Muhammed Lawal Talks Rizin, Asked for Mirko Cro Cop
Muhammed Lawal Talks Rizin, Asked for Mirko Cro Cop
Perennial Bellator contender Muhammed Lawal will step in to face Mirko Cro Cop at Rizin tournament.
Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal is not a guy who likes to wait around on the sidelines.
Barely 24 hours after his victory in the main event at Bellator 169 in Dublin, Ireland, this past weekend, Lawal had already lined up his next big fight. The former Strikeforce champion will face Mirko Cro Cop in the Rizin Open Weight Tournament on December 29 in Tokyo, Japan.
Should Lawal defeat Cro Cop, he would then advance to the semifinal and then possibly the final which both take place on December 31. This brings about the possibility of Lawal competing a staggering four times in 12 days. While this would be a daunting prospect for some fighters, Lawal was the one who pursued the opportunity.
"I'm a throwback fighter," Lawal told MMAJunke Radio. "I don't care. I could've fought Ishii at a catchweight, but I'm about fighting the best Ishii and the best Ishii weighs 238 pounds. I talked to Wanderlei (Silva), and I said 'Wanderlei, if I win this fight and I'm not hurt [against Ishii] can I take your spot?
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/nobu_sakakibara/status/810861653373775872" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
"He gave me the OK, so when I won, Coker hit up Japan and said 'Would you like King Mo in your tournament? When I heard back I said, 'I'm OK, and I'm good to go."
With the fight with Cro Cop now all officially confirmed, Lawal says he's ready and prepared to get down to business. He doesn't think the Croatian is in for a pleasant return, though he knows he may have to employ different tactics given the fight is taking place inside a ring and not a cage.
"It's MMA, but he would be easier to take down inside a cage," Lawal said. "It's easier taking people down inside a cage than it is a ring, though it's easier to stop people in a ring. Obviously, I have to watch for the kicks--both body and head kicks--but I know I can nullify that. I how to read that, so I can actually jab with him and touch the body.
"I've got to keep him guessing more than anything. I know everyone at home will be going, 'Obviously, Mo doesn't want to stand with him,' but would you want to stand with him? ... I like challenges man. I'm going to mix it up with him. My thing is I like to box, so I'll box with him. But, if the takedown is there I'll take him down. If it's not, then I'll just continue to box."
Having just put a nice check in his pocket from his main event win in Dublin, Lawal had all the excuses to sit back and just enjoy the holiday season. While that would be the mentality of most people, the American Top Team fighter has slightly different objectives with his career.
"My main goal honestly is to try and get six fights a year," Lawal said. "Six fights a year I love it, but five fights that's my main thing. I love to have five fights a year.
"When I saw this I was like it's perfect. I asked for Cro Crop, When I saw he didn't have an opponent I was like I'll fight Cro Crop that's cool."
Oct. 29, 2011; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UFC fighter Mirko Cro Cop during a heavyweight bout during UFC 137 at the Mandalay Bay event center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
When asked how he would deal with the possibility of having three fights in as many days, Lawal said it was all about taking each as it comes and getting ahead of yourself.
"You get one day in between so it's fight-break-fight-fight," Lawal said. "Really though, there's no advantage of knowing what to expect, there really isn't. I might go 15 minutes with Cro Crop and then come back and fight another 15 minutes. I could fight 45 minutes.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/nobu_sakakibara/status/810856916897304576" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
"If I get quick finishes, then I'm good. But you just don't know what's going to happen. You can prepare for it, but when you actually go through and deal with it, every experience can be different."
One of the men on the other side of the brackets, Amir Aliakbari is widely being tipped to meet either Cro Cop or Lawal in the final. One of the people predicting he will do well is "King Mo" himself.
Said Lawal, "It'll probably be Amir."
Barely 24 hours after his victory in the main event at Bellator 169 in Dublin, Ireland, this past weekend, Lawal had already lined up his next big fight. The former Strikeforce champion will face Mirko Cro Cop in the Rizin Open Weight Tournament on December 29 in Tokyo, Japan.
Should Lawal defeat Cro Cop, he would then advance to the semifinal and then possibly the final which both take place on December 31. This brings about the possibility of Lawal competing a staggering four times in 12 days. While this would be a daunting prospect for some fighters, Lawal was the one who pursued the opportunity.
"I'm a throwback fighter," Lawal told MMAJunke Radio. "I don't care. I could've fought Ishii at a catchweight, but I'm about fighting the best Ishii and the best Ishii weighs 238 pounds. I talked to Wanderlei (Silva), and I said 'Wanderlei, if I win this fight and I'm not hurt [against Ishii] can I take your spot?
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/nobu_sakakibara/status/810861653373775872" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
"He gave me the OK, so when I won, Coker hit up Japan and said 'Would you like King Mo in your tournament? When I heard back I said, 'I'm OK, and I'm good to go."
With the fight with Cro Cop now all officially confirmed, Lawal says he's ready and prepared to get down to business. He doesn't think the Croatian is in for a pleasant return, though he knows he may have to employ different tactics given the fight is taking place inside a ring and not a cage.
"It's MMA, but he would be easier to take down inside a cage," Lawal said. "It's easier taking people down inside a cage than it is a ring, though it's easier to stop people in a ring. Obviously, I have to watch for the kicks--both body and head kicks--but I know I can nullify that. I how to read that, so I can actually jab with him and touch the body.
"I've got to keep him guessing more than anything. I know everyone at home will be going, 'Obviously, Mo doesn't want to stand with him,' but would you want to stand with him? ... I like challenges man. I'm going to mix it up with him. My thing is I like to box, so I'll box with him. But, if the takedown is there I'll take him down. If it's not, then I'll just continue to box."
Having just put a nice check in his pocket from his main event win in Dublin, Lawal had all the excuses to sit back and just enjoy the holiday season. While that would be the mentality of most people, the American Top Team fighter has slightly different objectives with his career.
"My main goal honestly is to try and get six fights a year," Lawal said. "Six fights a year I love it, but five fights that's my main thing. I love to have five fights a year.
"When I saw this I was like it's perfect. I asked for Cro Crop, When I saw he didn't have an opponent I was like I'll fight Cro Crop that's cool."
Oct. 29, 2011; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UFC fighter Mirko Cro Cop during a heavyweight bout during UFC 137 at the Mandalay Bay event center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
When asked how he would deal with the possibility of having three fights in as many days, Lawal said it was all about taking each as it comes and getting ahead of yourself.
"You get one day in between so it's fight-break-fight-fight," Lawal said. "Really though, there's no advantage of knowing what to expect, there really isn't. I might go 15 minutes with Cro Crop and then come back and fight another 15 minutes. I could fight 45 minutes.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/nobu_sakakibara/status/810856916897304576" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
"If I get quick finishes, then I'm good. But you just don't know what's going to happen. You can prepare for it, but when you actually go through and deal with it, every experience can be different."
One of the men on the other side of the brackets, Amir Aliakbari is widely being tipped to meet either Cro Cop or Lawal in the final. One of the people predicting he will do well is "King Mo" himself.
Said Lawal, "It'll probably be Amir."