Muhammed Lawal competed in football, earning All-District honors as a linebacker during his junior season and as a wide receiver in his senior season.
61 Facts About Muhammed Lawal
2.
Muhammed Lawal went on to compete in NCAA Division II wrestling at the University of Central Oklahoma.
3.
Muhammed Lawal finished in 2nd place in the nation in 2001 and was a national champion in 2002.
4.
Muhammed Lawal became a Big 12 Conference Champion and Division I All-American in 2003 for Oklahoma State, where he finished in third place for the 197 pound division.
5.
Muhammed Lawal was the university freestyle national champion at 185 pounds that year.
6.
Muhammed Lawal competed in the newly formed Real Pro Wrestling league and became the champion of the 184 pound weight class in 2004.
7.
Muhammed Lawal won the Senior US national championship in freestyle wrestling three times - in 2005,2006 and 2008.
8.
Muhammed Lawal represented the US at the 2005 World Wrestling Championships, where he finished in 7th place.
9.
Muhammed Lawal controversially lost his match to Sazhid Sazhidov of Russia when he was penalized a point for passivity with 1 second remaining in a match he was winning, giving Sazhidov the win.
10.
For over three years, Muhammed Lawal was the number one ranked wrestler in the United States in the 84 kilogram division.
11.
At Sengoku 6, Muhammed Lawal fought Fabio Silva on November 1,2008, defeating him in the third round via strikes.
12.
On January 4,2009 Muhammed Lawal faced Yukiya Naito at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009, defeating him in the first round with punches.
13.
On March 20,2009 at Sengoku 7, Muhammed Lawal defeated Ryo Kawamura by unanimous decision.
14.
Muhammed Lawal defeated Kerr by technical knockout 25 seconds into the fight.
15.
On October 13,2009, it was announced that Muhammed Lawal had signed a multi-fight contract with US based promotion Strikeforce.
16.
Muhammed Lawal came in showing relaxed hands and strong counter punching and caught Whitehead with a strong right which dropped him.
17.
Muhammed Lawal followed up with three punches causing the referee to stop the fight.
18.
Muhammed Lawal was out of action until mid-2011 after undergoing surgery to repair a knee injury.
19.
Muhammed Lawal was scheduled to fight Roger Gracie at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Henderson on July 30,2011.
20.
Muhammed Lawal garnered his second straight victory, defeating previously unbeaten Lorenz Larkin at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine via second-round KO.
21.
However, Muhammed Lawal tested positive for anabolic steroids and as a result of the banned substance, the fight's result has been changed to a no contest while Muhammed Lawal will have his license suspended for one year.
22.
Muhammed Lawal was released from Strikeforce following comments he made on Twitter regarding Pat Lundvall after his hearing for his drug test.
23.
On May 10,2012, it was reported that Muhammed Lawal had signed a contract with the mixed martial arts promotion Bellator Fighting Championships.
24.
On January 24,2013, Muhammed Lawal made his Bellator debut as a participant in the Season 8 light heavyweight tournament.
25.
Muhammed Lawal defeated Przemyslaw Mysiala in the quarterfinal round via right hook.
26.
Muhammed Lawal faced Emanuel Newton in the semifinals on February 21,2013 at Bellator 90.
27.
Muhammed Lawal faced Seth Petruzelli in the opening round of a 4-man tournament at Bellator 96 on June 19,2013, he won the fight by KO due to a punch in full guard at 1:35 of the first round.
28.
Muhammed Lawal next faced Jacob Noe at Bellator 97 in the light heavyweight tournament final.
29.
Muhammed Lawal won via TKO due to punches in round three to win the Bellator 2013 Summer Series light heavyweight tournament.
30.
Muhammed Lawal faced Emanuel Newton in a rematch for the Interim Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship on November 2,2013 at Bellator 106.
31.
Muhammed Lawal entered into the Bellator season ten light heavyweight tournament on February 28,2014.
32.
Muhammed Lawal faced Mikhail Zayats in the semifinals at Bellator 110 and won the fight via unanimous decision.
33.
Muhammed Lawal faced Quinton Jackson in the tournament final for a title shot.
34.
Muhammed Lawal was scheduled to fight Tom DeBlass on September 5,2014 at Bellator 123; however, Tom DeBlass suffered a knee injury and was forced off the card.
35.
Muhammed Lawal was expected to fight replacement Marcus Sursa at Bellator 123; however instead faced Dustin Jacoby.
36.
Muhammed Lawal was again expected to face Tom DeBlass on November 15,2014 at Bellator 131.
37.
Muhammed Lawal won via TKO due to punches in the third round.
38.
Muhammed Lawal faced Cheick Kongo in a heavyweight bout on February 27,2015 at Bellator 134.
39.
Muhammed Lawal faced Linton Vassell in the opening round and won by unanimous decision.
40.
However, Muhammed Lawal was unable to advance to the finals due to a rib injury.
41.
Muhammed Lawal faced Phil Davis at Bellator 154 on May 14,2016.
42.
Muhammed Lawal faced Satoshi Ishii at Bellator 169 on December 16,2016.
43.
Muhammed Lawal faced Quinton Jackson in a rematch at Bellator 175 on March 31,2017.
44.
Muhammed Lawal won the fight via unanimous decision, thus avenging his previous loss to Jackson.
45.
Muhammed Lawal was expected to face Liam McGeary at Bellator 185 on October 20,2017.
46.
Muhammed Lawal faced Ryan Bader in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix for the Bellator Heavyweight championship at Bellator 199 on May 12,2018.
47.
Muhammed Lawal lost the fight via TKO just 15 seconds into the first round.
48.
Muhammed Lawal faced former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion Liam McGeary at Bellator 213 on December 15,2018.
49.
Muhammed Lawal lost the fight via TKO in the third round.
50.
On November 6,2015, RIZIN Fighting Federation announced that Muhammed Lawal would represent Bellator in 8-man tourney at New Year's Eve Rizin card in Japan.
51.
Muhammed Lawal won the fight via knockout in the first round.
52.
Muhammed Lawal faced Teodoras Aukstuolis in the semi-final round on December 31,2015 and won via unanimous decision after two rounds.
53.
On December 29,2016, Muhammed Lawal returned to Rizin FF as a participant in the Openweight Grand-Prix, replacing an injured Wanderlei Silva in a bout against Mirko Cro Cop.
54.
Muhammed Lawal was a professional wrestling fan from an early age.
55.
Muhammed Lawal spent a week at Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory, before ultimately rejecting the contract offer, instead opting to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.
56.
In May 2012, upon signing with Bellator Fighting Championships, Muhammed Lawal signed a separate contract with the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, with the intention of simultaneously pursuing careers in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling.
57.
Muhammed Lawal stated that he expected to appear with TNA "two or three times a month or whenever they can book me" and that "if I have a fight coming up, I won't be doing shows or taping".
58.
Muhammed Lawal made his first appearance in TNA on the October 4,2012 episode of Impact Wrestling.
59.
Muhammed Lawal went on to serve as a special guest enforcer for a street fight between Bobby Roode and James Storm at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view on October 14,2012.
60.
Muhammed Lawal won his debut match for the promotion, which aired on their Thanksgiving episode of MLW Fusion via submission.
61.
Muhammed Lawal has a younger brother named Abdullah and a younger sister named Aminat.