King Mo: Pro wrestling training harder than MMA
A number of fighters have made the transition from pro wrestling to MMA, including Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Dave Batista,…
A number of fighters have made the transition from pro wrestling to MMA, including Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Dave Batista, and Ken Shamrock.
Less common is the transition in the other direction, from MMA to pro wrestling.
One excpetion is former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
Lawal has made to a deal with both Bellator Fighting Championships and TNA Wrestling. His pro wrestling debut was just weeks ago; his first Bellator fight is slated for sometime in January.
“I had to change shirts,” said Lawal. “I didn’t know what to expect. The people didn’t know who I was. They respect me because I respect the sport. The fans could have booed me or not cheer for me. I was happy that I got some kind of pop. I was cool with the reaction. I would have been in trouble if I got no reaction. That was my main concern.”
“The wrestlers were cool. They respect me because I respect wrestling. I know a lot of old school wrestlers, their moves, etc. I was a huge wrestling fan growing up and now I’m stepping into their world and training to do it.”
“I thought it was going to be hard, but this (pro wrestling training) is harder than I expected. I’m going to tell you this. Pro wrestling training is three times harder than MMA. It’s harder because of the psychology, the positioning, the bumps, hitting the ropes and cutting promos.
“That s— is hard. People don’t understand this s—. People think wrestling is all fake. If you think it is fake, come try it out and you will see how real it really is.”
“MMA fans never grew up fighting. They just put on their Affliction or Tapout shirts and say, ‘Hey I’m a fighter or hey I’m going to a fight.’
“To me, its a joke. It is a certain demographic that’s involved and I’m not with that.”