Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (12-4) is getting ready for a fight that’s got a lot of weight behind it. Friday night, Bellator fans will get to see “King Mo” Lawal go up against Dustin Jacoby (10-3) at Bellator 123. And in keeping with the tradition of mixed blessings not only is he fighting on the main card of the season opener for Bellator on Spike TV but he’s also going into it fresh off a disappointing split-decision loss to “Rampage” Jackson at Bellator 120. Even with his longterm contract in place he’s got something to prove to himself and fans as well as an added opportunity to capture audiences who will be primed for a night of fights with competing promotions airing events later that same evening.
Jacoby didn’t make waves while at Glory World Series Kickboxing but he has extensive MMA experience that spans promotions like World Series Of Fighting, Titan FC and even the UFC. Wondering just how King Mo was handling the pressure we asked him how prepared he is for this fight.
“Training for Dustin has been tough, I’ve had to endure a lot of sparring but I’m ready for Jacoby. “, Lawal told us. “He’s tough and he’s a solid kickboxer, I don’t know if I can out-strike him. He’s also in Glory so I know for a fact I have better wrestling than he does. But you never really know until the fight.”
With only two of Jacoby’s 10 MMA victories having come from submission, it’s a good bet that Lawal is indeed the better grappler. But since leaving MMA in early March of 2013 after a split-decision win over Andrew Sanchez (5-2-0) he went on to develop a professional kickboxing record of only 1-5 while fighting for Glory World Series. Rebounding from 4 consecutive losses he jumped back in the cage, less than two weeks ago, to secure his latest MMA victory against Lucas Lopes (26-17-0) by TKO at 4:15 of the first round at Titan FC 29.
At best, we could say Mo’s next opponent is unpredictable, but Lawal has confidence he will get the win. With his eyes planted firmly on a shot at the Bellator 205 pound strap he told us, “I see the fight ending with me getting my hand raised. I train to win, I don’t exactly know how it’s going to happen but I know it will happen. My plan is to win and get a title shot.”
“King Mo” will face Dustin Jacoby (10-3) this Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Ucanville, CT for the season opener of Bellator 123. Viewers at home can watch the prelims on Spike.com at 6/7C with main card airing live on Spike TV at 8/7C.
