Ryo Kawamura came to the SENGOKU 7 press conference with his King of Pancrase belt slung over his shoulder and carried another one of his title belts under his arm. All the accolades and awards did nothing to help Kawamura when he stepped into the ring against “King Mo,” Muhammed Lawal on Friday, March 20, 2009 in Tokyo.
It was Mo’s fourth professional bout and it was Kawamura’s fifteenth. However, to the untrained eye watching the fight, one would swear Mo was the veteran. The Oklahoma State wrestling champion had his first pro MMA fight only six months ago and he is now headlining arenas in Japan in front of tens of thousands of fans. That is not normal.