Lawal was initially slated to meet Mark Godbeer in the tournament, but the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight king had to withdraw from the bout due to injury. The first round of the bracket includes three other matchups: Teodoras Aukstuolis vs. Bruno Cappelozza; Satoshi Ishii vs. Jiri Prochazka; and Goran Reljic vs. Vadim Nemkov.
A reserve bout between Valentin Moldovsky and Yuta Uchida was also announced. The winner of the tournament, which concludes on Dec. 31, will receive a $300,000 prize. Rizin Fighting Federation takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, with the first day’s event headlined by a clash between Kazushi Sakuraba and Shinya Aoki.
A four-time BAMMA veteran, McDermott enters the matchup with a 5-2 career mark. “The Spartan” last competed at BAMMA 23 on Nov. 14, when he scored a first-round technical knockout of Pelu Adetola. Lawal, meanwhile, has won his last four fights, including a decision over Linton Vassell at Bellator 142 on Sept. 19.