King Mo and Jiri Prochazka are set to meet at Rizin 15, with the winner becoming to the first ever Rizin Light Heavyweight Champion.
One thing the Bellator MMA veteran knows is that Rizin officials want Prochazka to get the win at Rizin 15.
“They want Jiri to beat me because they’re pushing him, that’s their man,” Lawal said to MMA Junkie. “I’m not. They want me to come in there and lose to him. But it’s not going to happen, I’m going to come in there and fight him very hard and beat him.”
Mo defeated Prochazka in their first encounter at a Rizin event on 2015, but Prochazka has gone undefeated since that first encounter.
The Bellator MMA veteran knows that he will come into the fight undersized, but Mo says that’s the risk of being a throwback fighter.
“I’m undersized a little bit, but at the same time, I’m trying to be a throwback fighter,” Lawal said. “[Royce] Gracie wasn’t complaining about being undersized. I just go out there and fight, man. BJ Penn wasn’t complaining. B.J. Penn is a man. Dan Henderson wasn’t complaining. So I’m not going to go complain, I’m just going to go out there and fight.”
Rizin 15 takes place on Sunday, April 21 from the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan with Kyoji Horiguchi and Ben Nguyen headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on Fite TV.
