In a recent interview with MMAFighting, Mohammed Lawal, or better known as ‘King Mo’, revealed his thoughts about rising star, Alkamain Sterling.
He was with Antonio Carlos Junior in the locker room during UFC Fight Night 80, which took place earlier this month, when he found out about potential star Aljamain Sterling. Although this isn’t the first time Sterling inside the octagon, Lawal said that it was the first time he met Sterling.
When the two MMA fighters had a chat, Lawal found out that Sterling wasn’t the co-main event of the night, Sterling was in fact on the prelims. Lawal revealed that he was actually surprised with the situation since he knew that Sterling was doing very well in his last couple of fights. True enough, Sterling was able to submit Johnny Eduardo in the second round of his fight.
“It wasn’t even a close fight. When I watched the fight, Sterling was fighting in like the first gear. He wasn’t even fighting hard. He was out there like ho humming, playing. Then when he hit the dab, I was kind of impressed. He’s got a big personality. He’s got energy. I don’t see why they don’t push him,” Lawal said during the interview.
Sterling, who is currently holding a record of 12-0, has become one of the best bantamweight fighters in the MMA industry. Now that he is a free agent, Lawal said that Sterling would probably receive plenty of offers from different promotion companies. However, Malki Kawa, Sterling’s manager, clarified in a recent interview on FOX 17, that although Sterling can now look for offers from other promotion companies, the UFC maintains the right to match whatever was offered to him.
‘King Mo’ clearly became Sterling’s fan the minute Johnny Eduardo lost the MMA fight. With this kind of talent, Lawal said that Bellator will definitely take interest in Sterling; he just hopes that Bellator will make great offer.
“I can listen to this dude do interviews all day. He’s slick. I just hope Bellator makes a move for him. If they do, I hope it’s a good amount, so if the UFC matches it or pays more he can get more money. I want him to get paid,” Lawal said.
Lawal, who is scheduled for a bout in Japan next week under the Rizin Fighting Federation heavyweight division, is certain that Bellator has the perfect division for Sterling. Lawal even gave out a couple of big names, who are African Americans, under Bellator like Daniel Straus, Will Brooks, Bobby Lashley, and even Kimbo Slice. As for the UFC, Lawal isn’t sure if the said promotion gets the drift that Sterling has.
“There’s lot of people on that roster that look a lot like Aljamain Sterling. It’s rare to have that. I feel like they have a better understand of the demographics they’re trying to reach with him. The Funkmaster? I get that. I had a flat top with a part. So, I understand that look. Some people are like, huh? They can’t relate to it, because they don’t understand it,” Lawal said.
With that, Lawal believes that Sterling has a very bright future ahead of him, regardless of which MMA promotion company he is under.