‘King Mo’ Lawal’s Bellator tournament aspirations were cut short when the former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion suffered a rib fracture in the first round against Linton Vassell. The NCAA Division I wrestler was one of the competitors for the one-night 205 lbs. tournament at Bellator 142: Dynamite 1 on Saturday.
Despite the injury, Lawal went on to earn a unanimous decision, and the 34-year-old even had hopes of continuing with the tournament. After stretching backstage though, the Floridan realised the severity of his injury and was deemed unfit to continue. It’s expected that Lawal will be out of action for 6-8 weeks.
“The second or third kickboxing (match on the card), I tried to move, and I’m struggling. I can’t move. My (rib) is clicking and popping,” Lawal told MMA Junkie Radio. “People backstage saw what was going on and brought someone back. I was going to try to fight, but after talking to my coaches, they were like, ‘You can’t even move,’ and the doctor was like, ‘We feel the clicking and popping, so we’ll contact the alternate.”
Former UFC contender Francis Carmont replaced King Mo to take on Phil Davis in the finals, which saw ‘Mr. Wonderful’ earn his first KO in six years.
King Mo could make a return for the New Year’s MMA event hosted by former Pride boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, where it’s expected that Pride legend Fedor Emelianenko will make an appearance. The professional wrestler would love to welcome back Fedor to MMA.
“Fighting Tito does nothing for my career. Fighting him is for nothing but a paycheck, but if he wants it, he can get it. For the most part, I’m not out there trying to get him. I wouldn’t mind fighting Phil Davis. I’ll fight Fedor in Japan. I’ll fight anybody. I didn’t see (Davis’) second fight because I was in the hospital, but I heard he looked great. So I wouldn’t mind fighting him. Actually, I’d love to fight him. I’d fight Fedor if they let me. I’m not in the game of waiting. I waited for the UFC because I could have went there; they told me to wait. The thing is with me, I’m in the game of getting paid. So as soon as I’m healthy, I’m going to fight. If you keep on winning, you’ll get what you need to get.”
No opponent has been announced for ‘The Last Emperor’ at the unnamed Japanese MMA promotion.
About the author
