King Mo: ‘I’m the Underdog’ against Cavalcante

It’s not often that a world champion thinks of himself as an underdog, but that’s how Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal views himself going into his title defense against Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in the Strikeforce “Houston” main event on Aug. 21 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

“To me, there’s no pressure from my being unbeaten,” Lawal said during a Monday teleconference. “There’s no pressure on me. ‘Feijao’ has been around longer and is more well known, but because of marketing and things like that, people see me as the bigger name. I remember seeing him on Showtime and in the IFL, and I think he’s the favorite. I’m the underdog, even though I’m the champ.”

Cavalcante said getting a shot at Lawal’s title is an opportunity he has looked forward to for a long time and one he will not let pass by easily.

“This is something I’ve been working towards for six years,” said Cavalcante. “This is my dream and why I train every day. [Lawal] is a tough and smart guy, and I love to fight guys like that. This fight is going to be a war, and the crowd going to love it. For both of us, it’s not just about winning the fight but how you win the fight.”

The 29-year-old Lawal is a two-time collegiate All-American wrestler who won the Strikeforce title with a unanimous five-round decision over Gegard Mousasi at Strikeforce “Nashville” in April. It was just the second time in seven professional contests Lawal had a fight go the distance. However, he remains reticent when asked about where he sees himself among the elite at 205 pounds.

“I don’t know,” said Lawal. “To me, rankings are a joke. There might be somebody we don’t know about who could beat everybody. Anybody can be beat by anybody.”

A winner in five of his last six starts, Cavalcante is coming off a first-round knockout of Antwain Britt at Strikeforce “Heavy Artillery” in May. He has finishes in all nine of his victories (eight knockouts, one submission) and has never had any of his 11 pro fights reach the judges’ scorecards.

“Feijao” -- who holds a black belt in Brazilian ju-jitsu and trains with the likes of Andre Galvao, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Anderson Silva at Team Nogueira in Brazil -- said his ground skills are underrated and that Lawal would be in danger of being submitted if he tried to take him down.

“I think I train with the best team in the world with Team Nogueira,” said Cavalcante. “My ground game is better than [Mousasi’s] was. I don’t think he’s going to take me to the ground as easily, and he won’t want to stay on the ground with me. I’m a ground guy. I finish a lot of fights standing up, but I can go to the ground, too. I haven’t really had a chance to show my ground game, but maybe I’ll do it this time.”

Lawal knows he will have his hands full with Cavalcante, regardless of where the fight takes place.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for [Cavalcante],” said Lawal. “He’s been to Abu Dhabi [to compete in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships]. He’s got an underrated ground game and big hands, too. I feel like he’s dangerous everywhere. I have to mind my Ps and Qs when I’m in there with him.”

Lawal said he does feel that Cavalcante’s talk regarding his ground skills is a bit of showmanship, though.

“It’s all mental warfare,” said Lawal. “He likes to knock out people. He has a ground game, but I’ve got some good guys in there, too. I’ve been training with Dean Lister and Fabricio Werdum, so I think my submission defense will be there, as well.”

In other notes:

• Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said negotiations with Fedor Emelianenko and his management company, M-1 Global, regarding his next fight are “an ongoing process, but I’m sure we’ll come to some kind of understanding. The only thing is the when and where for his next fight. Hopefully, we’ll have something to announce in the next couple of weeks.”

• Coker also said Strikeforce remains focused on promoting in North America, even though the organization has had offers to do events in the Middle East, Korea and Macao.

• With the organization holding a four-woman, one-night tournament on Friday at its Strikeforce Challengers 10 event in Phoenix, Coker said Strikeforce has talked about adding the 125-pound weight class to its 135- and 145-pound female divisions, but nothing has been determined yet.