King Mo Plans to Avoid Larkin’s Traps
Muhammed
Lawal (Pictured) returns to the cage Jan. 7 in Strikeforce,
where he’ll take on undefeated up-and-comer Lorenz
Larkin.
Ahead of the bout, Lawal joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show” to discuss the matchup, Quinton Jackson, Jon Jones and more.
On Larkin and what he has to do to beat him: “He’s flashy.
He’s unorthodox. He’s a mover. I’ve just got to be smart and be
consistent. That’s all I’ve got to do: be smart, consistent and be
wary of the traps he likes to set.”
On whether Larkin has the experience to handle his wrestling: “He must think he does because he took the fight. He has more fights than me. He has an amateur background in MMA and boxing, so I think he might feel a little comfortable exploiting some weaknesses he sees in me. But the thing is, every fight I’ve fought, I fight different. You might see a fight where I’ve done some things, but you won’t see those things in this fight coming up right here.”
On the level of fighters in the UFC: “I’m not going to put them on no pedestal because they fight in a different organization. I think me, [Rafael] ‘Feijao’ [Cavalcante] and [Gegard] Mousasi and even Roger [Gracie], we’d do good over there. I think we’d do good over there because styles make fights.”
On his rivalry with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: “I don’t think he’s really into fighting anymore. I think he just wants superfights and then he wants to be on his way out to do movies. I don’t knock him for that. He’s been fighting for a long time, but I don’t see him as a person who wants to fight a hungry, hungry lion like me. I don’t see him wanting to do that.”
On Daniel Cormier and teammates at American Kickboxing Academy: “I know wrestling. Daniel knows wrestling. We’ve got two different styles, but we know each other’s styles. If he sees something I need help with, he’ll throw it at me. If I see something that he needs help with, I’ll throw it at him. But Daniel’s the coach, man, and he’s helped a lot of fighters out here. We all help each other as well. Fitch, Koscheck -- they’ve actually showed me things that I didn’t think of, that I forgot about, and vice versa. … It’s a great team. We all help each other out.”
On UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones: “Anybody can be beat. It’s like this, a lot of people and a lot of the commentators and a lot of the fans, they’re like, ‘So and so is unbeatable.’ Well, I’m going to name you five examples of people that were unbeatable: Fedor. Usain Bolt lost a race last year to Tyson Gay. Kobayashi was an eating machine, and he lost to Joey Chestnut. Alexander Karelin lost to Rulon Gardner. Buvaisar Saitiev lost to my homeboy Brandon Slay. Those guys were unbeatable at one point, and they all lost. Someone found a way to beat them. Chavez. Everyone loses. Sugar Ray Robinson lost. Everyone loses. … In MMA, I see too many variables to stay undefeated.”
Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:06:21).
Ahead of the bout, Lawal joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show” to discuss the matchup, Quinton Jackson, Jon Jones and more.
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On whether Larkin has the experience to handle his wrestling: “He must think he does because he took the fight. He has more fights than me. He has an amateur background in MMA and boxing, so I think he might feel a little comfortable exploiting some weaknesses he sees in me. But the thing is, every fight I’ve fought, I fight different. You might see a fight where I’ve done some things, but you won’t see those things in this fight coming up right here.”
On the level of fighters in the UFC: “I’m not going to put them on no pedestal because they fight in a different organization. I think me, [Rafael] ‘Feijao’ [Cavalcante] and [Gegard] Mousasi and even Roger [Gracie], we’d do good over there. I think we’d do good over there because styles make fights.”
On his rivalry with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: “I don’t think he’s really into fighting anymore. I think he just wants superfights and then he wants to be on his way out to do movies. I don’t knock him for that. He’s been fighting for a long time, but I don’t see him as a person who wants to fight a hungry, hungry lion like me. I don’t see him wanting to do that.”
On Daniel Cormier and teammates at American Kickboxing Academy: “I know wrestling. Daniel knows wrestling. We’ve got two different styles, but we know each other’s styles. If he sees something I need help with, he’ll throw it at me. If I see something that he needs help with, I’ll throw it at him. But Daniel’s the coach, man, and he’s helped a lot of fighters out here. We all help each other as well. Fitch, Koscheck -- they’ve actually showed me things that I didn’t think of, that I forgot about, and vice versa. … It’s a great team. We all help each other out.”
On UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones: “Anybody can be beat. It’s like this, a lot of people and a lot of the commentators and a lot of the fans, they’re like, ‘So and so is unbeatable.’ Well, I’m going to name you five examples of people that were unbeatable: Fedor. Usain Bolt lost a race last year to Tyson Gay. Kobayashi was an eating machine, and he lost to Joey Chestnut. Alexander Karelin lost to Rulon Gardner. Buvaisar Saitiev lost to my homeboy Brandon Slay. Those guys were unbeatable at one point, and they all lost. Someone found a way to beat them. Chavez. Everyone loses. Sugar Ray Robinson lost. Everyone loses. … In MMA, I see too many variables to stay undefeated.”
Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:06:21).
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