Bellator “Money weight” kingpin Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (20-5-1) has been confirmed as a late addition to Rizin FF end of year open-weight world grand prix.
The American has been drafted in as a late replacement for Pride and UFC veteran Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1) who was forced to withdraw through injury and the American Top Team trained fighter will face Mirko Filipovic (32-11-2) in the quarter-finals.
This announcement comes fast off the heels of King Mo’s unanimous decision win over Olympic judo Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii (14-7-1) at last weekends Bellator 169 which took place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
Other bouts announced for the grand prix include former UFC and PRIDE fighter Heath Herring (28-14), who returns after a 8-year hiatus to replace Shane Carwin (12-2) and will fight Amir Aliakbari (3-0).
The 35-year-old former Strikeforce Champion defeated Brett McDermott, Teodoras Aukstuolis and Jiri Prochazka en route to winning the heavyweight tournament last year, now the “King” looks to retain his crown in this years two night tournament.
Rizin FF 3 takes begins on Thursday, December 29 2016 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and Rizin FF 4 begins on Saturday, December 31 2016.
Rizin FF 3 updated open-weight world grand prix card
Muhammed Lawal vs. Mirko Filipovic
Heath Herring vs. Amir Aliakbari
Kaido Hoovelson vs. Tsuyoshi Kosaka
Valentin Moldavsky vs. Szymon Bajor
