King MO (9-1) showed real ground and pound skills in his most recent victory against rising star Lorenz Larkin (12-1). King Mo has one of the best amateur wrestling backgrounds (103-22) in all of Mixed Martial Arts. He comes out of Oklahoma State University and when he gets a takedown on his opponent his wrestling base is so good that he brutalizes them with vicious strikes from top position. He is a fighter that evolves in the game by working with many different fighters and strikers. He trains with AKA in San Jose and recently trained with Lyoto Machida. He frequently goes to Tulsa, Oklahoma and trains with Peppe Johnson, Gerald Harris, and boxing star Allen Green at Ghost Dog Boxing to train his striking and that's why you see his skills evolving from a wrestler to a well rounded fighter.

King Mo on going to the UFC
People wanting King Mo to go to the UFC are going to have to wait because he is very comfortable in Strikeforce and anyone wanting to fight him is going to have to do it under that banner. King Mo made it clear at the post fight press conference saying “its like this, I'm in Strikeforce, the fans asking me about the UFC, they stupid, man. I'm in Strikeforce. I can't be concerned what they say I have to worry bout my fights in Strikeforce.” Plain and simple Strikeforce needs a fighter like that, most of the other stars have went over to the UFC to fight or keep asking to be moved to the UFC.

Who's next for King Mo
We all seem to be on the King Mo Vs. Rampage Jackson bandwagon but the truth of the matter is Rampage has a fight with Ryan Bader at UFC Japan and Rampage needs to be focused on that fight. King Mo on the other hand is all about that money so I think that he will try to fight as many times as he can in 2012 and he wants to avenge his loss to Rafael “Faijao” Cavalcante first. King Mo was asked about fighting Gegard Mousasi again and he let everyone know that “Mousasi is the most boring fighter in MMA.” Gegard Mousasi has a lot of talent and gets wins but when you don't train for a fight with these athletes in the sport like King Mo they will beat you with athleticism and hard work.

My opinion of King Mo
We need a guy like him in MMA that has that Texas Swag and wears the crown to the cage. A guy who responds to fans and has conversations with them even though at one point deleted his twitter account to get more focused. The guy is a talented MMA fighter and can back up all his talk and antics in the cage and that's why he has become a fan favorite and also one of the most hated fighters in the MMA world. The fact that he is loyal to Strikeforce and wants to fight there means a lot to Strikeforce (pre-Zuffa) fans. The last thing I will add is that Rampage Vs. King Mo is a great match up for ZUFFA and would bring a lot more exposure to Strikeforce. I think Rampage and King Mo would agree as long as the money is right.


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