MMA-URLS

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has had a very trying year. Along with testing positive for a banned substance, Lawal has been forced to battle a deadly Staph infection that nearly took his life. Lawal, a former wrestling standout and ex-Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, talked with Ben Fowlkes of Sports Illustrated recently, where he discussed the infection – and just how close he was to giving up. I had this moment where I was like, man, I can see my hip bone. I was ripped still. I had an eight-pack. But there’s my hip bone. I looked at my leg, and it looked like those zombies from ‘The Walking Dead.’ That’s how it looks right now. I’m getting to where I can kind of strengthen it, doing leg lifts and stuff. But I looked in the mirror and was like, man, look at me. I didn’t know it was that bad until then. I got to the point where I was like, (expletive) it. I just felt like, hey, I’m going to quit taking this medicine and if I die then I die. I’m tired of this stuff. Lawal went on to talk about looking death in the face and surviving. Now, he plans on taking back his career and his life after battling through his illness. It remains to be seen what happens with Lawal in terms of a possible suspension for his positive test, but after dealing with something as serious as this infection, nothing else could be as bad. Photo credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog

Posted in: life, ben fowlkes, lawal, staph infection, infection

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In mixed martial arts (MMA), like any other contact sport, athletes run the risk of many injuries, whether they are temporary or career-ending. Whether it's a sprained ankle, bruised eyes or broken bones, injuries are a never-ending possibility. In MMA, injuries happen on a daily basis. But aside from being forced out of a fight because of training too hard in the gym, MMA fighters run the risk of staph infection, due to the fact that they are in constant contact with another competitor. Whether rolling on the floor brushing up on their Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills or upping their wrestling techniques, the risk is always present. Staph infection can be a brutal reality, as former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal recently discovered with his own, very serious life threatening battle with the illness. But how bad was it? According to "King Mo," the whole ordeal, including the treatment, was enough to almost throw the towel in on his life. At least that's what American Kickboxing Academy (AKA)-trained fighter told Sports Illustrated. Check it out: "I had this moment where I was like, man, I can see my hip bone. I was ripped still. I had an eight-pack. But there's my hip bone. I looked at my leg, and it looked like those zombies from The Walking Dead. That's how it looks right now. I'm getting to where I can kind of strengthen it, doing leg lifts and stuff. But I looked in the mirror and was like, man, look at me. I didn't know it was that bad until then." Having had enough, Lawal says that throughout his ordeal, he came close to stop taking his medicine to battle the infection, even if it meant losing his life: "I got to the point where I was like, [expletive] it. I just felt like, hey, I'm going to quit taking this medicine, and if I die then I die. I'm tired of this stuff." Now that he seems to be doing better, "King Mo" misses the daily grind of training for a fight and has a new found appreciation for life: "I feel like I looked death in the face, and I survived. I'm talking death of my career, and death in life. I faced that. It was tough. It really did make me appreciate my life, just my everyday life. I used to think, not that I hated working out, but that I hated feeling tired. Now, I miss feeling tired. I miss getting punched, kicked, kneed, elbowed. I miss all that." There is no word on when he will return to action, aside from dealing with his health issues, Lawal also has to tend to another important matter at hand -- his positive steroid test (Drostanolone) following his Jan. 7, 2012, technical knockout (TKO) win over Lorenz Larkin at the Strikeforce: "Rockhold vs. Jardine" Showtime event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Given the circumstances, it's safe to say that, though a crucial blow to his fight career, the positive test issues he has with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) may seem like a walk in the park when compared to his recent life-threating health scare.

Posted in: life, lawal, staph infection, infection, life i

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A win is a win. Many people like to live by that motto, believing it doesn't matter how you earned the victory, but rather, the important thing is that you got it. Apparently, Strikeforce lightweight number one contender Josh Thomson doesn't live by that saying. "The Punk" got back into the win column as he defeated K.J. Noons via unanimous decision in what was a lackluster affair at last night's (Mar., 3, 2012) Strikeforce: "Tate vs. Rousey" event from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Thomson, who hadn't seen action in 15 months, entered the Hexagon looking to prove his bout with Noons should have been the headliner ahead of women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey. His actions didn't speak louder than his words, however, as Thomson failed to get off any major offense and spent the majority of the contest using his wrestling skills to control the pace on the ground, which prompted some boos from the crowd. Much to his disappointment. "I was disappointed in my performance. We tried something new for this camp and I had a long camp, 12 weeks, plenty of time to get in shape. The 15 months off, coming back, I got staph (infection) twice so that was two weeks of my camp gone, I also got sick in the middle of that and I just couldn't train as hard as I needed to and we were trying to switch up the camp and make it different to ease the pain of maybe getting hurt, since I've been getting hurt. Obviously, you saw tonight that it didn't work. I got the win, I hate fighting like that, disappoints me that people boo. It's the entertainment business and that's not the way I like to win." Though the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) trained fighter wasn't pleased with his performance, he's (likely) earned the right to face the promotion's 155-pound champion, Gilbert Melendez. The contest will be the third time the two have met, having split wins in their first two contests. With plenty of time to improve his health, and possibly his overall mixed marital arts (MMA) game, it will be interesting to see what kind of outing "The Punk" has against one of the best lightweights in the world when he, once again, battles "El Nino." Hear Thomson's post-fight remarks, after the jump: For complete Strikeforce results from last night's "Tate vs. Rousey" event click here and here.

Posted in: strikeforce, camp, thomson, staph infection, performance hes

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After undergoing a seventh procedure on Sunday to remove infectious matter from his recently repaired knee, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal is biding his time. Antibiotics that had to be administered 24 hours a day via a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line have been switched to another type that are administered twice a day. Lawal hopes the new treatment will kill the staph infection that nearly cost him his leg following ACL surgery this past month. In the meantime, he's hooked up to two machines that drain excess blood and pus.

Posted in: lawal, staph infection, acl surgery, day lawal, time antibiotics

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The only fighter in MMA history who consistently wore sunglasses indoors and continued unequivocal dominance was Cyborg Santos, but her career has been overshadowed by drug tests that yielded results positive for anabolic steroids. King Mo is in the exact same position in addition to succumbing to a staph infection that nearly led to the amputation of one of his legs. Even Melvin Guillard’s dominance over the 155lb division has caught up with him as he lost to two sequential fights where he was the betting favorite with the exact same rear naked choke submission. Perhaps people will continue to insist that these things are just some sort of funky coincidence; that the sunglasses had nothing to do with it, but you would be naive to think that. Wearing sunglasses indoors ends careers in MMA. At this point, it’s not a hypothesis. You can try to argue a case for why any man, woman, or cyborg would need to wear sunglasses indoors, but I’ll just turn my back and walk away while you’re mid-sentence. I don’t care why you do it, it’s silly, and it makes you look as foolish as this guy interviewing “Stitch” Duran – one of the best cut-men in the industry while he discusses the bloodiest fight he has ever worked, and how Dana White refuses to release the video.

Posted in: i ’ll, staph infection, man woman, sunglasses indoors, sunglasses

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Strikeforce light heavyweight Muhammed Lawal has faced some stiff opposition in his career as both a Mixed Martial Artist and collegiate wrestler but none of those fights compare to the one he fought a few weeks ago inside a hospital. Lawal, who intentionally kept his situation on the down-low, found himself in the midst of a serious medical situation due to a staph infection. While the 31-year old former champion had dealt with staph infection before, this particular case involved a knee he had recently undergone an operation on. “I had an ACL replacement again, but that wasn’t a big deal. I think what got me was the micro-fracture surgery. The micro-fractures got infected with staph, and I ended up in the hospital for about twelve days,” said Lawal in an interview with CagePotato. “I didn’t want people to know I was in the hospital, so if people texted me, I didn’t tell them. I was in pain and damned near dying. They gave me morphine. It was crazy. I was trying to keep it normal, and get back to the people that were texting me, telling them that I was okay, so that it wouldn’t get out that I was in the hospital.” Lawal Responds to Allegations of Steroid Use He said he first noticed things were wrong during the UFC on FOX 2 weekend when his leg felt “hot” and he had developed a number of lumps in his knee. Lawal spoke to his doctor who drained the knee, tested the “Ghostbusters ectoplasm” out, and discovered the infection. Lawal was then rushed to the hospital where he underwent five separate procedures before things were finally resolved. PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE Tweet

Posted in: people, lawal, hospital, staph infection, staph

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Strikeforce light heavyweight Muhammed Lawal has faced some stiff opposition in his career as both a Mixed Martial Artist and collegiate wrestler but none of those fights compare to the one he fought a few weeks ago inside a hospital. Lawal, who intentionally kept his situation on the down-low, found himself in the midst of a serious medical situation due to a staph infection. While the 31-year old former champion had dealt with staph infection before, this particular case involved a knee he had recently undergone an operation on. “I had an ACL replacement again, but that wasn’t a big deal. I think what got me was the micro-fracture surgery. The micro-fractures got infected with staph, and I ended up in the hospital for about twelve days,” said Lawal in an interview with CagePotato. “I didn’t want people to know I was in the hospital, so if people texted me, I didn’t tell them. I was in pain and damn near dying. They gave me morphine. It was crazy. I was trying to keep it normal, and get back to the people that were texting me, telling them that I was okay, so that it wouldn’t get out that I was in the hospital.” Lawal Responds to Allegations of Steroid Use He said he first noticed things were wrong during the UFC on FOX 2 weekend when his leg felt “hot” and he had developed a number of lumps in his knee. Lawal spoke to his doctor who drained the knee, tested the “Ghostbusters ectoplasm” out, and discovered the infection. Lawal was then rushed to the hospital where he underwent five separate procedures before things were finally resolved. PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE Tweet

Posted in: people, lawal, hospital, staph infection, staph

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King Mo talks to Heavy.com’s Megan Olivi about his positive steroid test and a serious staph infection he’s recovering from that nearly became life-threatening.

Posted in: mo, king, staph infection, staph, infection

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At UFC 140 next weekend, former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir faces Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the semi-main event. The fight is a rematch from UFC 92, where Mir defeated Minotauro to claim the interim UFC crown. At the time, Nogueira was an incredible 31-4-1 with his only loses since 2000 coming at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett. He was the heavy favorite to Mir, who was only a few fights removed from his terrible comeback run in 2006. But Frank Mir pulled off an incredible upset, not only defeating Nogueira, but stopping him with stand-up - a feat no man had yet accomplished. After the fight, talk began to surface of Nogueira suffering a staph infection, and people began to question Mir's win. Now, the narrative of the UFC 140 rematch is largely based around the idea of Mir proving that the win was not a fluke. But Frank Mir doesn't see the story that way. [T]here's nothing to prove there. In his recent blog post over at SportsNet, Mir outlines exactly why this shouldn't be the story of the fight: I've been asked if I want to "prove" whether my second-round TKO of Big Nog was legitimate or not, but, quite honestly, there's nothing to prove there. I won the last fight, which took place three years ago in Las Vegas, because I was the better fighter on the night. After the fight there were all sorts of excuses that Nog was hurt, that he had a staph infection but I personally don't think his staph infection played much part in the fight itself, or the result at the end of it all. I think I would have beaten him in the exact same manner, TKO in a couple of rounds, staph infection or not. Maybe without the problem he could have increased his pace and tempo a little bit more, but, in hindsight, we really didn't fight that type of fight anyway. He fought a very calm and calculated type of fight and he looked to pick me apart with single shots from range. If we'd started having a hard grappling match and Nogueira backed off or refused to engage then, yes, it could have attributed the win to him not being 100 per cent on the night. I could have looked at that scenario and said, "Yeah, Nogueira wasn't really Nogueira tonight." As it turned out, though, that didn't happen at all and I don't feel there's any reason I need to "prove" anything regarding that result. Me punching him in the chin repeatedly had nothing to do with a staph infection, believe me. I could be sick as hell going into a fight, but I still remember and can perform the necessary techniques to get me out of trouble. The problem is, you can't keep repeating those techniques over a length of time, as you have nothing much in the tank. Nogueira lost that fight because my striking technique was better than his and that could be the reason he loses this rematch, too. Mir's last point, about Nog forgetting his fundamentals and leaving his chin exposed, is hard to argue with. That was a fundamental issue for Minotauro in the first fight right from the opening bell. But it's also a bit unfair of him to say that Nog fought a "calm and calculated fight" without acknowledging that the reason for this choice could have been the illness. Regardless of what happened leading into UFC 92, today two things are clear. 1. Frank Mir defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and he did it fair and square. He was the better man that night. 2. Despite that, some critics still think Mir does have to prove something. And at UFC 140, he'll have his chance to silence them once again. This section on the first fight is just an excerpt from the lengthy, and fascinating blog. I strongly encourage you to read the entire article, as Mir goes into the changes he's made to his training regime as he has gotten older, and the kind of sacrifices and drive it takes to succeed. Mir has always been one of the most eloquent fighters, and it's great to see this kind of real insight into his mind heading into a big fight.

Posted in: ufc, fight, nogueira, mir, staph infection

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Filed under: UFC, NewsThree years ago, Frank Mir defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92 in a one-sided beating that many of Nogueira's supporters blamed on a staph infection that had plagued Nogueira during his training camp. After three years of hearing people suggest that he only beat Nogueira because of that staph infection, Mir has heard enough. In comments to the media Thursday during a promotional call for his UFC 140 rematch with Nogueira, Mir said he thinks fighters who blame a sluggish performance on illnesses or injuries are doing a disservice to their opponents, and that he's tired of all the talk that the staph infection had something to do with Mir's second-round technical knockout victory in December of 2008. "There were a lot of words, circumstances surrounding the last victory how legitimate it could possibly be because of the illness of Nogueira," Mir said of what he's heard about his victory over Nogueira. Mir then added, "No excuses afterward." Although Mir said he realizes that health problems can affect a fighter, he thinks that if you agree to take a fight, it's disrespectful to your opponent to bring up those health issues after the fact. "As fighters, any time you say you lost because of injury, that's a strike against your opponent," Mir said. "No, the guy in front of you beat you." In his last two fights, Mir beat Roy Nelson and Mirko Cro Cop, and he said he believes he's getting close to heavyweight title contention if he makes it three in a row against Nogueira. But Mir said he's expecting to see an even better version of Nogueira at UFC 140, considering how impressive Nogueira looked in his victory over Brendan Schaub in August. "His confidence has to be up higher," Mir said. "You see it in all sports, when people's confidence is high that can be the difference between them being successful and not." And if he is able to beat a Nogueira who's riding high after beating Schaub, Mir won't want to hear any excuses. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: nogueira, mir, he, staph infection, nogueira mir

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"I won the last fight, which took place three years ago in Las Vegas, because I was the better fighter on the night. After the fight there were all sorts of excuses that Nog was hurt, that he had a staph infection but I personally don't think his staph infection played much part in the fight itself, or the result at the end of it all. Me punching him in the chin repeatedly had nothing to do with a staph infection, believe me. I could be sick as hell going into a fight, but I still remember and can perform the necessary techniques to get me out of trouble. The problem is, you can't keep repeating those techniques over a length of time, as you have nothing much in the tank. Nogueira lost that fight because my striking technique was better than his and that could be the reason he loses this rematch, too." -- Frank Mir is "ultimate blogging" over at Sportsnet.ca and, surprise surprise, he's still defending his UFC 92 win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, which took place three years ago. Mir ran through "Minotauro" that night, frequently battering the Pride legend before becoming the first man to stop him via strikes in 37 professional fights. To be blunt about it, "Big Nog" looked old and slow during the bout, even more so than normal. As we learned later, Nogueira had been suffering from a severe staph infection in the weeks leading up to the contest. It was apparently so bad, in fact, that he spent time in the hospital recovering from the sickness, which sapped his energy and greatly affected his training and preparation. In short, the Nogueira who Mir defeated that night was a shell of the Nogueira who Mir wants to think he beat that night. The good news? The two will lock 'em up one more time at UFC 140 on Dec. 10 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and all of this can be fleshed out, excuses be damned. A healthy Mir vs. a healthy Nogueira, Maniacs -- who 'ya got?

Posted in: fight, nogueira, mir, staph infection, staph

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Staph infection or not, "Big Nog" was destined to taste defeat at UFC 92. At least, that's according to Frank Mir, who insists that his 2008 victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had less to do with any infection and more to do with the punches that were delivered to the Brazilian's chin. Following the match-up, in which Mir became the first fighter ever to stop "Minotauro" via strikes...

Posted in: mir, staph infection, infection, taste defeat, brazilians chin

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