King Mo isn’t one to sit on his laurels, so Bellator’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix suits him fine.
Muhammed Lawal, better known to MMA fans as ‘King Mo,’ was minus his crown in the lead-up to Bellator 192 on Saturday. The ‘moneyweight’ took a few minutes to discuss his participation in Bellator’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix, however, and for King Mo, it’s all about one thing: staying busy. When asked about participating in the tournament over waiting for a title shot, Mo made it clear he wasn’t about to wait.
“I like to fight. Tournaments mean more fights. So I just jumped in the tournament” he told us.
“Why would I want to wait? At least in a tournament, I know what’s next” he continued. “In a fight, you don’t know what’s next. You fight, you wait around, you call the promoter, you call the organization, and nobody would get back to you. Well, in a tournament, you win the first round, you know there’s a fight guaranteed in the second round. So why not do it?”
The big talk leading into the Bellator World Heavyweight Grand Prix has been an eventual rubber match for King Mo with rival Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Rampage won their first meeting, back at Bellator 120. Last year, Lawal evened the score. At 1-1, a third fight might not settle their feud, but would at least settle the score. So how does King Mo stay focused on the opponent immediately ahead of him in the quarter-finals, Ryan Bader?
“I don’t worry about it. Just one fight at a time” he said, adding “don’t forget, I came from a wrestling background. In wrestling, we get tournaments every weekend.”
When it comes to Bader, the man Mo would have been challenging for the light heavyweight title in other circumstances, what’s his prediction for when they finally meet? “I’m gonna whoop his ass. Plain and simple.”
Lawal and Bader are expected to square off sometime in May.
