The days of long-reigning champs could be coming to an end, according Muhammed Lawal.
“King Mo,” a former Strikeforce champ and current coach at American Top Team, believes he’s identified a trend that could lead to more turnover at the highest levels of the sport. Physical traits are always important, but with fighters doing their due diligence before stepping into the cage, Lawal sees the playing field as more even than ever.
Advertisement
“It’s not guaranteed anybody will hold on to a belt, because like I said before, within the world of combat sports, trends change so fast,” Lawal told MMA Junkie Radio. “If you look at what’s going on now, all the talent is overseas.
“There’s no talent in America. It changes. One moment, Brazil is the hot country, the next moment it’s Canada, then America, then Nigeria, then here, then there, then everywhere. There’s so many trends that happen, we just gotta see what trend is hot at the moment, because I don’t know.”
Beyond the regional trends that have long been prevalent in MMA, fight teams are doing their homework more than before. A shining example was Jon Jones with his team at Jackson Wink MMA, which was the perfect blend of physical advantages to go with pre-fight prep. Jones famously avoided short-notice fights because he wanted to study each opponent like a school test.
Lawal sees that as a growing trend across the board.
Advertisement
“We went through a point where we had a dynasty where Jon Jones, guys were holding the belts for a while, but now, with sports science and people studying film, we’re in a fight IQ era right now,” Lawal said. “I said that last year. It’s all about fight IQ.”
Current examples include UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev and middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. Makhachev only has one loss in 18 UFC fights, while Chimaev is undefeated through nine. Lawal credits that to both fighters having great teams around them that help identify their opponents’ weaknesses, and staying focused on those opportunities to ensure they are victorious inside the cage.
Both recently captured their division’s title against fighters who were not on their level in the grappling department. Makhachev smothered Jack Della Maddalena on the mat, while Chimaev didn’t give Dricus Du Plessis any chance to stay upright.
“Instead of worrying about being bigger, stronger, faster, they’re being smarter,” Lawal said. “Implement gameplans, finding ways to win without taking much damage. (An example of that is) Islam, Chimaev.
Advertisement
“… Chimaev hit the UFC with the grand okie-doke, going out there saying, ‘I can strike. I can do this, I’ll strike.’ But the moment he faced a guy that was very insufficient with the grappling, he was like, ‘You know what guys, let me go back to my roots.’ He went out there and wrestled and grappled this guy for 24 minutes and 35 seconds. That was it. Just controlled him, and he used IQ because he knew this guy has nothing here for me. Let me beat him there. Same thing with Islam.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Fight IQ era: ‘King Mo’ Lawal identifies trend with UFC champs
