Triumph United president explains his side of 'King Mo' dustup

The founder of MMA apparel company Triumph United is challenging Muhammed Lawal to a kickboxing match to settle the score after the two nearly came to blows this past week at a casino.

Hans Molenkamp on Monday told MMAjunkie that Lawal harassed him and longtime friend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson online long before an incident prior to this past Friday’s Bellator 134 event. And while he said he’s no match for the fighter in a full MMA match, a striking engagement suits Molenkamp fine.

“He said he wants to ‘Josh Neer my ass?’ said Molenkamp, referring to Lawal’s recent interview with MMAjunkie Radio. “Man, I will end it. I’ll take him on any day. Any day.

“I’m not going to try to MMA fight him or fight him in the streets. But is it right for him to call me names and call Quinton names? No. That’s how I look at it. Did I go crazy like I said he did? Not even close.”

Lawal was one day away from a win over longtime Jackson training partner Cheick Kongo when he said Molenkamp got in the middle of a conversation he was having with recent Bellator signee Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson. Lawal said Molenkamp shoved him when his back was turned before Molenkamp threw a punch.

“He tried to say, ‘I’m not Quinton’s bitch,’ or something like that,” Lawal said. “I never said nothing about Quinton, period. And he started swinging on me, and Kimbo held me back, and some dude he was with said something to him and held him back, and that was it. I was like, ‘I can’t get caught wasting my energy with this dude because I’ve got Kongo tomorrow.'”

Hans Molenkamp and Mark DellaGrotte

Molenkamp said he isn’t sure whether he initiated physical contact with Lawal, but he said the fighter kicked things off by calling him a name.

“I apologize that it went down like that, but it doesn’t change the fact that he purposely went out 36 weeks ago to call me out and then continually harassed me when I would see him, and harass Quinton,” he said. “That’s the root of all of it. Should I have done it that way, no. But I think there were a combination of emotions involved.”

Molenkamp posted online an exchange with Lawal stemming from a social media post in which he called for a rematch between Lawal and Jackson, who outpointed the former Strikeforce champion this past May at Bellator 120 in a heated grudge match.

Jackson was seen on camera requesting a rematch with Lawal before the decision was announced. Lawal waged a largely wrestling-based attack and took the ex-UFC champ to the canvas repeatedly.

Afterward, Jackson wavered on his request, and a rematch never materialized. Then, Bellator saw a management shakeup as chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney was replaced by former Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. Jackson’s discontent with the Viacom-owned promotion led to a deal with the UFC, which is now expected to be contested in court since Bellator filed an injunction to stop Jackson from fighting for the UFC. Jackson is scheduled to face Fabio Maldonado in April at UFC 186.

Lawal’s run-in with Molenkamp led to renewed sparring online with Jackson, who called Lawal a “coward” following his win this past Friday over his longtime sparring partner Cheick Kongo at Bellator 134.

Molenkamp said his relationship with Lawal was largely positive before his feud with Jackson, which first flared up when “Rampage” was in the UFC. Jackson and Lawal mended fences under the Bellator banner, but fell out again when they were booked to fight.

It appears the same happened between the apparel maker and “King Mo.”

“It’s easier said than done (putting together a kickboxing fight), considering I live on the West Coast and (Lawal) lives on the East Coast,” Molenkamp said. “We have to set something up, for sure. I don’t want to MMA fight him. I want to have a standup battle. I want no wrestling involved. I want no kicking to the head. I’m not trying to get all MMA on him, but I will standup, no problem.”

For more on Bellator 134, check out the MMA Events section of the site.