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Alistair Overeem was the reigning K-1 World Grand Prix champion and Strikeforce heavyweight champion at one point, a tough feat in its own right, but Overeem took time off from MMA for the most part to be a pro kickboxer. He didn’t just dabble in it and then go and compete in MMA; he became the best heavyweight in the world by honing his striking to be able to compete at that level. That’s hours in the gym perfecting technique, etc, that normally would go towards his total MMA game.

So Lawal being an active pro wrestler while also pursuing a fighting career concurrently on an athletic basis has to be something we can admire on one level; being top in both is no easy feat, though in pro wrestling it is significantly easier to get on top because of the fake nature of it.

Top pro wrestlers are artists in one sense: they hone their craft so that being a believable tough guy isn’t a stretch. It’s why someone like Hulk Hogan, who didn’t have much athletic ability or bonafides but possessed a million dollar physique, can be considered an athletic artist as opposed to an athlete properly. He was very good at what he could do and honed it to perfection: dropping the big leg, hulking up, etc, all were things he honed to a razor’s edge. It takes time, dedication and effort to do so.

Let’s not kid ourselves: Hogan would’ve been beaten up in an MMA fight, even in his prime, but as an entertainer he took what he could do and became great at it. So would most of the top pro wrestlers now: putting on a pro wrestling match is difficult but is a performance, not a contest. Great pro wrestlers become very good at what they do in the same way an actor’s dramatic chops improve over time; playing the part of anything takes time and effort. Unfortunately on a whole number of other levels Lawal is about to find himself having a much more difficult time as both a fighter and as an entertainer than he would as either/or.

The problem Lawal has going in is training to be a fighter while also training to be a pro wrestler. Lawal may have been a pro wrestling fan since childhood, and spent a week training to be a pro wrestler years ago, but the process of transitioning into that particular field isn’t something that happens in a short amount of time. Even notoriously quick learners like Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, who come from similar backgrounds as Lawal, took well over a year before they were ready to debut on national television. And this is working as a wrestler on the local level at Ohio Valley Wrestling 4-5 nights a week and training during the day; Lawal won’t have that luxury is he’s to debut in January for Bellator’s first season on Spike, especially if he hasn’t fully recovered from the staph infection that set in after his knee injury.

Transitioning between fighting and fake wrestling will also be tough because of how wildly different being an entertainer and being a fighter are. From how he’ll throw a punch to his mentality going in, etc, are all going to change from fight to match and back again as he competes in both MMA and on TNA Impact on a regular basis.

It’s a mentally different game and even a great who managed to both at the same time in Sakuraba was famously quoted as saying that it takes a while for even someone with his high level experience in both to get used to going back and forth; he said it took six months of doing one straight to get comfortable at it again. Mo won’t have that level of comfort or timing, especially if he’s fighting and wrestling on a regular basis. He’s a relative neophyte in the world of pro wrestling (most likely to be respected because of his love for it and bonafide tough guy credentials) and he’s going to be behind the eight ball in it early because he won’t be putting in the time as a pure pro wrestler as others have before him.

There’s a learning curve to it, of course, but even the fastest learners take significant chunks of time to get good enough to be thrown into the pond that is TNA wrestling. He was a good enough athlete to survive a trial by fire in MMA, taking his first fights with minimal training, but this sort of induction the hard way won’t be easy. Odds are he’s charismatic enough to have a minimum of training and be productive as he’s he learns how to work; Lawal has a presence to him that’s undeniable and honed in the right way he could be a big star in that field. It won’t be easy, however, and being in Bellator won’t be easy, either, in one major way: he’s now the biggest fish in a small pond.

The one downside to being in Bellator, from Lawal’s perspective, is that now all eyes are going to be on him. The higher the weight division the more sparse the talent and light heavyweight is the weakest division in the company outside of heavyweight. The best light heavyweights in the world are in the UFC, Lawal the one real exception to that rule now that he’s been cut from Strikeforce due to his inflammatory comments following the upholding of his suspension for using steroids.

Once he’s healthy enough to fight again, and able to get licensed, every fight in Bellator he’s going to be expected to win and win in dominant fashion. Anything less and it’ll be easy to think of him as being overrated from the start; any fighter not in the UFC but with a significant enough name has to win regularly to maintain that sort of status. The only top light heavyweight in the world to be in the same realm as Lawal is going to be Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at some point in the near future. Whether or not Bellator could afford him is one thing, but so far Jackson appears to be the best credible opponent for Lawal in the next year.

Everyone else that Bellator could potentially throw at him is going to seem a massive step below the bottom tier guys with a Zuffa contract, rightly or wrongly, and even something like a fluke loss to someone like Trevor Prangley will take a massive chunk out of the perception of how good a fighter he is. Bellator isn’t likely to bring in guys who’ve been cut from the UFC, either, and as such Lawal has to keep winning to stay as a fringe a Top 10 fighter. It’s about perception; we won’t know if he’s that good until he steps into the UFC and takes on guys like Rashad Evans, Ryan Bader, et al.

And we might never at this point; Lawal is not in the good graces of Zuffa and on the downside of his career based on his age and injury history alone. He could potentially finish his career as an active fighter without ever having stepped into the Octagon and having his true worth measured like a handful of top fighters; in many ways his legacy could be that of a fighter with a good pedigree but who never wanted to be in the UFC badly enough. Lawal has always seemingly defined himself as someone concerned with “getting paid” ahead of being the best; the money he could make as both a fighter and entertainer under his Bellator/TNA deal seemed more important to him when he discussed it then being the best fighter in the world.

Having a handful of major knee surgeries has the potential to rob him of the explosive athletic ability that has defined his career so far, as well, and transitioning to entertainment and fighting is perhaps a faster way of becoming as rich and famous as Mo has always talked about becoming.

Fans are smart enough to know the difference between Mo the pro wrestler and Mo the fighter, hopefully, but no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. Hopefully Mo hasn’t overestimated his ability to learn something as difficult as being a pro wrestler while also keeping up his considerable talents as a fighter.
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ONE by JMMANow

Bellator FC CEO Bjorn Rebney and head of TNA wrestling Dixie Carter made the joint announcement on today’s Bellator media press call. Lawal, who is currently under suspension after testing positive for steroids, will join the ranks of Josh Barnett and Tim Sylvia as active fighters who have split their time the fake world of pro wrestling with the real world of MMA.

Lawal has had prior experience as a pro wrestler, having trained for approximately a week at Ohio Valley Wrestling with current WWE “Superstar” Mark Henry and John Morrison. He’ll be entering Bellator’s next light heavyweight title tournament as a real fighter while concurrently being on TNA Thursday nights in the future once he’s served his suspension and if he can get licensed again.
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When Dominick Cruz hurt his knee this week, it caused a lot of problems in the UFC. It caused an entire card to be changed and will most likely end up changing at least one, if not two, other cards the UFC has lined up. It’s also ruined the final part of a trilogy between Cruz and Urijah Faber that was much anticipated. With talk of an interim title fight for Faber lined up, with Cruz facing up to a year recovery time with a torn ACL, the one thing being overlooked is that now the pressure is even greater for Urijah Faber. Why?

Because if he loses to another fighter in an interim title fight at UFC 148, his odds at another title shot becomes exponentially greater. A high profile loss to a replacement fighter without a title on the line sets him back significantly as well, obviously, but a shot at an interim title counts as much as for supremacy of the division properly. Holding an interim title in the UFC generally is the fastest way to get a title shot properly. Shane Carwin and Randy Couture famously took interim titles en route to challenging for the true championship; Carlos Condit is holding on to his until Georges St. Pierre knows whether or not he can defend it this year.

For Faber, an interim title in the UFC is something that enhances an already legendary career. Being a former champion, even if only interim, still holds weight when it comes to things like his long term legacy. Faber has been one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world for quite some time, as well as a top five fighter in two divisions. He could potentially be a top featherweight contender if he stayed at that weight class, which he did until Jose Aldo chased him from the division, and at Bantamweight he and Dominick Cruz are the clear two top fighters in the division.

The fact that Faber has been so successful in two divisions is a credit to his ability to fight above and at his natural weight. It takes talent to be a top fighter in any division, but the ability to do so in two is rare. And from a marketing standpoint Faber is the type of fighter the UFC could want; he’s charismatic, loves to do media and has a first rate athletic background. Women love him, too, and he was high profile enough in his WEC days to garner some solid endorsements despite not being in the top promotion in the world due to circumstance. He’s the type of fighter that you want to be front and center, preferably as a champion. But here’s the thing.

If he loses to either Renan Barao or Michael MacDonald, the two names bandied about as replacements for Cruz, another title shot might not happen for a long time if ever.

The one downside to having had as many title shots after losing the featherweight title is that in the future a title shot will be much more difficult. So far Faber has lost four straight title shots: outside of his controversial loss to Cruz for the bantamweight title he’s lost two to Michael Brown and one to Jose Aldo for the featherweight title. With four straight title losses on the docket, a fifth makes him that much tougher to justify in a title shot. The division is shallow enough that a second challenge to Cruz can be justified but not a third. That’s what ultimately the Cruz fight represented for Faber: potentially his last chance at wearing UFC gold around his waist. And a loss in a high profile fight against someone like Barao or MacDonald sets him back even further.

It makes whomever he faces at UFC 148 into one thing for the “California Kid” and former WEC stalwart: a must win.

Faber has to walk out of UFC 148 with a victory or another title shot might not happen. With bantamweight just starting to load up on talent, Faber is closer to the end of his career than the beginning. There are only so many title fights you can get before it becomes nearly impossible to promote another title fight. With Cruz out for a significant amount of time, UFC 148 is a good time to create an interim title. You have a star-making opportunity based on the main event grudge match between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. If anyone deserves to get this sort of opportunity on this card it’s Faber; he’s forever a pioneer of the lower weight classes and one of the best fighters casual fans don’t know much about.

With one of the biggest audiences of the year tuning in for Silva/Sonnen 2, Faber and whoever steps in for Cruz will be the co-main event of the year. It’ll be the biggest audience for a title fight of this weight class, the biggest title fight for any weight class under 155 since Aldo/Hominick was the co-main underneath GSP/Shields at UFC 129. And for Urijah Faber it’s a must win; without Dominick Cruz opposite him in the cage the stakes become greater because now he has to keep winning to get his trilogy fight with Cruz for the UFC bantamweight title. A loss here, when it means the most, sets him back to a place he was in after the Aldo fight for the featherweight title in the WEC: on the outside of the title picture, looking in for some time.
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The UFC has not, nor has Cruz’s people or Cruz himself, confirmed the injury as of yet but several websites have confirmed the injury. No knowledge to the severity of the injury, or whether or not it officially was an ACL tear or another form of knee injury, has been confirmed either.

We’ll have more as it breaks.

UPDATE: Dana White just confirmed Cruz blew out his ACL via his twitter feed.

Second Update: Apparently Cruz was hurt last Thursday, a handful of outlets reporting that it was during a practice but again nothing confirmed.

Winners

Nate Diaz vs. Anthony Pettis – I’d love to see Diaz fight one more time instead of waiting close to a year for the winner of Edgar/Henderson 2, which takes place towards the end of the summer. Diaz and Dana White indicated he’s going to wait for the winner, which is his right, but I’d love to see him fight Pettis before then. Pettis and he are in the same boat in that they’re both waiting for a title shot to open up; instead of waiting they could fight and get a #1 contender. It’d also perhaps be a great fight, as well.

Alan Belcher vs. the winner of Vitor Belfort/Wanderlai Silva – Belcher is close to (if not already) being a Top five ranked fighter in the division at this point. Currently on a four fight winning streak, with another win he could conceivably be on the short list to take on the winner of Anderson Silva/Chael Sonnen. With a statement victory over Vitor or Wand you have a guy who could be put on the short list to take on the champion. Depending on timing the winner of Boetsch/Bisping could work as well.

Lavar Johnson vs. Gabriel Gonzaga – Gonzaga’s out of the UFC 146 heavyweight card, unfortunately, but Roy Nelson’s loss could turn into his gain. Gonzaga is the gatekeeper for a prospect, the final test as to whether or not a prospect can move up to a Top 10 ranked opponent. It’d be a fun matchup to see if Johnson’s power and scrambling can keep him from going to the ground against someone who is as deadly with submissions as Gonzaga. And let’s be honest: if Pat Barry can nearly finish him with an Americana than Gonzaga would be licking his chops for this fight.

Johnny Hendricks vs. Carlos Condit – Condit’s waiting for GSP and that’s his right. Nothing wrong with it, too, as he’s been screwed over enough by the UFC in regards to his initial title shot against GSP after the Diaz/Penn fight that waiting for the champion makes sense in a way. If GSP can’t go in November, though, Hendricks ought to be challenging for the interim title. He has wins over Koscheck and Fitch, which only GSP has in concert, and has done enough to merit a title shot. If GSP can’t defend the title in November then Condit/Hendricks for the right to challenge GSP in the early winter makes sense.

Jon Dodson vs. Louis Gaudinot – With the flyweight tournament most likely going to conclude sometime by the end of the year, Dodson and Gaudinot right now are the leading contenders to get the first title shot against whoever wins out between Ian McCall, Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez. The one downside of crowning a champion is that you have to have a contender ready to challenge for the title. Dodson and Gaudinot are world ranked at flyweight coming into this card, as well as before they joined the UFC as part of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and eventually one or both is going to end up as a title challenger. Setting this fight up gives you a title challenger in the wings to the UFC’s first flyweight champion and sets up so that the challenger won’t be whomever hasn’t had a loss lately; Dodson or Gaudinot with two wins is more credible than one or the other. It looks better than the winner of the two semi-final losers getting the first crack in a sort of consolation prize for being 3rd out of four.

Losers

Josh Koscheck vs. BJ Penn – Josh Koscheck has stated he wants big money fights as he winds his career down, at least he said that before GSP got hurt. With the loss to Hendricks he is out of the mix for a while, despite how close that fight is. You can’t push him to the front of the line based on his history because he’s been dominated by GSP twice and there are other, better contenders ahead of him at this point. Penn is looking to come back at 170, as well, and Penn/Koscheck would be a fight that many have wanted. The more ideal fight would be Koscheck/Fitch but both have said they will never face each other; Koscheck and Penn are both way out of the title picture but they still have enough clout to bring in an audience. This could make a nice feature fight on a card that needs boosting.

Rousimar Palhares vs. Clifford Starks – Every time he takes one step forward he ends up taking two steps back. Palhares is vicious with the heel hooks but once he takes another step up in competition he ends up losing. Marquardt knocked him out in vicious fashion as nasty as Belcher did. Time to move back in competition, I think, and both need to regroup.

Pat Barry vs. Matt Mitrione – Mitrione still doesn’t have a fight lined up after the loss to Kongo. Most of the heavyweights in the UFC are tied up for the next couple months and, provided Barry doesn’t have an overly long medical suspension, Mitrione would make sense. You could throw in Brendan Schaub into the mix as well. Mark Hunt, if he loses to Stefan Struve, also provides for another really exciting fight as well. The problem is that the next couple months are using most of the UFC’s heavyweight roster and thus Barry will probably have to wait a while before his next fight. Don’t count out the winner or loser of the Strikeforce Grand Prix; Cormier and Barnett are known quantities to hardcore fans but not as much to the casual audience. Opposite Barry there’d be more interest, of course, and you don’t have to feed them to a contender right away.

Tony Ferguson vs. Efrain Escudero – A battle of former TUF champions, Ferguson looked good against Michael Johnson but outclassed. He still has plenty of ways to go until he gets to be near the Top 10 of the division; he has the potential but still has years of work to do. Escudero just lost a tough fight to Mac Danzig, of course, but isn’t a major step back for Ferguson. My guess is that Ferguson is looking at Escudero or another prospect coming into the UFC.

Jim Miller vs. Takanori Gomi – Gomi saved his job, for the most part, with his last win. But whenever it looks like he could step up in competition he falters. My guess is that Miller would wreck him like any Top 10 fighter would. Miller is slowly getting to the point where he’s an elite level gatekeeper; if you beat him you get a chance to climb the mountain. “When you come at the king, you best not miss” of course but to get a chance to do so you have to go through Jim Miller. Ben Henderson and Nate Diaz both earned shots by beating Miller. Miller then responds by running through the division again until he gets on the cusp of a title shot; time to make another run with the Pride stalwart. Clay Guida, if he loses to Gray Maynard, would be a fit for this slot as could the loser of Lauzon/Etim.
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