Interviews
MMATorch Interview: Emanuel Newton not concerned with King Mo's trash talk, looks to "knock his ass out again"
Oct 29, 2013 - 5:30:42 PM MMATorch Interview: Emanuel Newton not concerned with King Mo's trash talk, looks to "knock his ass out again"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Emanuel Newton pulled off one of the top knockouts of the year in February, taking out Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal with a spinning back fist at Bellator 90. He went on to defeat Mikhail Zayats to win the Bellator season eight light heavyweight tournament, but instead of getting a rematch with Attila Vegh for Bellator's Light Heavyweight Title, he finds himself once again matched up with Lawal this Saturday night at Bellator 106.

However, while he's deserving of a straight shot at the Champ, and had to go through a larger field than Lawal's four-man summer series win, Newton is fine with the Lawal rematch. For one, he was always expecting to have to fight him again from the moment he scored that February win. Additionally, it's an opportunity to prove that the first fight was not a fluke.

"I had a feeling like I was going to have to fight Mo again anyways," Newton told MMATorch over the weekend. "I knocked out their Golden Boy, I knocked out the 'king.' Bellator, Viacom, Spike, they invested a lot of money into this man, they were expecting him to prove very fruitful in the organization, and me knocking him out was not expected. So I was definitely expecting to fight him again."

"I'm ready to go in there and shut the mouths of all the naysayers and the critics. I'm a strong believer in god, and I think god put this fight in my path again for a reason. Also, I want to get it done so I won't have to worry about hearing anything out of his mouth anymore, hearing him talking crap about how it was a fluke. I want to go out there and prove that it wasn't, so better to do it now. Better sooner than later."

Indeed, Lawal's had plenty to say about Newton in the months leading up to this rematch. He's downplayed the first loss, called the spinning back fist "feminine," and has done nothing but attempt to eviscerate Newton in his interviews. For his part, Newton's taken it all in stride, and isn't worried about anything Lawal's got to say.

"I really don't even pay attention to it. Mo runs his mouth. That's just his style, that's just his ignorance and his cockiness showing true and showing through 100%," Newton said. "I really don't pay attention to it, but the fact that he would say I'm talking trash surprises me beyond belief. I haven't said anything bad about the man, I really don't have anything bad to say about him.

"Everything I say is true; he is cocky, he is arrogant, that's just his style and the way he is. It's not like I'm talking trash and calling him bad names or anything. But I really don't care; like I said I don't pay attention to it, I'm just here to do my job, and my job is to go in there and knock his ass out again."

Newton thinks he's more than capable of doing just that on Saturday in Long Beach, and thinks Lawal is speaking out against his style because he can't figure it out.

"I have so many tools. I have so many things that I've been working on. That's one thing about my style and what makes me an unorthodox and awkward striker is I can throw a bunch of craziness and land it," Newton said. "I have kicks that can come out of nowhere. I like to think of myself as one of the more technical strikers in MMA, and I'm definitely going to show that Saturday with my versatility and my kicks and my speed and in my ability to throw in the most awkward positions."

"Just like the spinning back fist, Mo wants to say that it was feminine and I was running away; no, man, I saw where you were. I stayed in one spot. I didn't step away at all. I caught you in mid-air, for crying out loud. If I'm close enough to catch you before you even hit the ground, how was I running away? I just think he's confused by my style, and it's just going to be more confusing for him next Saturday night."

"I don't know why you talk crap like that after you got beat and you got knocked out," Newton continued. "Before the knockout even happened, you were getting landed on with kicks and punches and jabs and overhand rights. It's not like it was a close fight, like 'oh my gosh, Mo's landing amazing shots OH! Spinning back fist out of nowhere Emanuel Newton!' No. I was beating him on the feet before it even happened. It's not like it was some big surprise."

"My god has shown me that the more he talks crap and the more arrogant he is, the worse the defeat he's going to have. So go ahead, Mo, talk it up and run your mouth, man, because you will not be the victor on Saturday."