Muhammed Lawal Muhammed Lawal ( January 11 , 1981 ) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to a multi - fight deal with the Strikeforce Organization . He is a former three - time U . S . Senior National Wrestling Champion , a former NCAA National collegiate wrestling Champion with Central Oklahoma , a Texas State Wrestling Champion with Plano East , as well as a decorated international competitor . He is signed with Bellator Fighting Championships as an MMA fighter , and was formerly signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) as a wrestler . Wrestling . Lawal was a Big 12 Champion and Division I all - American in 2003 , wrestling for Oklahoma State . After his collegiate career , Lawal participated in the now defunct Real Pro Wrestling , a league with rules that closely resembled freestyle wrestling and was crowned a champion in the first and only season . Lawal eventually became a U . S . national team member in 2005 , placing 7th at the World Championships in Budapest . From 2007 - 2008 , Lawal was the # 1 ranked wrestler in the country in the - 94 kg division and was considered by many to be the best amateur wrestler in the United States , regardless of weight class . Mixed martial arts . Lawal made his MMA debut for the Japanese World Victory Road promotion on their event . A late replacement for the injured Roger Gracie , Lawal surprised many with his quick TKO victory over veteran Travis Wiuff . He returned to competition just over a month later , securing a TKO victory over Fabio Silva and was victorious in January 2009 against Yukiya Naito . Lawal defeated the current light heavyweight King of Pancrase Ryo Kawamura at Sengoku on March 2009 even after suffering an ACL Tear in the first round it was Lawal ' s only fight so far in his career to go to decision . In the mixed martial arts world Lawal goes by the name of King Mo which has made him very popular with the Japanese MMA fans . He got the name King Mo from his friend Kami Barzini who told Lawal , " once you do what you gotta do , you ' ll be a king " and the name has stuck ever since . M - 1 Global . On August 28 , 2009 , Lawal made his United States MMA debut and M - 1 Global debut at M - 1 Global Presents Breakthrough . Lawal ' s fight was the main event of the main card where he faced Mark Kerr , instead of the originally planned match up with mixed martial arts legend Don Frye . Lawal quickly scored a takedown and pounded Kerr unconscious , winning the fight ( and sending Kerr ' s mouthpiece flying across the ring ) twenty five seconds in the first round . Lawal recently became a member of " Team Thirsty " and " Team GDP " with professional fighters Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier but has since still trained more so with team " Kingdom Of Mayhem " for his more recent fights . Strikeforce . On October 13 , 2009 , it was announced that Lawal had signed a multi - fight contract with U . S . based promotion Strikeforce . The contract allows him to continue fighting in the Japanese circuit where he has gained his notoriety . On December 19 at Lawal went fought Mike Whitehead beating him three minutes and eight seconds into round one . Lawal came in showing relaxed hands and strong counter punching and caught Whitehead with a strong right which dropped him . Lawal followed up with three punches causing the referee to stop the fight at three minutes eight seconds awarding Muhammed " King Mo " Lawal the win by KO ( Punches ) . Lawal is scheduled to face Gegard Mousasi for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship on April 17 , 2010 at the promotion ' s next CBS event . On April 17 , 2010 , Lawal defeated Gegard Mousasi by unanimous decision to win the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship . Lawal lost the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship in Houston Texas , on August 21 , against Rafael Cavalcante by TKO due to punches and elbows of 1 : 14 of round 3 . Lawal was out of action until mid 2011 after undergoing surgery to repair a knee injury . Lawal was scheduled to fight Roger Gracie at on July 30 , 2011 . Gracie , however , withdrew from the bout in late June due to an injury . The fight was rescheduled for on Sept . 10 , 2011 , and Lawal won via KO in the first round . Lawal garnered his second straight victory , defeating previously unbeaten Lorenz Larkin at via second round KO . However , Lawal tested positive for anabolic steroids ( Drostanolone ) and as a result of the banned substance , the fight ' s result has been changed to a no contest while Lawal will have his license suspended for one year . After meeting with the Nevada State Athletic Commission on March 27 , 2012 his suspension was reduced to nine months . Lawal was released from Strikeforce following comments he made on Twitter regarding Pat Lundvall after his hearing for his drug test . Lawal said , " She asked if I did research for my training . I didn ' t get what she meant by the question , and she rolled her eyes and asked , ' Do you speak English ? Can you read ? ' I felt I was disrespected by the woman ' s comments . How are you going to ask a college educated , well traveled man if he can speak or read English ? I ' m speaking English right in front of you and I ' ve been speaking English right in front of you for the past 15 minutes . " After the release , Lawal issued an apology to Lundvall , stating , " I was out of line for calling the woman the b - word and I was wrong for that . I was kind of mad about the comments , I was offended by the comments made towards me and I was out of line . I was too emotional . I apologize for that . With that being said , I still feel that I was offended , but I ' m in the wrong for what I said . " Bellator and TNA Wrestling . On May 10 , 2012 , it was reported that Lawal had signed contracts with both mixed martial arts promotion Bellator Fighting Championships as well as professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) . The two promotions are connected through the Spike television channel . Personal life . Lawal ' s parents are immigrants from Nigeria . Lawal was born in Murfreesboro , Tennessee . He has a younger brother named Abdullah and a younger sister named Aminat . The three were raised by a single mother , " My mom [ Nike Rosseau ] pretty much raised us all . My dad was never around . " Muhammed ' s father committed suicide when Lawal was twenty years old . After his fight with Larkins , Lawal was diagnosed with Staphylococcus obtained from knee surgery . Lawal had a fever of 103 degrees , and the infection ate away at parts of his hip and legs , " I had this moment where I was like , man , I can see my hip bone . I was ripped still . I had an eight - pack . But there ' s my hip bone . I looked at my leg , and it looked like those zombies from The Walking Dead . I feel like I looked death in the face , and I survived . "