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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Former Strikeforce champion and Bellator veteran Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal is returning from retirement and competing for the first time in nearly five years after inking a deal with BKFC.

In his debut, the 43-year-old veteran faces Dave Mundell in a light heavyweight bout at the upcoming BKFC 66 card in Hollywood, Fla. on Sept. 13.

It’s a surprising move for Lawal, who has dedicated himself to coaching these past few years as one of the main instructors at American Top Team in Florida. At the time of his retirement, Lawal commented that the end of his career was a long time coming, mostly due to health issues with his body.

“It’s been on my mind for a while,” Lawal told MMAFighting about his decision to retire in 2019. “I just put it in the back of my head. It was the pain from the injuries that was messing me up and my lack of range of motion from my hip and my knee. I’ve been fighting most of my career with no legs, a messed up knee or a messed up hip, and after I had that hip surgery where they put titanium metal in my hip, it kind of made me think — I’m going to need a knee replacement, I’m going to need an elbow replacement, I’m going to need a hip replacement.

“I was like, I’m getting old, I’m 38, I’ve got kids. I can’t even run right now. I can’t even jog, really. I’m that bad. It’s to the point where if I can’t jog or sprint or be explosive, then I’ve got to stop.”

Beyond his MMA career, Lawal was an incredibly accomplished wrestler who competed at Oklahoma State, where he was an All-American. It was only after he missed out on making the Olympic team in 2008 that Lawal decided to make his move into MMA.

Lawal hasn’t addressed his decision to return yet, but based on what many other veteran fighters have stated in the past, the preparation for BKFC isn’t nearly as physically grueling as getting ready for an MMA bout, where grappling and wrestling are a requirement.

No matter the reason, Lawal is coming out of retirement and jumping right into the deep end at BKFC against Mundell, who is the current middleweight champion with an 8-1 record overall in bare-knuckle competition.

The main event for the card sees bantamweight champion Alberto Blas put his title on the line against Ryan Reber.

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Cut hair
| BJPenn.com

Alex Pereira has earned the right to pick his own shots, which is why the reigning UFC light heavyweight king will only move up to heavyweight for a superfight against Jon Jones.

Can you blame him?

Pereira, who is coming off knockout wins at UFC 300 and UFC 303 to earn back-to-back title defenses, just passed Jones on the current pound-for-pound rankings. That may not sit well with UFC CEO Dana White, but Pereira’s recent activity (five fights over the past 15 months) and stranglehold on the 205-pound division has cemented his spot as one of the best in the game.

Jones seems ready to entertain a clash with Pereira in what would be one of the biggest fights in MMA right now. Pereira has gotten that big and Jones is that feared. A clash between the two would be instant fireworks and provide fight fans with the matchup they actually want to see. After all, a planned title fight between Jones and former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic just isn’t that interesting.

For Pereira, it’s Jones or nobody at this current time when it comes to moving up to heavyweight. Pereira has looked dominant at light heavyweight, but there’s still some contenders to face (i.e. Magomed Ankalaev). If he was going to leave his division behind it would have to be for the real belt. That means a potential clash with interim UFC heavyweight king Tom Aspinall wouldn’t cut it.

“It doesn’t interest me to fight [Aspinall] at the moment,” said Pereira during a recent submission to his YouTube channel. “To be honest, heavyweight isn’t my goal, it isn’t my main focus. Tom Aspinall, not talking him as a fighter, I’m talking positions. I think I’m in another position now. It doesn’t make sense for me to fight for the interim belt, honestly.”

“I am not taking anything away from [Aspinall], I respect him a lot,” he continued. “I think he’s an incredible athlete, a guy that is very dangerous technically. I’m just talking about fighting for an interim belt. There’s no point for me. So I rule that out, there is no possibility to fight him now. If he was champion and he said that, of course we would be promoting that fight. I would force it more, but there is no point to fight for the interim belt right now.”

“Like I said, my focus is on my category,” Pereira explained. “I’m evolving a lot, doing very good. That is my focus, I’m doing a lot of good things in this division. I’m very happy with this. I’m not going to force anything. I think when I go to heavyweight, I have the weight and name today to fight back at middleweight — which I won’t be doing, but If I did go back to middleweight — I’d fight the belt. If I go to heavyweight, I would fight the belt. Like I said, I’m 37, so I have to go straight to the top, straight to the belt. If it’s Jon Jones, if it’s Aspinall, whoever, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m just eyeing the belt.”

Thoughts?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Former UFC champion Rose Namajunas has a new opponent for Saturday’s UFC Denver headliner as it shifts from Maycee Barber to Tracy Cortez. Are the stakes the same for “Thug Rose” in a hometown fight, and if Cortez can pull off the upset, where would that put her at 125-pounds?

Ahead of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night event, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, José Youngs, and Alexander K. Lee preview the card, the headliner between Namajunas and Cortez, and discuss the chances of the winner sneaking into a title fight. Additionally, the panel will talk other standout fights, the excitement surrounding Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva fight at 155-pounds, which fighter has the most to lose on the card, and much more.

Catch the UFC Denver preview show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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Since making his UFC debut in November 2021, Alex Pereira has won the UFC middleweight and light heavyweight championships separately. Of his nine fights, five have been for a title, and he’s won four via knockouts.

“Poatan” has become a massive star in MMA for his exciting striking style and consistency. After headlining UFC 300, he stepped in on short notice to defend his UFC light heavyweight belt against Jiří Procházka at UFC 303. He won almost effortlessly via KO in the second and saved the event after McGregor had pulled out.

Here’s how being one of the UFC’s most reliable champions in recent years has benefited Pereira financially…

Alex Pereira Reveals How He Convinced Dana White For A $ 303,000 Bonus After UFC 303 Victory

In an interview on his official YouTube channel, the UFC light heavyweight champion admitted he received a $ 303,000 bonus for winning at UFC 303.

“Then he said, “I gave you bonus of the fight” Then I said to him, “$ 303,000?” Then he laughed and said, “No, $ 50,000” and I was like, “At the interview they asked you, I don’t understand english and I understood it was $ 303,000. Then he laughed again and said, “Okay fine, $ 303,000 for you” then I thanked him.”

Pereira remembered not getting a $ 300,000 bonus for winning the UFC 300 main event. So, when asked about the bonuses for UFC 303 by the press, he intentionally claimed to think that the amount was $ 303,000.

After the fight, “Poatan” mentioned the $ 303,000 bonus to Dana White again and this time around, the UFC CEO paid up.

Pereira then disclosed that just 6% of his UFC 303 paycheck would be equal to all the money he had earned over the 14 years as a mechanic.

“It was good money, I worked 14 years in the tire shop. The money I earned in 14 years, 0.06 of the money I won in UFC 303 covered the 14 years I worked in the tire shop.”

Will “Poatan” return against Magomed Ankalaev who many believe to be his toughest test at LHW or fight the likes of Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall at heavyweight for an even bigger paycheck?

READ MORE: Dan Hooker Gets His UFC 305 Perth Date Against Mateusz Gamrot

Continue Reading Alex Pereira Says He Made More With Just 6% Of His UFC 303 Paycheck Than 14 Years Spent Working At Tire Shop at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts