‘King Mo’ Returns at June 18 Strikeforce in Dallas

Muhammed Lawal will return after 10 months on the shelf. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

The fighter broke news of his participation in the as-yet-unannounced event via Twitter on Friday, confirming that the show will likely go down June 18 in Dallas. Little is known about the event, although there is speculation that Strikeforce may hold its remaining two heavyweight grand prix quarterfinals on June 18 instead of April 9, as previously thought.

Lawal has been out of action since August of last year while recovering from knee surgery. The NCAA wrestling standout was last seen suffering the first and only loss of his young MMA career. In his first defense of his Strikeforce strap, Lawal was battered by current champ Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante on Aug. 21, succumbing to a series of punches and elbows in the third round.

After beginning his MMA campaign with a four-fight winning streak in Sengoku, the 30-year-old dominated heavyweight pioneer Mark Kerr at M-1 Global “Breakthrough” in August 2009. Lawal then signed with Strikeforce and rattled off victories over Mike Whitehead and Gegard Mousasi, capturing Mousasi’s title in April 2010.