Muhammed Lawal, better known to mixed martial arts fans as "King Mo," has been in the news quite a bit over the past week. Unfortunately, it hasn't been good news. The former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion was handed a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday for failing a post-fight drug test and immediately took to Twitter to vent his frustration, notably calling the head of the NSAC a "racist bitch." Just a short time later on Tuesday, Lawal was released by Zuffa, which owns Strikeforce.
Lawal fights out of San Jose and the prestigious American Kickboxing Academy. His fall from grace has been immediate and perhaps justified, but he has already expressed regret for his actions and is receiving encouragement from his training camp. Nitesh Dutt of CSN Bay Area reports that Lawal's teammates and friends at AKA are supporting him during all of this.
Lawal admitted to his mistakes and how he took them as learning experiences, but was still visibly upset by the outcome of it all. When he spoke of his future, it was clear that he was unsure of what was next for his MMA career. However, Lawal did know that whatever he was going through his family at AKA would stand right beside him.
One of his closest teammates, fellow NCAA All-American wrestler Daniel Cormier, is also one of his staunchest supporters. Cormier and Lawal share a unique relationship. Both are former NCAA wrestling champions and Lawal's first collegiate match was against Cormier. They trained together for the USA wrestling team and are now teammates at AKA. The two have built a strong bond and brotherhood that both share openly.
CSN Bay Area also has an exclusive one-on-one interview with Lawal where the fighter expresses his regret and talks about his plans for the future. You can watch that interview by clicking here.
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