn’t see that happening.

“Get this win, which I will,” Lawal said. “And then I’ll see what the options are and see what happens.”

 

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Rockhold, Lawler, King Mo, Others Set for Action at Jan. 7 Strikeforce Event

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsStrikeforce on Thursday announced four of the five televised bouts slated for its Jan. 7 event at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The new matchups are Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov, Muhammed “…

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Strikeforce on Thursday announced four of the five televised bouts slated for its Jan. 7 event at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The new matchups are Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Lorenz Larkin and Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyler Stinson.

And as previously reported, the main event will be middleweight champion Luke Rockhold defending his belt against UFC veteran Keith Jardine.

“Jardine is a big name who’s fought a lot of tough guys in this sport,” Rockhold said in a statement. “I’m not going to sleep on him or this opportunity. This isn’t just another fight for me, I’ve wanted my chance to prove I’m a champion and a five-round title defense is the way to do it.”

Rockhold (8-1), undefeated in seven Strikeforce fights, captured the middleweight strap away from Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza by unanimous decision in September. Jardine (17-9-2) made his Strikeforce debut in April, fighting Mousasi to a draw. Jardine will be making his 185-pound debut.

Lawler (18-8) will be looking to snap a two-fight losing streak. In 2011, Lawler lost to both Souza and Kennedy. Amagov (9-1-1) made the jump from the Russian MMA scene to Strikeforce in July and has since won two bouts.


In his lone fight in 2011, Lawal (8-1) scored a first-round knockout over Roger Gracie. Larkin (12-0) won four fights this year, three of which took place inside the Strikeforce cage.

Saffiedine (11-3) lost to Tyron Woodley in January and then bounced back to beat Scott Smith in July. Stinson (22-7) made his Strikeforce debut in July and earned an impressive KO over Eduardo Pamplona.

 

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Muhammed Lawal Says Lyoto Machida Is "Ready to Stop" Jon Jones at UFC 140

Muhmmed “King Mo” Lawal is one of many fighters who have assisted Lyoto Machida during his training camp to prepare for his upcoming title bout against Jon Jones at UFC 140. Lawal, who displays some of the best wrestling in mixed martial arts, was…

Muhmmed “King Mo” Lawal is one of many fighters who have assisted Lyoto Machida during his training camp to prepare for his upcoming title bout against Jon Jones at UFC 140. 

Lawal, who displays some of the best wrestling in mixed martial arts, was brought to Brazil to help improve Machida’s grappling ability and emulate Jones’ wrestling style. 

After working with the former UFC light heavyweight champion, Lawal believes Machida is ready. 

“Yes, I think he’s ready. You know, if he wasn’t ready he wouldn’t be fighting. He’s always ready,”Lawal told TATAME.com. “I think when it comes down to it, it’s all about the game plan and he’s got a great game plan, so I think he’s gonna do it.”

Machida has undergone a complete transformation with his training regimen to prepare for Jones’ style. In addition to tweaking his wrestling skills with “King Mo”, Machida has added 22 pounds of muscle mass to his frame. 

The 24-year-old Jones has yet to be tested during his young career thus far, previously dispatching two former UFC champions in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Ramapge” Jackson. He possesses outstanding wrestling skills—along with owning the longest reach in UFC history at 84″.

However, Machida’s style is just as difficult to adjust to, which only few fighters have attempted to solve, but Lawal said the Brazilian’s training camp will benefit him greatly come fight night. 

“I think that if Lyoto does what he’s been doing, it’ll be hard to take him down,” he said. “It’s hard to take down a moving target. If you’re standing still, you get taken down, but it’s hard to take down a moving target.”

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Slated for Strikeforce’s Jan. 7 Event, ‘King Mo’ Not UFC-Bound Yet


(“How much will you gimme fo this crown? What about if I throw in the gloves?.” PicProps: Sherdog)

TATAME recently caught up with Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal while he was in Belem, Brazil helping former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida prepare for his upcoming UFC 140 championship bout with Jon Jones and according to the former Strikeforce 205-pound champ, he still has at least one fight scheduled under the SF banner.

If he could choose his opponent for the card, he says it would be the man who handed him his sole loss.

“I wanna fight [Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante] again because now I’m healthier. Before, when I fought him I had no meniscus, I had no stability on my knees. I fought him, I was winning, he caught me with a knee, and then that’s it, and elbows. But now, I’m ready,” Mo says. “[I’d fight him] he same. Because now I’m not injured, I can use both legs. Last time, only one leg. This time, two legs.Hopefully [I’m fighting him in January]. I heard he’s hurt, but we’ll see.”

As far as his future with Strikeforce goes, Lawal says he isn’t wasting time thinking about all of the “what ifs,” because as he puts it, whatever happens is going to happen and worrying won’t do anything to change it.


(“How much will you gimme fo this crown? What about if I throw in the gloves?.” PicProps: Sherdog)

TATAME recently caught up with Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal while he was in Belem, Brazil helping former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida prepare for his upcoming UFC 140 championship bout with Jon Jones and according to the former Strikeforce 205-pound champ, he still has at least one fight scheduled under the SF banner.

If he could choose his opponent for the card, he says it would be the man who handed him his sole loss.

“I wanna fight [Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante] again because now I’m healthier. Before, when I fought him I had no meniscus, I had no stability on my knees. I fought him, I was winning, he caught me with a knee, and then that’s it, and elbows. But now, I’m ready,” Mo says. “[I’d fight him] he same. Because now I’m not injured, I can use both legs. Last time, only one leg. This time, two legs.Hopefully [I’m fighting him in January]. I heard he’s hurt, but we’ll see.”

As far as his future with Strikeforce goes, Lawal says he isn’t wasting time thinking about all of the “what ifs,” because as he puts it, whatever happens is going to happen and worrying won’t do anything to change it.

“I don’t know [whats going to happen]. It’s confusing because no one knows what’s going on. I don’t know what is going on, so I’m just gonna say I just wanna fight,” he explains. “Give me fights and I don’t worry about this.”

There are rumors that Strikeforce is very close to coming to terms with Showtime, but they haven’t been confirmed. Judging by the fact that Forza — the Fertitta-owned parent company of Strikeforce — has signed new contracts as recently as this week, it looks like the promotion is planning to stick around for at least a few more months. The organization’s moratorium could come soon after the heavyweight grand prix wraps up whenever finalist Daniel Cormier’s broken hand heals up enough for him to face Josh Barnett to close out the tournament.

The MMA Hour With Muhammed Lawal, Cesar Gracie, Ramsey Nijem, Bart Palaszewski, Thomas Gerbasi

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The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s who will be stopping by for our 105th show.

* Thomas Gerbasi, the author of “UFC Encyclopedia” and the editorial director for Zuffa, will be in studio to talk about his new book and his work on UFC.com and Strikeforce.com.

* Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz‘s manager and trainer, will preview Diaz’s fight against BJ Penn at UFC 137.

* Ramsey Nijem will talk about his UFC 137 bout against Danny Downes on Saturday night.

* Featherweight Bart Palaszewski will discuss his move to 145 pounds and his fight against Tyson Griffin at UFC 137.

* “King” Muhammed Lawal will discuss what’s next for him and will help us preview Saturday night’s UFC pay-per-view.

Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.

*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.

Watch the replay below. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.

 

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The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s who will be stopping by for our 105th show.

* Thomas Gerbasi, the author of “UFC Encyclopedia” and the editorial director for Zuffa, will be in studio to talk about his new book and his work on UFC.com and Strikeforce.com.

* Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz‘s manager and trainer, will preview Diaz’s fight against BJ Penn at UFC 137.

* Ramsey Nijem will talk about his UFC 137 bout against Danny Downes on Saturday night.

* Featherweight Bart Palaszewski will discuss his move to 145 pounds and his fight against Tyson Griffin at UFC 137.

* “King” Muhammed Lawal will discuss what’s next for him and will help us preview Saturday night’s UFC pay-per-view.

Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.

*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.

Watch the replay below. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.

 

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