Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal will face Mark Kerr and Fedor Emelianenko will spar with Gegard Mousasi at M-1 Global's "Breakthrough" event on Aug. 28 in Kansas City, the promotion announced Monday.
The venue has been changed from the Los Angeles Convention Center in Calif. to the Memorial Hall due to "a partner in Los Angeles that backed out of certain commitments," according to M-1 Global COO Joost Raimond. The Memorial Hall previously played host to an M-1 Challenge card in June.
Two-time UFC heavyweight tournament winner Kerr (15-10) is stepping in for Don Frye, who pulled out of the Lawal fight upon learning of the venue change. Kerr is a beloved UFC veteran but has not been a factor for the past nine years, compiling 10 losses in 13 fights.
Lawal (4-0), an accomplished amateur wrestler of Team Quest, recently completed his contract with World Victory Road in Japan and is taking his first step outside of the Sengoku organization. Lawal's outgoing persona and his TKO wins have garnered him a strong fan base in Japan, and he'll see if his appeal translates back home in the US.
M-1 Global will also pit its two top clients in a sparring exhibition on the card. Fedor, who sparred with Shinya Aoki for a demonstration in April at an M-1 Challenge event in Japan (see video), will face fellow Strikeforce fighter and training partner Gegard Mousasi. The match will be two weeks after Mousasi's Strikeforce title challenge against Renato "Babalu" Sobral and a couple months before Fedor's yet to be announced Strikeforce debut in the fall.
The actual fight in support of the Lawal-Kerr main event will be former Bodog Fight champion Nick "The Goat' Thompson taking on Karl Amoussou.
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