The end of the work week is slowly approaching, and those of you who are secretly awaiting your fix of mixed martial arts action will have to look no further than Saturday night as both the WEC and Strikeforce are on tap to provide the masses with some very entertaining match-ups. While the WEC will infuse the weekend with relentless and tenacious action of the lighter weight classes, Strikeforce: Evolution should provide both casual and hardcore fans some quality match-ups between some of the more well-known names that the sport has produced.
The first bout on the Strikeforce: Evolution main card will feature former three-time U.S. Senior National wrestling champion and one-time Division I NCAA All-American Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (5-0) taking on IFL veteran and The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 contestant Mike Whitehead (24-6) in a heavyweight tilt. Lawal is relatively green in the sport with only five fights to his credit with wins over Travis Wiuff, Fabio Silva, Ryo Kawamura, and his most recent coming against PRIDE legend Mark Kerr. Whitehead’s most recent victory came at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields as he defeated Kevin Randleman via unanimous decision, and he’s managed to go 15-1 in his last 16 fights since his loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 57. His only loss within the streak was to UFC veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral at Affliction: Banned.
This will be Lawal’s second foray into the North American market as he’s been one of the more popular attractions in World Victory Road’s Sengoku promotion in Japan. His “King Mo” persona features him as a king with a scepter, robe, crown, and sometimes a throne with beautiful performers who dance provocatively next to him. He also managed to have his own song made in which he asks crowds to participate in the chanting of his nickname. The act has been fairly popular in Japan, and it vaulted him into main event status on a number of Sengoku cards.
But Lawal isn’t simply a performing attraction in a circus. Most fans don’t have a real understanding as to how good Muhammed Lawal is on the mat, but he might be one of the best wrestlers in the world to transition to mixed martial arts. He never won a NCAA Division I championship, but he did manage to become the 2002 NCAA Division II champion and placed third in 2003 at Division I. Two years later, he became a U.S. National team member placing 7th at the World Championships and won the U.S. Senior Championships three times. In fact, he was considered the #1 wrestler in the world at 84kg for three straight years before delving into mixed martial arts.
Obviously with that kind of background in wrestling, his major strength within his skill-set is his wrestling and ground game. He has some of the most explosive takedowns for the weight class, and his strength and power from the top position is immense. He’ll be looking to put Whitehead on his back and pound him out in this bout, and the only real question is whether he’ll stand and bang with the former IFL fighter in the opening rounds. Lawal’s stand-up has been one of his weaker areas as he throws wide, looping punches, but Whitehead isn’t exactly a fleet-footed fighter who will completely evade all of those shots. Lawal could catch him and end it on the feet as well.
Whitehead offers a very high experience factor in this fight. He has decent wrestling ability, good submission techniques from the top, and he’s an average striker on the feet. Lawal will need to be especially aware of the keylock and kimura submissions from the top, but he’ll also need to be very aware of the power that Whitehead presents in more dominant positions. He’s knocked out plenty of good fighters on the ground, and Lawal will need to avoid that at all costs.
The Randleman fight wasn’t really a great selling point for Whitehead, and Lawal is ten times the wrestler that Randleman is at this point in his career. That’s mostly due to the fact that Randleman has dropped off considerably in skill over the years and as he’s aged while Lawal has shown explosive ability in his wrestling. Whitehead will have a lot to deal with in stopping Lawal’s relentless takedowns, and I really don’t think he will be able to contend with Lawal’s top control power. Whitehead should have a slight advantage standing, but Lawal’s massive punching could catch him. While I think Whitehead might be able to stay away for a short period of time, Lawal will eventually put him on his back and thrash him with powerful punching. I’ll take “King Mo” Lawal via TKO.