Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal isn’t keen on the idea that UFC featherweight Conor McGregor is getting all the praise for his ambition in moving up in weight to take on Nate Diaz. Although McGregor ultimately lost to Diaz by submission in their initial fight at UFC 196, many praised McGregor for his courage to fight in a higher weight class.
“King Mo” opened up about “moneyweight” and how he has been doing it for years, but even he cannot take the claim of pioneering it all.
“People want to credit Conor McGregor, how about guys like Din Thomas?” Lawal said at a Bellator media day Friday (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “Din Thomas is the original moneyweight fighter. Sakuraba was the original moneyweight fight. Royce Gracie was the original moneyweight fighter. I’m a throwback fighter. These guys back then didn’t care about weight class.”
McGregor and Diaz are set to rematch in another non-title welterweight bout in the main event of UFC 200 and Lawal wants to make it clear that it isn’t anything new.
“Now all of a sudden people want to give the credit to Conor?” Lawal said. “Or me? I don’t deserve credit for nothing. I’m copying what these guys did back in the past. These guys fought when there were no weight classes.”
Lawal went on to explain that Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey know how to entertain, which has resulted in them becoming such big stars.
“That’s why Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey get so much burn, because they understand that it’s entertainment,” Lawal said. “You gotta go out there and you gotta sell your product. That’s why they get so much burn. Some cats are like, ‘Well, he’s one hell of a competitor. I went out there and gave it my all and I came away with the victory.’ People are sitting there like, ‘Let me get some popcorn. F*ck what this dude is talking about.’”
“People want to be entertained,” Lawal said. “They want to be entertained when you’re coming to the cage, while you’re in the cage and when you leave the cage. They want to be entertained. That’s like pro-wrestling sh*t. I went to Ring of Honor and I was entertained from start to finish. I watched Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania was alright, it was good. But I was entertained. MMA, sometimes you’re like, ‘Damn this is boring.’”