The Nights King Mo Was Immortal

Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal is a confusing figure in the sport of MMA. On one hand, he has one of the most underrated resumes in the game, debuting against 54-11 streaking YAMMA Champion Travis Wiuff, beating former best heavyweight on the planet Mark Kerr when he was 4-0, defeating DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Gegard Mousasi for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship at merely 6-0, knocking out all time great grappler Roger Gracie, handing him his first loss in MMA, beating longtime UFC Heavyweight Cheick Kongo, solid light heavyweight fighters like Mikhail Zayats (22-7) and Jacob Noe (12-2). On the other hand, he holds some of the most embarrassing losses, losing the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight championship to Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante in his first title defense, losing in the Bellator Season 8 Light Heavyweight tournament to unknown Emmanual Newton due to dramatic spinning backfist, losing a rematch to Newton, going life and death with a far past prime Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, all while showing an inconsistent grasp on techniques he will use in his dramatic wins. This is the defining legacy of King Mo: He will pick up techniques and approaches along the way, winning in emphatic fashion and proceeding to seemingly forget to use those, losing to people he should beat.

This seemed to change after his loss to Quinton Jackson. While many (Including myself) believed that King Mo should have won the decision, it was clear that the King Mo gambit had run its course. Now 12-4, 34 years old, clearly inferior to then Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Emmanual Newton, the newfound boxing ability had been replaced by tentative nerves, wrestling ability inconsistent from fight to fight, with his loss to Rampage, it stopped being fun to follow King Mo. He wasn't the chosen one to lead Bellator's Light Heavyweight division, he wasn't even the one to play second fiddle to the one. After losing to Rampage, King Mo went on a 2 fight win streak against Dustin Jacoby and Joe Vedepo before being booked against Cheick Kongo. 22-9, 4-1 in Bellator, longtime fringe top 10 UFC Heavyweight, it was something interesting for King Mo, beyond the realm of the division he had failed in against a larger man, it was something he hadn't done since before he debuted in Strikeforce. It was reminiscent of his Sengoku days, fighting larger men who were far more experienced than himself, but overcoming them through superior ability. King Mo was able to outwrestle the larger Kongo, and suddenly, we had a King Mo on a winning streak, and a different Bellator Light Heavyweight Division waiting for him. The same night Mo beat Kongo, Emmanual Newton had lost the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship to 9-0 Liam McGeary. Almost like it was destiny, consensus top 10 Light Heavyweight Phil Davis left the UFC and joined Bellator. The dominos were lining up for the fallen king to regain the spot that was taken from him so many times - to become Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion while beating respected top fighter Phil Davis in the process. This opportunity would be obliged at Bellator: Dynamite, a lovechild of Scott Coker, King Mo's Strikeforce promoter. Coker introduced the first one night tournament since YAMMA (Won by Travis Wiuff, by the way), featuring Linton Vassell, 15-4 respectable fighter who came within a hair of beating Emmanuel Newton himself, Phil Davis, 13-3 fighter coming from the UFC ranked just outside of the top 5 of the division, Emmanuel Newton, the former champion trying to regain glory, and King Mo, a man denied his right to be a champion. To win this one night tournament and face Liam Mcgeary, he would need to beat Linton Vassell and the winner of Davis vs Newton.

Mo vs Vassell was a drubbing. In classic King Mo fashion, he showed up with hands he hadn't shown since his debut in Bellator - throwing Vassell around the cage with seemingly every punch. Mo picked up a unanimous decision, looking incredible in the process while Davis manhandled Mo's eternal foil in Newton. The stage was set for King Mo vs Phil Davis, but tragedy struck when King Mo was revealed to have hurt himself in the violent bashing of Vassell. Once again, King Mo had to watch from the sidelines as Phil Davis won the Light Heavyweight Tournament, a spot almost reserved for him. His heart broken, he saw opportunity where he had begun - Rizin Fighting Federation, Japanese MMA's resuscitation, was holding a Grand Prix over the course of two nights. Light Heavyweights from all around the world contested at 220 pounds and King Mo was selected as Bellator's representative. It was a true act of poetry; Fights contested at heavyweight in Japan in a tournament representing Bellator. This tournament represented the beginning of Mo's career as a heavyweight in Japan, it represented his failures to represent Bellator in the past as well as being unable to compete in a tournament, and it represented his modern incarnation, skilled and focused. He could wrestle as displayed against Kongo, he could box as displayed with Vassell, it was time for King Mo to fight young, hungry fighters who would love to make their name off of King Mo as Emmanual Newton had. It had culminated to December 29th and 31st 2015: The Nights King Mo Was Immortal.

The competitors in the Rizin Grand Prix weren't exactly world beaters, but they had something in common - they were young and determined to use this platform to distinguish themselves as potential greats. The competitors were:

• Satoshi Ishii (14-4) - A Japanese King Mo in many ways, judo gold medalist and chosen charge of Antonio Inoki, he failed to live up to his potential consistently
• Mo Lawal (16-4) - A King denied his throne
• Brett McDermott (5-2) - BAMMA representative and real life Sailor from the 1930's
• Goran Reljic (15-5) - KSW Representative and former UFC Fighter
• Teodoras Aukstuolis (7-2) - Bushido Lithuania representative and looks like Ken from Street Fighter
• Jiri Prochazka (15-2) - Pro FC Representative from the Czech Republic
• Bruno Cappelozza (7-3) - Jungle Fights representative and then Jungle Fights LHW Champion
• Vadim Nemkov (3-0) - FedorTeam representative, student of the great Fedor Emelianenko

Mo was clearly the favorite in the tournament, why wouldn't he be - Nobody had achieved what he had. Nobody had beaten anybody close to the level of Gegard Mousasi or Roger Gracie, but this was a story we had all heard before from King Mo. No way does this unproven nobody beat King Mo, he's just another bump in the road to glory. This was the story of Emmanual Newton, so the apprehension to King Mo's ascension was warranted, especially with the performances put on by the other competitors in the tournament

Aukstuolis vs Cappelozza:

Nemkov vs Reljic:

Prochazka vs Ishii:

One thing was for sure: Between Jiri, Nemkov and Aukstuolis, King Mo had to walk through a minefield to get what has been so elusive in his career, but first, he had to beat Brett McDermott.

Much like the Linton Vassell fight, Brett McDermott was thoroughly destroyed at the hands of King Mo. Mo's wrestling looked better than it had in ages, his hands were tuned, he was composed, perhaps even... consistent?

 

King Mo's takedowns were far too much for McDermott. Despite the immense strength possessed by Cap'n McDermott, he was easily handled by the world class King Mo, but it was the hands of Mo that truly surprised and please.

 

Note the transition from grappling to punching. Seamless.

 

Mo looked like a rough version of a Mayweather in the Rizin ring. Mayweather comparisons are thrown too loosely in MMA, but with Mo, it is earned as he truly trained with Jeff Mayweather.

The knockout was one that could potentially have stolen knockout of the year honors. 

With this win over Brett McDermott, we were presented with an interesting conundrum. King Mo had won his last 5 in a row, the longest streak since the beginning of his career. His beating of McDermott resembled that of his beating of Vassell in the Bellator tournament a few months prior, but unlike that tragic night in Bellator, King Mo remained healthy and ready to fight on New Years Eve. It was here that he would truly have to overcome the demons that had plagued him - He faced Teodoras Aukstuolis, a 23 year old lithuanian power puncher who knocked out Bruno Cappolezza given one opportunity. Even if he were to play perfectly and beat Aukstuolis, he would need to fight again that night, a feat he couldn't achieve at Bellator: Dynamite. There, he would fight either a long very game Jiri Prochazka or Fedor student with dynamite in his fists Vadim Nemkov. To ask King Mo to beat two young guns looking to take his crown is asking nearly impossible from the man - You ask him to remain consistent. To get to the finals, he would have to face Lithken, and it was in this fight that King Mo showed why he was so praised, and why he deserved even more praise.

 

It can be argued that nobody in MMA has ever shown the lead hand dexterity that King Mo showed on December 31st, 2015. King Mo, even when he used his hands, was a power punching right hand fighter. It could be used well, it was used to great effect against McDermott and Vassell, but the jabs and hooks he was throwing against Aukstuolis was a new development that had never even been hinted at. It was sublime.

Mo's performance was far from perfect: In an alternate reality, shots like these knock Mo out, which would be par for the course for King Mo.

Elusive.

Checking the lead hand and using the checking hand to land a quick right hand. Exquisite.

 

King Mo channeled Mayweather this night.

King Mo picked up a unanimous decision against Aukstuolis, picking up no damage and no injuries along the way. He was ready to face Jiri Prochazka, who was in an absolute war with Vadim Nemkov earlier in the night. There was a concerning thing for Mo in the Jiri/Nemkov fight - Jiri Prochazka would never stop coming. No matter how much he was hit, no matter how much he was grappling, no matter how much energy he seemed to expend, Jiri Prochazka kept on coming for Nemkov. King Mo, having fought 15 minutes earlier in the night, had to fight a young, hungry fighter who would keep coming for Mo until he was dead, so there was only choice for King Mo: Kill Jiri Prochazka.

King Mo had knocked out Jiri Prochazka and won the Rizin World Grand Prix. He won two fights in one night. He had been given the chance to represent Bellator and ran with it. He was given the final hurdle and he jumped it. King Mo had done everything he had always failed to do, and looked invincible while doing it. He looked like everything that we wanted King Mo to be since Strikeforce: He looked like the best fighter in the world.

This story doesn't have a happy ending.

King Mo, for two nights in 2015, looked immortal. Really, 2015 should be considered King Mo's peak as a fighter. 5-0, won the Rizin grand prix and beat Vassell and Kongo. There was only one more thing to do and that was return to Bellator with what he had shown and take what was stolen from him years prior - Bellator's Light Heavyweight Championship. To get to champion Liam McGeary, he would have the chance to right the final wrong - He would get the opportunity to fight Phil Davis. With his newfound boxing prowess, it seemed like it would be easy work. Davis couldn't take King Mo down, King Mo can outbox Davis to an easy decision if not a stoppage win. If you've followed our story to this point, you know how this story ends: King Mo looked ineffective on the feet and unable to mount any significant offense against Phil Davis. He had seemingly forgotten his Rizin form and receded to the form he held against Quinton Jackson, the form that saw me give up on King Mo. Worse, he was stiffed by Phil Davis.

Phil Davis has never shown any stand up prowess whatsoever.

After the high of the Rizin World Grand Prix win, the skills he had shown, Phil Davis wasn't meant to be the guy who even came CLOSE to King Mo. Davis was just a speedbump, and once again, King Mo fell short. It was here where I truly gave up on King Mo. The fight with Davis was close, I even think he should have won the decision, but getting stiffened up by Davis was the last straw. He had finally obtained and displayed the skill to take what was his; he had become the King he always claimed he was, and he still fell back into the King Mo trappings that had always plagued him. He seemed like he rose above it only to show that this isn't something he can get past. Since this loss in early 2016, he has only had 3 fights. He won a lackluster decision against his Japanese counterpart Satoshi Ishii, won an equally lackluster decision against Rampage Jackson, and lost in the first round of the 2016 Rizin Grand Prix to eventual winner Mirko Cro Cop. This is par for the course for King Mo - Losing to the winners. Mo was meant for the world, but it just wasn't meant to be.

But we'll always have New Years Eve 2015; The Nights King Mo Was Immortal.