When Muhammed Lawal returns to the Bellator MMA cage on Friday in Ireland, he won't be using the trip to do any sightseeing or kiss the Blarney Stone. He's only there for business.
"I ain't going to Ireland to kiss no damn rock. I'm going to Ireland to kick some ass," Lawal told ESPN.com. "It's cold. Whatever I want to see I can see on TV."
Lawal (19-5), better known as "King Mo," takes on Satoshi Ishii (14-6-1) in the main event of Bellator 169, which emanates from 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The bout will be at heavyweight, the second time Lawal will fight in the division with the promotion. That doesn't mean he has packed on extra weight, however. Lawal says he'll be lucky to tip the scales at 215 pounds, compared to Ishii, who is listed at 240. The lighter combatant isn't concerned about the weight difference.
"I'm undefeated at heavyweight. When I fought Cheick Kongo he was like 240, a solid 240," Lawal said.
Last time out at Bellator 154 in May, Lawal's seven-fight win streak was snapped in a No. 1 contender's fight with Phil Davis. It was a tight battle, with Davis landing the biggest strike of the fight in the third round, a cracking right hand that dropped Lawal to the canvas. Lawal, who has always been tough to put away, survived the rush. But all three judges awarded the fight to Davis, who went on to win the Bellator title in November against Liam McGeary by unanimous decision.
Months after the Davis fight, Lawal still wholeheartedly disagrees with the decision, which saw two judges score it 30-27 and the third score it 29-28. Lawal believes he won the first two rounds, landing the more significant strikes.
This has become a theme with Lawal, who also criticized the judging of his split-decision victory over Kongo in February 2015.
"If judges can't watch and see who's winning, then why have them?" Lawal said.
Based on their career numbers, there is plenty of potential for a stoppage in this bout. Lawal has won 13 of 19 fights by knockout while Ishii has seen all six of his defeats come by knockout. Still, Lawal says he won't be looking to force anything despite his common displeasure with judges.
"Every fighter tries to go out there and finish the fight. The thing is that you can't finish them all," he said. "They say, 'Don't let it go to the judges.' Well, if they say that, then why have judges?"
The matchup pits two styles of grappling against each other, with Lawal bringing his high-caliber freestyle wrestling credentials into the cage against an Olympic gold medalist in judo. Lawal, a former Strikeforce champion, has gotten a firsthand look at Ishii's game by training with him in the past.
Lawal says the pair trained around three years ago at Mike's Gym in Amsterdam, a kickboxing powerhouse that has seen the likes of Melvin Manhoef and Badr Hari train there. In addition to that locale, Lawal says he and Ishii trained in California in the past. Based on that time together and what his coaches at American Top Team have seen, Lawal is confident he knows what to do to be victorious.
"I've got striking, wrestling. There's a lot of things I can do," he said. "I have more than one way to win the fight. He's tricky and he hits strong, so I just got be smart and make sure I don't hang out in positions that he's comfortable in. My thing is I just want to keep him uncomfortable."
Ishii made his Bellator debut back in June at Bellator 157, losing a split-decision to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. It marked the second consecutive loss for the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, just seven months after he was knocked out in the first round by Jiri Prochazka in the quarterfinals of the Rizin Heavyweight Grand Prix. Lawal ended up knocking out Prochazka in the finals of the tournament.
Lawal represented the Bellator brand in Rizin's debut last year, and much like he did in Japan last December, he will lead the way for Bellator's Irish debut this year. He has never been afraid to speak his mind, whether it be about judging, former Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney or many other topics. People may champion or hate his comments, but there is always a reaction, and being authentically Muhammed Lawal has gotten him to where he is today.
"I just kind of do what I feel like doing. Sometimes I forget that people actually watch me fight," Lawal said. "It's a double-edged sword. Some people hate it. Some people like it. They want me to be like something else, but I can't. I refuse to do that."