Muhammad Lawal took off the gloves and announced his retirement from combat sports almost five years ago. His time away from competition is over, but the gloves will stay off.
The promotion announced on Friday that former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and multiple Bellator title challenger, “King Mo” Lawal, has signed a one-fight contract with BKFC and is already scheduled to make his promotional debut.
Lawal, 43, will make his debut against Dave Mundell in a 185-pound bout at BKFC 66, which takes place September 13 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. Mundell is the current BKFC champion at 175 pounds, but will move up to welcome Lawal to the ring.
“King Mo” has not competed since November 2019, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Andrew Kapal at Bellator 233 in his retirement fight in MMA. The result extended his losing skid to four fights, all stopped by punches.
During his MMA career, Lawal (21-10) defeated notables such as Quinton Jackson, Jiri Prochazka, Linton Vassell, Cheick Kongo and others. He served as a part-time trainer at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida during his fighting career, but after his retirement, he went full-time at the gym.