On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with "King" Mo Lawal.
"King" Mo, of course, has been in the news a lot recently. On Thursday, it was officially announced that he had signed a deal to fight in the Bellator Fighting Championships MMA company, where he will start fighting in their light heavyweight tournament scheduled for January 2013, as well as perform for the TNA pro "wrestling" company.
After a hectic day of interviews, meetings, and a media conference call, we caught up with "King" Mo right after his last appearance late Thursday night, May 10. We then hit some of New York's best night spots: Jimmy's Corner, owned by the legendary boxing trainer Jimmy Glenn, where he had a soft drink, and Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar, where he had a soft drink and dinner, along with our colleague and correspondent Keisha Morrisey and Darryl Satcher. Finally, at about 3 AM Friday, we sat down to record an interview.
"It's been a rollercoaster ride of a year, and now we're back to the top, top of the ride," said "King" Mo in this interview. He said that he will be training in TNA's developmental group with Al Snow. "Maybe some of the moves that he teaches from the catch wrestling I can apply to MMA," said Mo.
He also expressed support for Bellator's tournament format, where contenders first have to win an eight-man, three-month tournament to earn a title shot. "I feel the best way to find out is deserving of a title shot is through a tournament," he said.
We also discussed the issue of drug testing, about which he said he is open to any type of drug testing, already having been a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center for many years, where state-of-the-art drug testing is done. And we discussed more on his participation in the Bellator light heavyweight tournament, his training for MMA while performing in TNA at the same time, his desire to return to the Sugar Bar and Jiimmy's Corner when he next visits New York, and more.
