Meet Team Quest’s “King Mo” Muhammad Lawal (1-0), Fighters.com’s Fighter of the Month.  Lawal made his much-anticipated MMA debut in Tokyo 28 September with a first-round TKO over heavyweight veteran “Diesel” Travis Wiuff (53-12).

Lawal first spoke to Fighters.com after joining Team Quest in April when, despite his success in amateur wrestling, I advised him to pursue a measured path through the sport.

He wisely ignored me.  Despite Wiuff’s ten-fight win streak and having knocked out “Ironhead” Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7) for the first time ever in his previous fight, Lawal jumped right in to MMA.

Lawal told Fighters.com last weekend, “The only hesitation and discussion [about fighting Wiuff] came from the haters, naysayers, and the people that picked me to lose.  I was confident and felt good.  It was a dream come true for me to fight and even better to make my debut in Japan.”

Before MMA, Lawal was a 1999 Texas wrestling champion from Plano East High School, a 2002 NCAA Division II champion from Central Oklahoma, and won the U.S. Nationals in freestyle wrestling at 84 kg/185 lbs in April by beating Andy Hrovat 1-1, 1-0 in the finals.

After winning Nationals, Lawal told USA Wrestling, “Ever since I started wrestling I wanted to be the best.  I wanted to reach the highest level in the sport and I know I can do that by winning a gold medal in the Olympics.  That’s all I’ve wanted to do for a long time: win the Olympics.”

He seemed comfortably on his way to Beijing.

But, at the Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas 15 June, Hrovat would resurface to shatter Lawal’s Olympic dreams with a two-point takedown with seven seconds remaining in the tie-breaking third period.

“It was a li’l controversial; but, Hrovat won,” Lawal admitted, but also complained, “There were a few questionable calls in the second match that went against me.”

It was close.  Lawal scored two one-point takedowns to even the score in the third period; but, Hrovat won the period and match with his two-pointer, taking the match by scores 0-1, 1-0, 2-2.

“I’ma be real wit’ you.  When it was all said and done, I was just tired of dedicating my life to being broke,” Lawal confided.  “[Losing] wasn’t a heart breaker really.  I had beat the 2008 Olympic champ before.  I’m much happier fighting.  It’s a dream to have this as a job!”

It wasn’t just who Lawal made his fighting debut versus, but how he finished his first professional fight that was impressive.

The wrestler out-boxed the mixed martial arts veteran of 65 fights, knocking Wiuff to the ropes with a Superman punch.

“Melchor Menor taught me [the Superman punch],” Lawal said.  “I knew how to do it, but I was doin’ it wrong.  He helped me improve it.

“I worked on my hands for five weeks wit’ Melchor Menor at Lava Fitness and two weeks with Justin Fortune at Fortune Gym.  These are world class trainers here.”

Besides Menor and Fortune, Lawal told Fighters.com in April, “I’ve sparred with Sokoudjou, Cyrille Diabate, Dan Hendo’, Chael Sonnen, Matt Lindland, Brian Stann, Alberto Crane, Mark Bocek, and a few others.  I’ve trained with Matt and Dan, also GSP and Nathan Marquardt.”

And, Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3) has taken note too, inviting Lawal to train with him in Boston.

Lawal intends to accept that invitation, saying, “Y’all call him “KenFlo”; but, I call him “Pimpin’ Ken”!  He is my boy.  I got so much respect for him. I’ve learned a lot from him about the MMA game.”

The transition from wrestling to the MMA game hasn’t been all glory for Lawal.

“It’s all hard,” Lawal admits.  “Having to blend it all together for sparring is tough.  It’s a different pace.  Wrestlin’ matches ain’t nearly as long as a fight.  Ain’t no timeouts unless it’s for a cut or low blow.”

And. Lawal alluded to “the haters” after his big win in Tokyo and told Fighters.com, “I’m not gonna say any names, but there are a lot of people that would love to see me fail.  They give me extra motivation to prove them wrong.  They think I am brash and arrogant.  I might be, but I train hard and that gives me the right to be that way. You don’t gotta like me.”

Maybe it’s “King Mo” that “the haters” want to see fail.  Lawal entered his first MMA fight with that moniker and flanked by four models.

“My boy, Kami, gave me that name two years ago.  I’m known for doin’ thangs that ain’t traditional.  I wanna set trends.  I’m try’na have fun.”

Besides fun, Lawal ranked his MMA goals this way: “Respect, honor, money – GDP (get dat paper), and fame.”

Lawal staggered Wiuff with a right Superman punch, then rushed in with a double-leg takedown at the ropes.  Lawal leapt on Wiuff and finished him off with ground’n’pound.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion “Xande” Alexandre Ribeiro (1-0) TKO’d Takashi Sugiura (1-3) in the last minute of his anticipated MMA debut.

Showing his fatigue in round three, Ribeiro nevertheless made a final attempt to finish the fight, landing several heavy punches and knees that forced the stoppage at 4:18.

Sengoku’s Middleweight Grand Prix got underway with four quarterfinal fights.

Chute Boxe member “Cyborg” Evangelista Santos’s (16-12) bout against “Afghan Killa” Siyar Bahadurzada (14-3-1) ended in injury after just 22 seconds.

Bahadurzada had double underhooks on Santos as the middleweights battled for position.  Bahadurzada tripped Santos, whose left elbow snapped when he landed, prompting an immediate stoppage.

UFC and WEC veteran “Pink Pounder” Logan Clark had a good first round on his feet, but American Top Team’s Jorge Santiago (18-7) caught him with an arm triangle at 3:35 of round two.

PRIDE veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura (12-8), in his debut as a middleweight, won an easy unanimous decision over Manchester’s Paul Cahoon (10-12).

Grabaka fighter Yuki Sasaki (22-14-1) submitted PRIDE and Pancrase veteran Yuki Kondo (49-23-6) via rear naked choke at 1:08 of round two, after an uneventful first round.

In a non-tournament bout, American Top Team member “GameBred” Jorge Masvidal (14-3) TKO’d former IFL Lightweight Champion “Lion” Ryan Schultz (20-11-1) with ground’n’pound at 1:57 of round one, first dropping him with a flying knee.

Kiuma Kunioku (34-22-9) earned a unanimous decision victory over A Sol Kwon (5-4) in their lightweight match.

His original opponent, Roger Gracie (2-0), withdrew due to injury.

Lawal is a new Team Quest member who will make his MMA debut at the event.  He is a former NCAA Division II amateur wrestling champion, and also finished first at the 2006 US Open and 2007 Pan-American Games.

Wiuff KO’d Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7) in 1:24 at Sengoku 3 in June.

Gracie tore an intercostal muscle after taking a kick to the ribs in training, and was advised by his physiotherapist not to train for at least four weeks.

World Victory Road has not yet officially pulled Gracie from the card, nor announced a new opponent for Wiuff.

Also announced was a lightweight bout between Kiuma Kunioku (33-22-9) and South Korea’s A Sol Kwon (5-3).

Wiuff is riding a ten-fight win streak, most recently knocking out Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7) at 1:24 of his Sengoku debut in June.

Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu star, submitted Yuki Kondo (28-22-6) in May via rear naked choke in the first round.

Kunioku, a former Pancrase champion, submitted his last opponent, Jay Ellis (7-23), via toe hold in 1:47 in May.

Kwon last fought in June, winning a unanimous decision over Do Hyung Kim (4-2).

Misaki successfully countered Clark’s aggressive stand-up for the “W”.

Ninth-ranked welterweight “The Goat” Nick Thompson (36-9-1) survived a “Maicon” Michael Costa (9-4) hook that detonated in the second round, leaving “The Goat” on the mat, to tap Costa at 4:13 of the round in a Kimura.

YAMMA Pit Fighting Heayweight Champion “Diesel” Travis Wiuff (53-11) cemented his return to being taken seriously with a first-round knockout of “Ironhead” Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7) at 1:24, a feet never previously achieved.

In the night’s main event, heavyweight Hidehiko Yoshida (8-6-1) ended a three-loss streak by tapping 46-year old kickboxer “Mo” Maurice Smith (12-13) in a neck crank at 2:23 of round one.

Sanae Kikuta (27-6-3) finished off Englishman Chris Rice (12-6), who entered the ring costumed as the Grim Reaper, in a first-round armbar at 3:54.

“Pe de Pano” Marcio Cruz (4-2) also tapped Korean heavyweight Mu Bae Choi (7-3) in a rear naked choke at 4:37 of round one.

Brazilian lightweight Rodrigo Damm (8-1) called out second-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) after the referee ended “Gamebred” Jorge Masvidal‘s (13-3) night, controversially calling the fight at 4:38 of round two while Masvidal was recovering from a punch that dropped the brawler.

Middleweight Fabio Silva (10-4) knocked out Yoshiki Takahashi (28-23-3) with a knee at :24 of round two.

No opponent was named.

Though there is no official indication, Wiuff may be Plan B for heavyweight prospect Ben Rothwell (29-5), who is also opponent-less as fight day draws near.

Negotiations for Rothwell to fight Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked heavyweight “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (12-5) remain mysterious.

Fighters.com reported Arlovski has always been Rothwell’s intended opponent, despite Rothwell’s denials.

However, recently both Rothwell and his agent, Adrenaline MMA President Monte Cox, have admitted Arlovski is on the table.

“Of course [Affliction] talked about Andrei, but I don’t know what his contract status is,” Cox told Cage Potato on 12 May.  “[Arlovski] was supposed to be free from his UFC contract on May 1, but I honestly don’t know if it will be Ben and Andrei fighting in that show.”

Rothwell corrected his denial, “I was trying to clear up that I was not fighting [Arlovski] in September on another [organization] as the original rumor stated.  I tried to never say if I was/was not fighting [Arlvoski].”

Arlovski has remained mum on the issue.

Wiuff comes off his YAMMA tournament victory in which he won UDs over “Pato” Marcelo Donald Pereira (1-1), “Suave” Ricco Rodriguez (28-9), and Chris Tuchscherer (13-1) on the same night in April.

Wiuff is also scheduled for the biggest pay day of his career in Japan, fighting “Ironhead” Kazuyuki Fujita (15-6) at Sengoku III on 8 June.

In non-tournament action, forty-four-year old original Ultimate Fighter challenger Patrick Smith (15-13) submitted 417-pound “Butterbean” Eric Esch (10-6-1) with strikes.

And, “The Russian Bear” Oleg Taktarov (16-5-2) also won by submission over “The Titan” Mark Kerr (15-7).

The tournament featured one-round fight-offs into the semi-finals.

Wiuff drew Brazilian Marcel Pereira (0-1) and pummeled the jits player on the mat over five minutes for the unanimous decision.

The tourney had commenced with an Alexey Oleinik (7-4) front-choke submission of “The Tank” Sherman Pendergarst at 4:18.

Chris Tuscherer (13-1) had dominated Tony Sylvester (10-2) for a unanimous decision.

And, former UFC Heavyweight Champion “Suave” Ricco Rodriguez (28-9) had taken George Bush (5-1) down at will to score a UD.

The second round also featured one-round fight-offs pairing Oleinik versus Tuscherer and Wiuff versus Rodriguez.

Again, Tuscherer dominated his opponent in G’n'P fury for a unanimous decision; and, Wiuff similarly overwhelmed the veteran Rodriguez, also for a UD.

In the three-round tournament final, Tuscherer didn’t do more than frustrate the seemingly fresher Wiuff.  Wiuff closed out round one with a left-right combo that bloodied Tuscherer.  Rounds two and three were fought mostly on the mat, with Wiuff unloading ground’n'pound in spurts while Tuscherer was somewhat effective tying him up.

At the final bell, Wiuff took all three judges’ cards 30-27 twice and 29-28.

In the event’s “Masters Superfight” main event, Smith shredded Bean’s pillar-like legs with kicks that eventually fell the massive man.  Esch was helpless on his back as Smith beat him to verbal submission at 3:17 of round one.

After absorbing a massive right from Kerr in the other “Masters Superfight”, Taktarov swept into a side kneebar to tap “The Titan” at 1:50 of round one.

The night had popped-off at the end of a “Philly Badass” Lamont Lister (4-3) overhand right that dropped Russian Oleg Savitsky (1-2) in a tournament alternate bout.  “Badass” finished him on the mat for a 33-second TKO.

In the other tourney alternate bout, Bryan Vetell (4-3) won a one-round unanimous decision over Antwain Britt (3-1).

The event will air live from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on April 11, 2008.  Tickets for the event will go on sale March 8, and can be purchased through  Ticketmaster.

This first matchup will witness two MMA legends battle in a totally new and unique arena.  The veteran fighters will face off in one of the ‘Masters Superfights’, one-on-one matches that feature some of MMA’s most illustrious and legendary fighters. 

“Don Frye needs to do only two things: fly to Russia and stay there for ten years to study Sambo.  Then, maybe he’ll be ready,” said Oleg Taktarov about his upcoming face off with Frye.

In addition to the Superfights, the 11 April event will showcase the skill and endurance of eight fearsome competitors in a tournament match for the title of YAMMA Heavyweight Champion.  Tournament fighters include:

“Pato” Marcelo Pereira – a multiple world and Brazil BJJ champion known for his strong chin and very heavy hands with an MMA record of 5-0-0.

Sherman Pendergarst – a 6’1 230-pound former collegiate wrestler and state high school wrestling champion with a background in BJJ, boxing, and kickboxing with an MMA record of 10-8-0.

Rex Richards – a former lineman for the Indianapolis Colts and Machado BJJ brown belt.  Richards is a veteran of Strike Force and Art of War with a professional mixed martial arts record of 4-1-0.

Tony Sylvester – a boxing/wrestling expert who is considered to be one of the top up-and-coming heavyweights in the nation with a MMA record of 10-1-0.

“The Diesel” Travis Wiuff – a UFC, Pride and IFL veteran, and current IFO World Champion with an MMA record of 47-11-0.  He is known for his well-rounded fighting style with vicious elbows on the ground

The additional three tournament fighters will be announced in the coming weeks.