Muhammed Lawal

Muhammed Lawal
Muhammed Lawal
Born	January 11, 1981 (age 45); United States
Other names	King Mo
Occupation(s)	Professional wrestler, mixed martial artist
Years active	2008–present
Known for	Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Rizin 100kg World Grand Prix Champion

Muhammed Lawal (born January 11, 1981), widely recognized as "King Mo", is an American professional wrestler and a former mixed martial artist currently competing under Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. He previously held the titles of Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and Rizin 100kg World Grand Prix Champion.

Early life

Raised by a single mother alongside his siblings, Lawal developed a passion for professional wrestling early on. During his time at Plano East Senior High School in Plano, Texas, he excelled in wrestling. As a junior, he captured a state title in Greco-Roman wrestling and finished as the runner-up. In his senior year, Lawal remained undefeated and secured the Texas state championship by overcoming the favored Barrett Lidji. Additionally, he received All-District honors playing linebacker and wide receiver in football and earned letters in track and field.

College and freestyle wrestling

Lawal competed at the NCAA Division II level representing the University of Central Oklahoma, where he placed second nationally in 2001 before winning the national championship in 2002. For his final collegiate year, he transferred to Oklahoma State University, achieving Big 12 Conference Champion status and becoming a Division I All-American in 2003 with a third-place finish at 197 pounds. That same year, he also claimed the university freestyle national championship at 185 pounds.

After college, Lawal advanced to senior-level competition, capturing the Real Pro Wrestling 184-pound title in 2004. He earned three Senior U.S. national freestyle wrestling championships in 2005, 2006, and 2008, and ranked seventh at the 2005 World Wrestling Championships. For more than three years, he held the top U.S. ranking at 84 kilograms. Following a narrow miss in qualifying for the 2008 Olympics, Lawal shifted his focus to mixed martial arts.

World Victory Road

Lawal made his MMA debut in 2008 at Sengoku 5, where he achieved a first-round knockout over seasoned fighter Travis Wiuff. At Sengoku 6 on November 1, 2008, he secured a victory against Fábio Silva by strikes in the third round. On January 4, 2009, Lawal defeated Yukiya Naito with punches during the first round at Sengoku no Ran 2009. Despite sustaining a knee injury before their bout, he won by unanimous decision against Ryo Kawamura at Sengoku 7 on March 20, 2009.

M-1 Global

Making his U.S. debut on August 28, 2009, at M-1 Global Presents Breakthrough, Lawal quickly dispatched Mark Kerr via technical knockout just 25 seconds into the match.

Strikeforce

Lawal inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce on October 13, 2009, allowing him to continue competing in Japan as well. On December 19 at Strikeforce: Evolution, he delivered an early first-round knockout to Mike Whitehead with sharp counterpunches.

On April 17, 2010, Lawal captured the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship by defeating Gegard Mousasi through unanimous decision. He later lost the belt on August 21 in Houston to Rafael Cavalcante via TKO in the third round. After undergoing knee surgery, Lawal remained inactive until mid-2011.

Initially scheduled to face Roger Gracie at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson in July 2011, Lawal’s bout was postponed due to Gracie’s injury withdrawal. Eventually competing on September 10, 2011, Lawal achieved a first-round knockout victory during the Strikeforce World Grand Prix.

He followed up with another first-round KO against Lorenz Larkin at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine; however, this win was overturned to a no contest after Lawal tested positive for anabolic steroids (Drostanolone). This resulted in a suspension originally set for one year but later shortened to nine months.

Lawal was subsequently released from Strikeforce after making contentious remarks about commissioner Pat Lundvall on Twitter following his drug test hearing. Although he issued an apology afterward, he expressed feeling disrespected throughout the proceedings.

Bellator MMA

On May 10, 2012, Lawal inked a deal with the mixed martial arts organization Bellator Fighting Championships.

Lawal made his Bellator debut in the Season 8 light heavyweight tournament on January 24, 2013, securing a quarterfinal victory over Przemyslaw Mysiala with a right hook. However, he was defeated by Emanuel Newton via first-round knockout in the semifinals at Bellator 90. On June 19, 2013, Lawal achieved a first-round knockout against Seth Petruzelli during the opening round of a 4-man tournament at Bellator 96, then went on to claim a third-round TKO win over Jacob Noe at Bellator 97, capturing the Summer Series light heavyweight tournament title.

Lawal faced Emanuel Newton once more for the Interim Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship on November 2, 2013, at Bellator 106 but was handed a unanimous decision loss. Competing in the Season Ten light heavyweight tournament in February 2014, he defeated Mikhail Zayats at Bellator 110 but controversially lost by unanimous decision to Quinton Jackson in the final bout.

Originally scheduled to meet Tom DeBlass at Bellator 123 in September 2014, Lawal instead fought Dustin Jacoby after DeBlass withdrew due to injury; Lawal secured a second-round TKO victory. DeBlass was again slated to face Lawal at Bellator 131 in November but pulled out because of a training injury. Lawal then battled Joe Vedepo and won by third-round TKO.

On February 27, 2015, Lawal moved up to the heavyweight division and earned a split decision victory over Cheick Kongo at Bellator 134. Later that year, he took part in Bellator’s one-night light heavyweight tournament held at Bellator & Glory: Dynamite 1 on September 19, where he defeated Linton Vassell but had to withdraw from the finals due to a rib injury.

At Bellator 154 on May 14, 2016, Lawal lost a title eliminator match against Phil Davis by unanimous decision. He bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Satoshi Ishii at Bellator 169 in December. In March 2017, Lawal avenged his previous defeat to Quinton Jackson by winning via unanimous decision at Bellator 175 but later pulled out of a scheduled fight against Ryan Bader at Bellator 180.

Lawal was set to confront Liam McGeary at Bellator 185 in October 2017 but withdrew because of injury. On May 12, 2018, he competed in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix final against Ryan Bader at Bellator 199 but suffered a first-round TKO loss. Later that year, Lawal faced former Light Heavyweight Champion Liam McGeary at Bellator 213 and was stopped via third-round TKO.

RIZIN Fighting Federation Tournament

On November 6, 2015, RIZIN Fighting Federation announced that Lawal would represent Bellator in an eight-man tournament scheduled for their New Year's Eve event in Japan. Although initially matched against BAMMA heavyweight champion Mark Godbeer, Lawal instead faced Brett McDermott and secured a first-round knockout victory. He then defeated Teodoras Aukstuolis by unanimous decision in the semifinals on December 31, 2015, before capturing the tournament title with a first-round knockout over Jiří Procházka in the final.

Returning to Rizin FF on December 29, 2016, Lawal participated in the Openweight Grand Prix as a replacement for an injured Wanderlei Silva against Mirko Cro Cop. He was defeated by TKO in the second round.

Mixed Martial Arts Record

|Loss
|align=center |20–6 (1)
|Mirko Cro Cop
|TKO (punches)
|Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 2nd Round
|
|align=center |2
|align=center |1:41
|Saitama, Japan
|

|-

|Win
|align=center |20–5 (1)
|Satoshi Ishii
|Decision (unanimous)
|Bellator 169
|
|align=center |3
|align=center |- 
|

|-

|Loss
|align=center |19–5 (1)
|Phil Davis
|Decision (unanimous)
|Bellator 154
|
|align=center |3
|align=center |- 
|

|-

|Win
|align=center |19–4 (1)
|Jiří Procházka
|KO (punch)
|rowspan=2:2015 in Rizin Fighting Federation#Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza 
|rowspan=2: 
|
|
|

|-

|
|
|
|- 
|
|- 
|-

|- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-

World Championship Matches

Submission Grappling Record

|} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |}

Result

Rec.

Opponent

Method

Event

Division

Date

Location

Loss

style="text-align:center;" |0–1–1||

James Krause||

Guillotine choke|| Quintet Ultra||

December 12, 2019||

Draw

style="text-align:center;" |1–1–0||

Anthony Johnson||

Points|| Quintet Ultra||

December 12, 2019||

Early years

Lawal, a devoted fan of professional wrestling since childhood, received a contract offer from World Wrestling Entertainment after completing college. He briefly trained at WWE's developmental system, Ohio Valley Wrestling, but ultimately chose to decline WWE's offer in order to concentrate on his mixed martial arts ambitions.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2012–2015)

In May 2012, alongside signing with Bellator Fighting Championships, Lawal also inked a deal with the wrestling organization Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), aiming to balance careers in both MMA and professional wrestling. He intended to make appearances with TNA approximately two to three times monthly, while prioritizing his fighting commitments over wrestling engagements. By September 2012, Lawal was undergoing training at Ohio Valley Wrestling, TNA’s developmental base located in Louisville, Kentucky. His debut occurred on the October 4, 2012 episode of Impact Wrestling, where he acted as a special guest enforcer in a street fight featured at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view event on October 14, 2012.

King Mo reemerged on the July 24, 2014 edition of Impact Wrestling portraying a villainous character; he launched attacks on prominent wrestlers and allied himself with Team Dixie and Dixie Carter. Nevertheless, he was subsequently removed from Team Dixie due to his absences. In February 2015, Lawal reiterated that mixed martial arts remained his main focus but expressed willingness to participate in wrestling matches if opportunities arose. On July 20, 2015, he formally announced his exit from TNA.

Independent circuit (2014, 2019–present)

On June 14, 2014, during House of Hardcore 6, King Mo engaged in a Master Lock challenge posed by Chris Masters. He managed to evade the Master Lock and compelled Masters to submit by applying a leg lock.

Return to Impact Wrestling (2017)

King Mo made a comeback to Impact Wrestling on June 27, 2017, accompanying Lashley as part of his corner team for Lashley’s Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship match at the event Slammiversary.

Major League Wrestling (2019–2021)

On November 8, 2019, King Mo sported an MLW shirt during what would be his final Bellator bout. The following day, he signed an exclusive contract with MLW and debuted at their next television taping. He secured victory in his first match on the Thanksgiving episode of MLW Fusion by submission. His most recent recorded appearance for MLW took place on November 10, 2021, as part of the MLW Fusion ALPHA Series.

Bare-knuckle boxing

King Mo was slated to make his bare-knuckle boxing debut against BKFC Middleweight Champion David Mundell in a light heavyweight contest at BKFC 66 scheduled for September 13, 2024. However, he withdrew from the bout due to reasons that were not publicly disclosed.

Personal life

Lawal’s parents are Muslim immigrants from Nigeria. Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he has a younger brother named Abdullah and a sister named Aminat. Raised by his single mother Nike Rouseau after his father was absent and tragically died by suicide when Lawal was twenty years old.

Following his fight against Larkin, Lawal developed a severe staph infection stemming from knee surgery that caused extensive damage to his hip and legs. Despite the critical nature of this infection, he managed to recover fully from this life-threatening condition.

Mixed martial arts

Bellator MMA
- Champion of the Bellator 2013 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament
- Shares the record (with Liam McGeary) for the highest number of knockout victories in Bellator’s Light Heavyweight division history (5)
Rizin Fighting Federation
- Winner of the Rizin 2015 World Grand Prix
Strikeforce
- One-time Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion

Amateur wrestling

International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
- Gold medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2007 Hargobind International Tournament
- Silver medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2007 Alexander Medved International
- Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist at the 2007 Pan American Championships
- Silver medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2007 World Cup
- Gold medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2007 Takhti Cup
- Bronze medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2006 Golden Grand Prix
- Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist at the 2006 Uzbekistan Independence Cup Golden Grand Prix
- Winner of Senior Freestyle Gold at the 2006 Yasar Dogu International
- Gold medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2006 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open
- Silver medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2005 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open
- Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist at the 2004 Clan International Championships
- Bronze medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2004 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open
- Silver medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2004 FILA Manitoba Open
- Bronze medalist in Senior Freestyle at the 2003 Sunkist Kids International Open
USA Wrestling
- USA Senior Freestyle National Champion in 2005, 2006, and 2008
- Champion of USA University Freestyle Nationals in 2003
- Gold medal winner in Senior Freestyle at the 2006 NYAC Christmas Championships
- Winner of the FILA World Team Trials Senior Freestyle in 2005
- Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist at the 2004 NYAC Christmas Championships
National Collegiate Athletic Association
- NCAA Division I All-American (2003)
- Big 12 Conference Champion (2003)
- NCAA Division II Collegiate Champion (2002)
- NCAA Division II All-American (2001, 2002)
University Interscholastic League
- Texas State High School Champion (1999) under UIL
- UIL High School All-State honors received in 1997, 1998, and 1999

Wrestling

Real Pro Wrestling
- Champion of RPW Season One at 184 pounds

Professional wrestling

Vendetta Pro Wrestling
- Recipient of the Vendetty Award for Match of the Year in 2015 (served as Special Guest Enforcer)

External links