King Mo cut from Strikeforce

Weak! The question was a stupid one but Lawal should have known better than to get on twitter and blast NSAC officials..especially Nevada when under the Zuffa umbrella. Mo is one of my favorites, so this is a drag

http://mmajunkie.com/news/28009/ufc-president-cuts-king-mo-lawal.mma



UFC president cuts Muhammed 'King Mo' Lawal
by Steven Marrocco and John Morgan on Mar 27, 2012 at 8:05 pm ET
In another devastating blow, former Strikeforce champ Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal has been released from his Strikeforce contract.

UFC president Dana White today confirmed the news to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) but declined to comment on the release.

Following a nine-month suspension issued today by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Lawal lashed out on Twitter, which led to his ouster.

Lawal and his reps could not be reached for comment at the time of this writing.

The former light-heavyweight champ took particular aim at NSAC commissioner Pat Lundvall, who questioned him today during a hearing in Las Vegas that eventually led to his suspension.

During the questioning, Lundvall asked Lawal whether he read and understood English in relation to a pre-fight questionnaire that required Lawal to disclose any medications he had taken two weeks prior to the fight as well as any injuries he might have sustained.

"I honestly feel like Lundvall was a racist bitch asking me if I can read or speak english," Lawal wrote. "Go on somewhere with that [expletive]!!!"

Lawal later explained the Tweet, stating he believed the line of questioning was racist due to his past experiences.

"Its funny how people are tryna say that I'm callin the commission racist," he wrote. "No!! They aren't. But there was one person on the panel that was out of line with the question she asked me. I found it insulting, prejudice, and a lil racist. I say racist from my past experiences, I have been asked that in the past as an insult."

The NSAC voted unanimously to suspend and fine Lawal for a failed drug test following his appearance at "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine."

Lawal is suspended nine months from the date of the fight, fined 30 percent of an $80,000 "show" purse, and he must surrender his $15,000 win bonus. Additionally, his win has been changed to a no-contest, and he must provide a clean drug test when he reapplies for a fight license in Nevada.

"Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine" took place Jan. 7 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and the main card aired on Showtime. Lawal (8-1 MMA, 3-1 SF) defeated Lorenz Larkin (12-0 MMA, 3-0 SF) via second-round TKO during the broadcast

I reallly think its a ploy to get him out of his slave contract to Strikeforce and into the UFC quicker. Mo will just have to fight 1 or 2 scrubs and I bet Zuffa will resign him to the big show.

he signed that slave contact long after the Zuffa purchase..if they didnt want him signing with SF they would have told Coker to back off and signed him themselves. I don't buy that SF can pursue fighters that UFC would want for themselves. I doubt testing positive for roids and calling an NSAC official a racist bitch on twitter peaked their interest to cut corners to get him in the UFC.

Much like everything else, he'll win two fights and a year and half from now he'll be in the UFC

I don't think he'll be back anytime soon. He's on the wrong side of 30, had major issues with staph, and busted for roids. Who knows when he will even fight again. How many other 205ers are free agents worth a damn?

Not to mention his knee is quickly going Shogun-esque with all these surgeries and infections. He may never be the same after this.

Zuffa has less pull with Strikeforce than you think. Showtime wanted to keep Mo in Strikeforce because he is one of the few remaining stars with any value. Zuffa didn't want a conflict of interest, plus Mo being signed and entering the UFC isn't really ground breaking to begin with. The Zuffa thought with Mo (just like every other elite fighter under Strikeforce contract) that they could just grab him up when Strikeforce folded. When Mo got staph and popped for roids, the UFC wanted to move the process of signing Mo into hyper drive in order to save some of his luster. Like I said before releasing him is the quickest way to the UFC and the racist bitch comment was just the perfect opportunity. Just my opinion.

If Mo doesn't end up with the UFC. Then this is some fucked up shit. Those medical bills are stacking up.

Regarding the commission hearing:

"I came in respectful. I apologized to them for my attire. I came in speaking English. When they asked the questions, I answered in a timely fashion. I felt I was disrespected by the woman's comments. How are you going to ask a college educated, well traveled man if he can speak or read English? I'm speaking English right in front of you and I've been speaking English right in front of you for the past 15 minutes.

I went there to tell my side of the story out of respect. I could have just stayed home, let the commission fine me and not made any effort, but I didn't. I showed up there as a man to give my side of the story and take my punishment."

How he was informed he had been cut:

"Sean Shelby didn't contact me. He contacted my manager Mike Kogan to inform us that I had been cut."

General reaction to today's events, including being released:

"It is what it is. Of course, I want to fight for Strikeforce and fight for Zuffa, but if they want to cut me for what I said, then I can't take it back because it already happened. I have never been asked in such a condescending way if I could read or speak English like that. I did something wrong, so I can't really say I'm being treated unfairly. I don't know if it was excessive to cut me.

Right now, I just want people to understand that I went in there respectfully and that I'm not playing the race card. I'm too old to play the race card. I'm established on the West Coast now and since I've been out here, I haven't experienced much racism. I've experienced some stereotypes and small prejudices here and there, but other than that, no, I haven't experienced too much, compared to when I was in the South. The woman's comments reminded me of times when I experienced racial insensitivity from other people.

Zuffa made a decision just off what was said on Twitter. I don't know if they care about what happened. I'm pretty sure they didn't hear any of the audio. They just made a decision off what went down on Twitter. I'm pretty sure Keith Kizer and certain people at the commission are mad and I didn't mean any disrespect to Keith or the rest of the people in the commission. I just felt disrespected by that one person that asked if I could speak or read English.

To me, that was a blatant insult. Just listen to the audio. You'll see."

KingsOwn19 wrote:

During the questioning, Lundvall asked Lawal whether he read and understood English in relation to a pre-fight questionnaire that required Lawal to disclose any medications he had taken two weeks prior to the fight as well as any injuries he might have sustained.

"I honestly feel like Lundvall was a racist bitch asking me if I can read or speak english," Lawal wrote. "Go on somewhere with that [expletive]!!!"

Lawal later explained the Tweet, stating he believed the line of questioning was racist due to his past experiences.

"Its funny how people are tryna say that I'm callin the commission racist," he wrote. "No!! They aren't. But there was one person on the panel that was out of line with the question she asked me. I found it insulting, prejudice, and a lil racist. I say racist from my past experiences, I have been asked that in the past as an insult."

hahaha,

i said on another thread only this morning about the meaning of the racism being lost and idiots chucking it around casually to suit their own agenda.

if lawal could read and understand english he would have read and understood the relevant question on the questionaire but still failed to disclose the relevant information. it's a perfectly reasonable question.

people as stupid as this really ought to stay off twitter.

I haven't heard the audio but that kind of stupid question could definitely be seen as racist. I gotcha back Mo.

How is it a racist question if he didn't properly fill out the form? The same question could be asked of Nick Diaz since he checked no on all boxes.

I don't know about racist. But condescending for sure. It's being an asshole.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

I haven't heard the audio but that kind of stupid question could definitely be seen as racist. I gotcha back Mo.

Why is literacy race related?

OU wrote:

I don't know about racist. But condescending for sure. It's being an asshole.

So is falsifying paperwork to get the go ahead for a sanctioned fight.

This is a transcript of that audio.

Pat Lundvall: You took it some time before Christmas I assume, is that correct?

Muhammed Lawal: Yeah, I took it before I came back from Austin Texas.

PL: When did you come back from Austin Texas?

ML: The first week of December I believe.

PL: So its the first week of December, you’re still taking it into December then. Did you take it after Christmas?

ML: No I didn’t take it after Christmas.

PL: So when was the last time, when did you stop taking it?

ML: I only took it for like a week… I stopped taking it as soon as the doctor said hey-

Mike Kogan (Lawal’s manager) interjecting: - he came up from Austin on the 10th -

ML: - yeah so as soon as the doctor -

MK, interjecting: - No we came up from Austin on the 11th - we went to see the doctor… the MRI was done on the 23rd and it was done three days. Two to three days before we went to see the doctor... I mean after we went to see the doctor. So the 20th is when we went to see the doctor.

PL: What period of time in December did you actually take this supplement?

MK: Between the 11th and the 19th in that week.

PL: Did you take it again after the MRI?

ML: No I didn’t take it again.

PL: What were you taking after you had seen the doctor

ML: Orthovisc, which is some injections the doctor gave me, some anti-inflammatories…

PL: You filled out a pre-fight medical questionnaire before your fight in January did you not?

ML: Yes I did.

PL: There are a couple of questions on that pre-fight questionnaire that ask you what kind of prescribed medications you were taking, do you recall that?

ML: Yes I do.

PL: You ticked ‘nothing’

ML: Well... I ticked nothing because I was there by myself, my manager wasn’t there. My manager had the whole list of everything [I was using] and he came late. So I didn’t know everything that was actually injected into my knee by my doctor.

PL: But you knew you were taking something though, right?

ML: Er... Yes, correct.

PL: Alright. You also said you were taking some stuff over the counter at that point in time, correct?

ML: Uh, I don’t know… I only know what I put on the questionnaire…

MK, interjecting: - We didn’t put anything on the questionnaire - I was the one who filled out the questionnaire, I apologise. Orthovisc that he was taking was a lubricant that was administered into his knee, er…

PL: There’s no apologising for falsifying required information on the medical questionnaire. Mr Lawal, my question to you is that you signed this medical questionnaire after it was filled out did you not?

ML: I did, I did.

PL: Can you understand English?

ML: Yes.

PL: Can you read English?

ML: Uh-huh.

PL: Then you knew that by signing it, that the information on this medical questionnaire is supposed to be true and correct, right?

ML: Er, yes.

He should of gave her an overhand right and soccer kick to the face.

How did it go from Mo's manager not being there so he had to fill out the questionnaire himself to Kogan filling the thing out

King Mo is an imbecile.

OU wrote:

I don't know about racist. But condescending for sure. It's being an asshole.

this

Like I said before it's a legitimate question to ask if he speaks/reads english seeing as he ticked "nothing" when he was in fact taking and receiving several different medications. It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the difference between a lie and ignorance to the language presented to him.

Ludo wrote:

Like I said before it's a legitimate question to ask if he speaks/reads english seeing as he ticked "nothing" when he was in fact taking and receiving several different medications. It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the difference between a lie and ignorance to the language presented to him.

So was the judge extremely high and thinking thinking they were understanding the Japanese that Mo was speaking? I've been there.

OU wrote:

Ludo wrote:

Like I said before it's a legitimate question to ask if he speaks/reads english seeing as he ticked "nothing" when he was in fact taking and receiving several different medications. It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the difference between a lie and ignorance to the language presented to him.

So was the judge extremely high and thinking thinking they were understanding the Japanese that Mo was speaking? I've been there.

No, the judge was determining by fact, rather than accusation, that Mo lied on the medical form.

Mo also said he's been asked that in a mocking way from his personal experiences in the south. At the very least, it was being an asshole, but I could see where he formulated that statement when he referenced it against his past. I don't think Mo was severely out of line, but looking at the course of action that lead to the statement, neither was the judge. Mo should NOT be cut from that. Both Mo and this person should issue joint apologies saying look I didn't mean it that way and I know you didn't either. Then the UFC should sign MO and we should all pray to the MMA gods that Mo fights and defeats Jon Jones because Mo is way cooler roids or not.

Ludo wrote:

OU wrote:

Ludo wrote:

Like I said before it's a legitimate question to ask if he speaks/reads english seeing as he ticked "nothing" when he was in fact taking and receiving several different medications. It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the difference between a lie and ignorance to the language presented to him.

So was the judge extremely high and thinking thinking they were understanding the Japanese that Mo was speaking? I've been there.

No, the judge was determining by fact, rather than accusation, that Mo lied on the medical form.

If the judge wanted to be a condescending asshole about it couldn't they have phrased it "We are speaking English so I know you can understand it." How is asking someone in English, that you have been speaking to in English, if they can speak English determining a fact?