"King Mo" Lawal. Photo credit: Esther Lin/Strikeforce

Rad Martinez vs. Shabulat Shamhalaev Also Confirmed For Utah Event

By FCF Staff

After making the most of his Bellator debut, by stopping Przemyslaw Mysiala last Thursday, “King Mo” Lawal will face Emanuel Newton in the light-heavyweight tournament semifinals on February 21st. The bout will take place at Utah’s Maverick Center.

Newton (19-7-1), on the other hand, tapped out Atanas Djambazov with a second round, rear-naked-choke in his quarterfinal bout on January 17th.

“I said it after my quarterfinal win, and I’ll say it again, I’m looking to smash this dude,” Lawal (9-1) said in a press release from the promotion. “Emanuel is a tough guy, but I know where my game is at, and if I focus on me, we won’t have any issues on February 21st.  I’m always looking for that first round knockout, and that’s it.”

“This is my time. Everyone knows Mo and what he brings to the table, and he’s the guy I have to get through to get to my belt,” Newton relayed. “The belt is what I’m here for, and it doesn’t matter who is in my way to get there.”

The February 21st card will also feature the featherweight tourney final between Rad Martinez and Shabulat Shamhalaev. The winner will earn $100,000 as well as a title shot.

Martinez (14-2) is coming off decision victories over Nazareno Malegarie and Wagnney Fabiano to advance to the finals, while Shamhalaev (11-1-1) stopped Cody Bollinger and Mike Richman in his tourney bouts.

“To have the opportunity to fight in Salt Lake City for the Bellator Featherweight Tournament Championship is just a dream come true,” Martinez said. “Utah has a great base of MMA fans, but we’ve never had a big MMA promotion come to Salt Lake City, so it’s a great honor to be headlining Utah’s first large scale MMA event.”

The February 21st event will be broadcast on SPIKE.