Bellator's 'King Mo' Lawal: Tito Ortiz 'knows better' than to fight me

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal

The root of Muhammed Lawal’s disdain toward Tito Ortiz comes from an unbecoming Instagram photo posted by Ortiz several months ago.

The photo has since been deleted, but Lawal kept the memory close. He wanted to wait for the perfect time to throw it back in Ortiz’s face, and when the former UFC champion mentioned “King Mo’s” name at the Bellator 131 post-fight press conference, the opportunity arrived.

“He posted pictures of two gorillas fighting saying it’s me verse Quinton (Jackson),” Lawal told MMAjunkie Radio. “I kept the photo. I’m like, ‘This dude thinks he’s slick, but I’m going to check him. I’m gong to find the right time to check him,’ so I kept it on my phone.

“I didn’t want to say something to him during the fight week, but I thought after the fights were over with it would be the perfect time to say something to him. We’ve seen how quiet he was. He can’t really say nothing.”

Lawal (14-4 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) admits he’s always carried Ortiz (18-11-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) in high regard. Both men entered the sport with wrestling backgrounds and have somewhat comparable fighting styles.

While Lawal said he used to respect Ortiz for everything he’s done to build the sport, the controversial Instagram photo convinced him to push for the fight against the UFC Hall of Famer.

“People think, ‘Mo’s trying to start something.’ I’m like, ‘No, this dude starting something by mentioning my name,’” Lawal said. “If you’ve seen every interview I’ve done prior to this incident where they ask about Tito, I’ve said good things. I never said anything bad about him, period, because I knew he didn’t want to fight me. But as soon as he opened his mouth and mentioned me and talked my name, then I was like, ‘All right, if you’re going to talk the talk, then walk the walk.’”

Lawal defeated Joe Vedepo by TKO at Bellator 131 while Ortiz edged Stephan Bonnar by split decision in the event headliner. As two of the most well known members of Bellator’s 205-pound weight class, there aren’t many realistic options outside of each other.

It would seem logical to pair the two sides together in the near future. Lawal wants to make the fight happen, and he believes Bellator and Spike TV do, as well. However, he insists Ortiz won’t sign a bout agreement.

“I’m pretty sure Spike’s interested, but I don’t think Tito’s really that interested,” Lawal said. “You look at his answers and he’s just fake and bogus. He thinks he’s a tough guy, but he’s really not.

“He’s starting to say, ‘You’re ghetto and blah blah.’ OK, whatever, you can say what you want. You learn from an ass whooping. He doesn’t want to fight me because he knows better.”

While Lawal would like nothing more than to fight someone with Ortiz’s name value, he’s not going to exhaust himself to make it happen. Since engaging in a war of words at the Bellator 131 post-fight press conference, the conversation between Lawal and Ortiz has spilled over onto social media.

Lawal is no stranger to trash talk, but in the end, he doesn’t want to compete against anyone who doesn’t want to compete against him. Unless Ortiz is 100 percent committed to the matchup, Lawal plans to move on.

“Tito, just be a man – if you don’t want to fight me, then just say you don’t,” Lawal said. “I ain’t going to be mad. As long as you bump your gums and talk about me, then you might as well fight me then. Don’t be no b—h. You can call me hood and ghetto or whatever – call me what you want, but I ain’t no b—h like you.”

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