Former light-heavyweight champion Liam McGeary (12-3 MMA) returns to action December 15th, at Bellator 213 when he takes on Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (21-7 MMA) at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The now 36-year old is looking to rebound from consecutive losses. Liam McGeary lost to Linton Vassell in May of 2017 at Bellator 179. He then suffered a leg injury in his bout against Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 194 earlier this year in February. It is the first time in his career McGeary dropped back-to-back losses.
“I know what I can do. I still know what I can do. It’s like my last fights, I lost in a row, there was shit going on that was [bothering] me and that kind of came into the cage with me, and well you know the results. You’ve seen the results.” McGeary explained to MMASucka about his last two performances.
When asked about what was exactly bothering him, and to touch upon what was affecting him Liam had the following to reply: “Just shit going on in my head, stuff going on. That’s all. There’s always stuff going on in fighter’s head. That was all that was going on.”
McGeary Vs King Mo
The second fight of the main card features a bout between two world-class light heavyweights. The winner will be thrown right back into title contention. The loser, however, will be sent further down the chain, looking up at the deep pool of contenders. Both Liam McGeary and ‘King Mo’ find themselves in similar situations. ‘King Mo’ is coming off a 15-second knockout loss to Ryan Bader in the opening stanza of their Heavyweight Grand Prix bout.
Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal is a very dangerous and very decorated light-heavyweight. He is the former Bellator champion and RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2015 winner. Lawal also holds victories over some of the best in the world.
From Bar Brawler to Bellator Champion
Liam McGeary began his professional MMA career much differently than most. He began his resume as a slugger in bars at the pubs around him in the United Kingdom. Obviously, after getting arrested a few times, he realized he should keep his love of fighting away from the bars.
“I started off fighting by getting into drunken fights on the weekend. Pretty much how my fighting career started. I didn’t start training until January 2009. That was when the recession kicked in and there was no more work [left]. I kind of needed something else to do, I didn’t want to go delivering T.V’s or anything like that anymore. So yeah, I just kind of jumped into training.”
He only began getting formal training in MMA in 2009. That is the same time he took his first professional fight.
“One coach pulled me aside [when I was 27] after about 6-7 months or even a year and he told me I can take this (fighting) where ever you want to take it. I thought he was pulling my leg, you know? But then he’s like no seriously, you can take this where ever you want. Then 2012 I ended up coming over here (Bellator) and in 2015 I was crowned champion.”
“I don’t think anyone believed in me, to be honest with ya. [Especially] when I first got in there. I noticed now, looking back on the fights, I always had the blue gloves on, always thought that the guys on the other side are gonna beat me.”
Instant Impact at Bellator
Even with his unorthodox upbringing in the sport, Liam McGeary made the most of his opportunities. When Bellator signed the Brit, he was 3-0 as a professional. McGeary went on a 6-fight winning streak, where he ended all of his opponents in the first round.
He was rewarded with a title shot against Emmanuel Newton. He won via unanimous decision, then followed that performance with a successful title defense against Tito Ortiz.
“I never had no amateur fights or anything like that. Literally just jumped straight into [MMA]. Like I said, I was fed up getting arrested and getting in trouble for fighting. I knew I could fight, I just didn’t know how to do it properly. Then I landed in Jersey and I went to this gym when I was 21, and I trained one jiu-jitsu session and it was really good, but then I realized I was 21 on an island filled with woman and there weren’t a lot of people of my kind there, so I [decided] to go drink and party and enjoy myself.”
Liam McGeary has a tough opponent in front of him in the form of ‘King Mo’. Both men are former Bellator light-heavyweight champions. Each carries remarkable knockout power and have the skills to finish their opponents wherever the fight goes.
Be sure to catch Bellator 213 THIS Saturday, December 15th at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The event is stacked with pure talent, and a good show is almost guaranteed.
