"King" Mo Lawal will begin his journey to reclaim his light heavyweight title when he takes on the red-hot, up-and-coming Ovince St. Preux at Strikeforce: "Overeem vs. Werdum," which is slated for the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on June 18, 2011.
The promotion today announced the 205-pound showdown, which pits two of the most athletic fighters on its roster opposite one another.
Lawal recently sustained the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career, getting taken out by Rafael Cavalcante in the third round of their title fight via technical knockout (strikes) in Aug. 2010. "Feijao" turned around and coughed up the belt to Dan Henderson seven months later also via technical knockout (strikes) in round three.
"King" initially won the Strikeforce 205-pound world title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Gegard Mousassi in April 2010.
He's an Olympic-level wrestler who relies on hus superior mat skills often to dictate the paces -- and outcomes -- of his fights. It's definitely going to be a concern for St. Preux, a former linebacker at the University of Tennessee, as he prepares for the biggest test of his young career.
St. Preux is currently on a roll, winning his last seven fights. His three most recent wins under the Strikeforce banner, however, have been the most impressive.
Antwain Britt, Benji Radach and Ron Humphrey have all fallen via decision to the "Vol" alum. Prior to decision mania, St. Preux finished four straight opponents within the first round.
He'll likely have to get back to finishing fights this summer because taking a decision from Lawal would appear to be next to impossible ... unless St. Preux's takedown defense is out of this world.
Strikeforce: "Overeem vs. Werdum" will feature the second leg of the promotion's heavyweight tournament, featuring match ups that pit Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers.
Gina Carano has also been announced for the card; however, her opponent is still unknown at this time.
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