Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal is back. A wrestler by trade, the flamboyant fighter returned from a serious knee injury to drop Roger Gracie late in the first round. After eating a big right behind the ear, Gracie hit the floor. Gracie's body was locked up on the ground before he took two more grazing shots as the fight was finished at the 4:37 mark of the first round.
Lawal (8-1) had been away from the cage for nearly 13 months after suffering a TKO loss at the hands of Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante in August of 2010. After that fight, Lawal admitted he'd fought on a badly injured knee. To no one's surprise tonight, he told Showtime's Mauro Ranallo he'd like a rematch against Feijao. Cavalcante won earlier in the night with a big knockout of Yoel Romero Palacio.
King Mo passed a big test tonight against another MMA fighter from the famed Gracie family. Gracie's jiu-jitsu is very dangerous and Lawal had the task of finding a way to get inside against the 6-foot-5 Brazilian. Lawal whiffed on most of his shots until the fighters came together trying attempt jabs.
Gracie (4-1) got the worst of a mild headbutt. With the distance closed, Lawal jumped into a big overhand right. It landed behind Gracie's left arm and he went down in a heap.
"The fight felt good," Lawal said. "I underestimated him cause. I didn't respect him. I had my hands down. He was catching me with a few shots. He caught with a couple of good knees, but man, I'm a fighter. I came here to fight."
The 33-year-old Lawal, a former elite wrestler on the world wrestling scene, has quickly picked up on the striking game. He creditied a big jump forwarded to his recent work at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Ca. AKA is the home of UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez along with Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Jon Fitch and dozens more elite fighters.
Alexander Gustafsson Jaime Gutierrez Dave Gomez Keith Hackney
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