Mike Whitehead vs. 'King Mo' Lawal possible for Strikeforce: 'Evolution' on Dec. 19
Undefeated Sengoku star Muhammed Lawal (5-0) is in talks to make his Strikeforce debut in the heavyweight division opposite Mike Whitehead (24-6) at "Evolution" from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Dec. 19.
While both fighters have verbally agreed to the contest, bout agreements have not yet been signed.
Prior to his 25-second demolition of MMA legend Mark Kerr at M-1 "Breakthrough" back on Aug. 28, "King Mo" had competed exclusively under the World Victory Road banner in Japan since his professional mixed martial arts debut just last year.
The decorated collegiate wrestling champion and Division I All-American from Oklahoma State University has shown tremendous promise, defeating several veterans of the sport and stopping most of them. He instantly made a name for himself in his debut against Travis Wiuff at Sengoku: "Fifth Battle" — Lawal needed little more than two minutes to score a convincing technical knockout win via strikes.
It may not be that easy against "Iron" Mike. In 30 professional bouts, only Tim Sylvia and Brandon Vera were able to finish the former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) contestant.
Whitehead was eliminated from the Spike TV reality show by former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. He got a second chance at Octagon stardom at UFC 57: "Liddell vs. Couture 3," but got outworked by fellow TUF 2 cast mate Keith Jardine.
Instead of going away, Whitehead turned it up a notch -- or five -- by unleashing hell in smaller promotions, going 14-1 including a 4-0 run in the IFL (and a decision win over Krzysztof Soszynski) before the team-based promotion closed its doors.
In fact, his only loss during that span was a unanimous decision to former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral back at Affliction: "Banned" last July. He quickly got back into the win column on June 6 in St. Louis when he took the unanimous decision nod over Kevin Randleman at Strikeforce: "Lawler vs. Shields."
If he's able to maintain his cardio it should be a competitive bout.
Strikeforce: "Evolution" is expected to feature an interesting match up of styles between Matt "The Law" Lindland and Ronald "Jacare" Souza as well as the return of former middleweight champion Cung Le against Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith.
For the current Strikeforce: "Evolution" fight card click here.
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I could see myself liking King Mo. He doesn’t like Rampage, so he’s already half way there for me.
Perfect fight for his career at this point
Hopefully Whitehead is durable enough so that Mo can flex his standup on him. These are the guys he needs to be fighting until he refines his style. Those who are haters, calling him hype and want to him to fight fedor to prove otherwise just realize that the man has barely been in the game for a year now. I’ll be the first to kick people off that wagon when the time comes.
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on Nov 18, 2009 2:03 PM EST up reply actions
Got my ticket
I’m not on the wagon yet, but I have a reserved seat. I have no problem with him taking his time and getting some experience.
What weight class does King mo usually fight in?
I mean he has fought 185ers, 205ers, and Heavyweights. What is King mo’s normal weight class? can somebody please tell me?
205
im pretty sure that he is done at 185 now….i think he body might be growing to much to make the weight anymore…..i might be wrong but i have herd him say resently that he wanted to focus on 205
you might be wrong there but...
You were DEFINATELY wrong about the Broncos beating the skins…I told ya so
Chris Simms sucks
Saw him here plenty in Texas, and couldn’t even beat out that lollipop-throwing Major Applewhite. He’s cashed in on his name just as much as Brooke Hogan, Nicole Richie and Kelly Osbourne.
I'm kind of a big deal.

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