Interviews
18/12/09 - “King” Mo talks before his Strikeforce debut
"King" Mo Lawal is a former NCAA National collegiate wrestling champion with knockout power who has obtained a cult following in Japan.
Undefeated in five fights and a cult figure in Japan - in his last bout he took just 25 seconds to leave MMA legend Mark Kerr seeing stars.
The guys at Heavy.com caught up King Mo before his heavyweight encounter with Mike Whitehead at Strikeforce Evolution on December 19. Hit Heavy.com for the full version.
Heavy.com: When you watch film how is it different than the way fans watch. When I'm watching I might just see a guy getting knocked out, but you're looking at something else all together.
King Mo: Footwork, rhythm, body language. I never watch anything as a fan until after. When I first watch a fight I'm breaking it down. Then I'm like 'Okay, I got it now.' Then I can just sit down and enjoy the fight. I break down everything first now. MMA, boxing, K-1, small bum fights, wrestling matches. I love to watch and I store it all up here in my brain.
Heavy.com: You've been around wrestling so long, since you were a teenager. What did it mean for you to fight Mark Kerr? Does his pedigree and his legend cross your mind when you step in against him?
King Mo: The thing is, NCAA champions come a dime a dozen. To me NCAA champion is a joke. I don't care about that. It's a different level when you hit the world scene. International wrestling, that's where you become a man. Mark Kerr was good, but he hasn't wrestled in so long. After five years, once you stop competing and working out with world class athletes, your skills deteriorate.
Look at Dan Henderson, Matt Lindland, and Randy Couture. Those guys get taken down by guys that have never wrestled before. If you haven't trained wrestling in awhile, your skills deteriorate. Same thing with Jiu-Jitsu and boxing.
Heavy.com: People say you're too small, but the best heavyweight of all time is Fedor and he's smaller than most light heavyweights.
King Mo: That's it. Size don't matter if you have the proper skill set. I think Anderson Silva could give a lot of these heavyweights a good go. It's about the proper skill set, proper mind frame, build, athleticism, good conditioning, good range, good timing, reflexes, everything. He does it all. If he needs to beat a bigger man he will. It can be Brock Lesnar, Fedor, anybody. I have the right skill set and with the proper game plan, if you execute that game plan perfectly, you will defeat that man.
Jonathan Snowden
Hit Heavy.com for the full version
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