King Mo signs with Bellator and TNA

[The Cork]

When Muhammed Lawal returns to competition, he will be a two-sport athlete.

Sherdog.com confirmed with sources close to the situation on Wednesday that “King Moâ€￾ is expected to sign with both Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and the Bellator Fighting Championships in the near future. According to Sherdog’s sources, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion will likely perform simultaneously for the professional wrestling organization and the Chicago-based MMA promoter. Details surrounding the deals were not revealed.

It is currently unknown when Lawal will debut with the organizations, but any athletic participation from the fighter will likely come down the road, as Lawal is still recovering from knee surgery and a serious battle with staph infection.

Lawal is currently serving a nine-month suspension handed to him by the Nevada Athletic Commission after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone following his Jan. 7 technical knockout of Lorenz Larkin. The former NCAA wrestling standout explained to the commission during his disciplinary hearing that an over-the-counter supplement was the cause of his positive test, but the explanation did not sway the commission’s verdict. In addition to his suspension, Lawal was also fined a total of $39,000 and saw his victory over Larkin changed to a no-contest.

During the proceeding, commissioner Pat Lundvall presented a line of questioning to which Lawal took exception, asking the fighter if he could read and understand English in regard to his signed pre-fight questionnaire, which required him to list any supplements taken or injuries sustained. Following the meeting, Lawal vented his frustrations with the query on Twitter, referring to Lundvall as a “racist bitch.â€￾

In light of the comment, Lawal was released from his Strikeforce contract on March 27. Lawal later issued an apology to Lundvall for the comment. While it was rumored briefly that the 31-year-old might wind up back in the Zuffa fold, that hypothetical has gone by the wayside for now.

Now owned by Viacom, Bellator currently airs on MTV2 but will move to Spike TV in 2013. The promotion is currently wrapping up its ongoing sixth season and plans to hold its first Summer Series event on June 22. TNA Wrestling was founded in 2002 and airs programming every Thursday on Spike TV.

Good signing for both, he's a wrestling fan and has more personality than all TNA's X Division combined.

Bellator hasn't got much in the way of a 205lbs division so I guess he'll be fast tracked to the title.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Yeah pretty big pick up for Bellator, sort of interested to see how TNA goes. And what he'll do when Dana comes calling his way.

 

[Heisenberg]

Had to do a google search to find out who this guy is.

 

[Slim]

heh... maybe I'll look at TNA just to see what he does

 

[No More Sorrow]

Here's some more details on how all of this went down

New York, NY, May 10, 2012 -- In an unprecedented move, one of the biggest names in mixed martial arts, “King Mo” Lawal, has signed a deal to compete in Spike TV’s two major sports properties, Bellator Fighting Championships and TNA’s IMPACT Wrestling. “King Mo” will join the stars of TNA this summer and resume his mixed martial arts career next year when Bellator Fighting Championships moves to Spike TV from its current television home, MTV2. The deal was jointly announced today by Kevin Kay, President, Spike TV along with Bjorn Rebney, Chairman & CEO, Bellator Fighting Championships and Dixie Carter, President, TNA Entertainment.

“‘King Mo’ is an incredible athlete and a great addition to the Bellator family. He immediately adds prominence and star-power to our light heavyweight division,” said Rebney.


“‘King Mo’ is the perfect athlete for this type of alliance. He is the real deal in MMA, and his bold personality and world class wrestling accomplishments are unparalleled. I’m confident he will have a major impact in both sports,” stated Carter.


Lawal (10-1-1) launched his mixed martial arts career in 2008, and after four straight wins, he faced off against his toughest challenge, renowned fighter Mark Kerr. “King Mo” knocked out Kerr in the first round, and eight months later he defeated Gegard Mousasi in a Light Heavyweight world title fight. Lawal also holds an impressive KO victory against multiple Brazilian jiu-jitsu world championship winner Roger Gracie in September 2011.


“This deal is a dream come true for me,” Lawal said. “Bjorn and Dixie have given me the opportunity to engage in my two great loves, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, at the same time. And, to have it all on Spike TV is really buttercream icing on a big ol’ cake – not that whipped cream stuff either!”


Lawal rose to grappling acclaim as a NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University in 2003 and a three-time U.S. National Champion (2005, 2006, and 2008) in the 84 kilogram division. In 2007, as a member of the US National team, he brought home a gold medal at the Pan American Games and a silver medal at the World Cup.


A native of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Lawal lives in San Jose, Calif. and trains with the prominent American Kickboxing Academy.

 

[Heisenberg]

Is this TNA's attempt at having competition against Lesnar?

 

[The New F'n Show]

I'm ok with this. He has said for years he wanted to be a wrestler when his MMA career ended. Being able to do both is even better.

 

[rcoot93]

Interesting news, be interesting to see hoe he splits the two, wonder wheter TNA and Bellator will trade guys/sign people together

 

[Troy]

Good signing for both companies. I have no issue with King Mo wrestling, he was a decorated amatuer wrestler, he trained at OVW for a bit and he is a massive fan so he isn't just doing this for the money. I will definitely check out what he does in TNA to see how they use him and to see how he goes in wrestling.

 

[Slim]

At least TNA having him means they have a guy that can actually do MMA. Cause when they were trying to push Lashley as the professional wrestler/MMA fighter it was like ahhh shut up. But now it'll actually pass.

 

[Troy]

But TNA have had an MMA superstar on the roster for years in Kurt Angle Wonder if Kurt will be his first feud in TNA and I wonder how long it will be before Angle fights for Bellator.

 

[Slim]

heh I forgot all about Kurt They did have Tito for a little bit and we saw where that went... nowhere. Yeah TNA will prob botch this up too