King Mo – on his first career loss and more
After suffering his first defeat at the hands of “Feijao” Rafael Cavalcante last Saturday on Strikeforce: Houston, Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal has finally learned a valuable lesson.
Stick to your strengths.
For the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ and well-versed wrestler like Lawal, losing a his first ever MMA fight, especially a title fight, was a tough pill to swallow.
What adds to King Mo’s burden was the fact that he’s a skilled wrestler, yet he was not able to perform well during the fight. Feijao robbed the title from him and snapped him out of his winning streak.
“A loss is a loss. I can beat him,” said King Mo
“I was up two rounds to none. In the third round, if I took him down more and played it safe I could have probably stopped him in the fourth because I had him hurt to the body. But it's whatever. Come back smarter and better,” he explained.
During the fight, Lawal was not able to dominate with his wrestling the way he had in the past. He only shot for takedowns a few times, and when he did Feijao showed good defence and scrambling ability to prevent himself from being on his back for too long.
“I didn't really wrestle like I could have. I could have kept him more confused by faking. But I was going out there to try and bang with him,” told King Mo.
“I just got overconfident. I started hitting the body, and I saw his facial expression change. I just got dumb,” he continued.
It was that willingness to stand and trade that ultimately sunk Lawal. As he moved in for body shots in the third round, the Brazilian Muay Thai specialist unleashed a pair of knees to Lawal's head, which spelled the beginning of the end for the champion.
It was definitely a close, technical match between the two light heavyweights. But in the end, a couple more strikes from Feijao managed him to get through and it was enough. With a TKO stoppage from the referee, a new champion was finally declared.
Aside from losing, King Mo was also accused of using illegal equipment in the form of canned oxygen (O2) during the match. Though some reports say that the use of O2 during fights aid an athlete for better performance, many experts and studies claim that it has no significant results.
Also, the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) already removed canned O2 on their list of banned substances by the start of 2010.
“No effect, man. People want to make a big deal about it, but it's not a big deal,” defended King Mo.
“I used it in training camp for a week, (and) it helped me slow my heart rate down and focus my breathing – that's about it. I could have done it without the oxygen can,” emphasized Lawal.
Though canned O2 was not included on the list of approved supplies of a fighter during a bout, its use was not considered as illegal. And for the former champ King Mo, it is an issue that needs to be quelled.
What’s more important for him now is to condition himself, regroup and devise a good game plan for his upcoming fights.
“I always do better after a loss. I don't celebrate victories. I don't really care about winning. It's cool to win. It's whatever with me,” explained King Mo.
“I just go out there and try to execute the game plan, and I didn't execute the best game plan for my capabilities. But it happens. I'm going to be alright, though. I've got family; I've got people that care about me. I've got MMA fans that back me. It's all good. I'm still early in my career. [Georges St-Pierre] lost and came back better. Great athletes and great champions that lose come back better,” he said with his trademark confidence.
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