Fedor, Mousasi and King Mo make a disappointing Breakthrough

Friday’s M-1 Global: Breakthrough card was a non-event top to bottom as the only firewoks of the HDNet broadcast was when they cut away to the launch of the space shuttle Discovery between bouts.

Sure, the headliner between heavyweights Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and former Pride FC and UFC veteran Mark Kerr (a late replacement for MMA legend Don Frye) lasted just 25 seconds. But it was a dull and unimpressive 25 seconds.

Lawal, a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, shot for a single-leg takedown and – despite being outweighed by 44 pounds – slammed Kerr to the canvas. Kerr immediately turtled like a frightened schoolgirl and Lawal pounded away until the referee intervened. Lawal, now 5-0, showed me nothing more than speed and brute strength, and there’s plenty of that at every level of MMA, and had reason to slouch arrogantly against the ropes before the bout. Besides, Kerr isn’t exactly in his prime.

As for the exhibition match between training buddies Fedor Emelianenko and Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi, it was less entertaining than the average sparring session. Fedor tossed the Dutch-Armenian to the mat a few times and finally ended it with an armbar late in the first round.

The only other fight on the card (barely) of note was Karl Amoussou’s first-round submission of John Doyle. Amoussou’s only worth mentioning because he’s the fighter Wanderlei Silva once referred to as the “future of mixed martial arts.” If so, the future looks a little bleak.