Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal To Face Mike WhiteheadFollowing a successful tenure as a light heavyweight in Sengoku, charismatic contender Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal will make his Strikeforce debut in the heavyweight division against UFC and IFL veteran “Iron” Mike Whitehead at Strikeforce: “Evolution” on December 19th.

The impressive card also features a trio of middleweight bouts featuring the likes of Matt “The Law” Lindland, Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza, Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith and former champion Cung Le. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler will also compete against an opponent to be named.

Lawal (5-0-0) exploded onto the MMA scene with his charisma and wild entrances in the Sengoku promotion in Japan, where he won all four of his fights. He most recently stopped former MMA superstar Mark “The Smashing Machine” Kerr in just 25 seconds at M-1: “Breakthrough.”

Moving up in weight, Lawal will face a tough test in Whitehead, but he has thus far excelled against formidable competition and will look to add Whitehead to his growing list of victims. All but one of Lawal’s wins have come via a form of knockout.

Whitehead (24-6-0) has only been defeated one time in his last 16 bouts, dating back to a decision loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 57 in 2006. He won all four of his fights in the International Fight League and is coming off of a decision victory over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin “The Monster” Randleman.

 

Both men possess solid wrestling skills, but Lawal holds a significant edge in speed and agility and will look to use his explosive power to overrun the slower Whitehead.

Whitehead has a tremendous advantage in the experience column, however, and has already competed against many of the sport’s top heavyweights during his career.

The fight could potentially move the winner one step closer to a title shot against current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem, but it remains to be seen whether Lawal will stay in the heavyweight division or drop back down to 205.

 

Strikeforce: “Evolution” takes place on December 19th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.