Muhammed Lawal was in the locker room at UFC Fight Night 80 earlier this month with teammate Antonio Carlos Junior. "King Mo" had heard about rising prospect Aljamain Sterling, but that was the first time the two met.
Lawal asked Sterling if he was the co-main event of the card. Sterling told him he was on the prelims. "Mo" was floored and, later, pretty captivated by Sterling's performance in a second-round submission win over Johnny Eduardo.
"It wasn't even a close fight," Lawal told MMA Fighting. "When I watched the fight, Sterling was fighting in like the first gear.