KING MO SMASHES MARK KERR IN M-1 GLOBAL MMA HEADLINER

Muhammad ‘King Mo’ Lawal is already a superstar in Japan, and his main event matchup on the M-1 Global ‘Breakthrough’ card was supposed to be his US ‘coming out party’.  It didn’t quite work out that way, although it was entirely due to circumstances beyond his control.  ‘King Mo’ took care of his business, utterly obliterating former UFC and PRIDE standout Mark ‘The Smashing Machine’ Kerr by TKO only 25 seconds into the fight.

Lawal was a standout collegiate wrestler before making his professional MMA debut in Japan’s Sengoku promotion.  He defeated UFC veteran Travis Wiuff by TKO in his pro debut, then went on to win his next three fights against an increasingly higher level of competition.  He became a favorite in Japan due not only to his in ring performance but his personality—it was there he adopted the persona of ‘King Mo’ and began making elaborate ring entrances wearing a crown and cape reminiscent of pro wrestler Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler.

In his final Sengoku appearance (Sengoku 7), Lawal continued his impressive by defeating veteran Ryo Kawamura by unanimous decision.  After one of his increasingly elaborate ring entrances, complete with an entourage of lovely Japanese women throwing rose petals, “King Mo” quickly got down to business in the ring choosing to stand and trade punches with his opponent.  Lawal’s striking skills have improved dramatically during his brief time as a professional MMA fighter, but Kawamura fought a defensive oriented fight and gave his opponent no chance to maul him with his lethal ‘ground and pound’ assault.

Lawal’s US debut was originally slated to take place in Los Angeles against MMA legend Don Frye.  At the last minute, the event had to be relocated due to a paperwork snafu and ended up in Kansas City, Missouri.  Frye was displeased with what he called the ‘unprofessionalism’ of M-1 Global and pull out of the fight.
 
M-1 Global quickly tabbed Kerr as a replacement, and “The Smashing Machine” was eager to get his professional fighting career back on track.  Kerr was one of the most dangerous men in the sport in the early days of the UFC, and from 1997 to 2000 he was undefeated with eleven wins and 1 no contest.  At that point, due to an increasing caliber of opposition and a variety of personal demons his career nosedived precipitously.  Since his January 30, 2000 PRIDE win over Enson Inoue he was only 3-10, and headed into the fight with ‘King Mo’ off of a submission loss to Jeff Monson.

Unfortunately, Kerr not only failed to redeem his career but left serious questions as to whether he shouldn’t retire for his own safety and well being.  From the opening bell, he clearly was in over his head as ‘King Mo’ took him down almost effortlessly before a quick and brutal ‘ground and pound’ ended the fight.  Lawal’s celebration was muted despite the overwhelming victory, as he was clearly aware of the pathos taking place in the ring with Kerr’s time as a professional fighter ending at his hands.

The highlight on a poorly officiated, uneven card was an exhibition sparring match between Fedor Emelianenko and Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi.  In a quick, spirited exchange Mousasi held his own for a few minutes until ‘The Last Emperor’ forced him to tap to one of his trademark armbars.  Fedor will make his debut for the Strikeforce promotion in November against undefeated prospect Brett Rogers, while Mousasi will next be in action in Japan against Sokoudjou in the semi-finals of the DREAM ‘Super Hulk’ tournament.