Kunle Lawal is set to make his promotional debut against Denis ‘The Menace’ Frimpong at PFL Europe 3: 2024 Playoffs.
The catchweight showcase bout will take place in front of a home crowd for Lawal, as the PFL head North of the UK border for the first time in their history.
The Higher Level athlete was one of a trio of Scottish based athletes who signed with the promotion earlier this year, with his teammates Gemma Auld and Lorenzo Parente also putting pen to paper on multi-fight deals.
Lawal has been highly touted since his amateur days, where over his 19 bouts, he picked up wins against the likes of surging prospects Jordan Little and Teddy Stringer. After a seven year amateur stint, ‘The Nigerian Ninja’ joined the professional ranks earlier this year. In his professional debut, he faced Konrad Nowicki at Caestus MMA 2 and his illusive style proved to be too much for the Polishman and just over two minutes into the contest, Lawal got the stoppage.
He was back in action just three months later at Caestus MMA 3, in a Welterweight contest against Michael Reali. Unfortunately for Lawal, he was caught early and hard with a huge right hand which rendered him unconscious immediately. The 31-year-old will be hoping he can get back to winning ways in what will be the biggest fight of his career so far.
Speaking to Fighters Only, Lawal revealed what he expects from Frimpong and why he has taken the decision to block the Irishman prior to the bout. He said:
"I am expecting for him to come out with some nice, clean striking, try and use his range, use his unorthodox style to switch between stances and stuff like that.
"And obviously for him to use his mouth and talk a load of sh*te as he always does but I know I am a better striker, a better grappler, a better wrestler than him. I can talk a lot of sh*te as well but the reason I have blocked him on the socials is because I can’t be f**ked with the messaging and stuff like that.
"All of my energy and focus now is just on training, I just can’t be bothered sitting on a phone all day, texting someone, messaging back and forth."
Frimpong will make his PFL debut in enemy territory, as he heads to the OVO Hydro. The Irishman, who competes out of Manchester Top Team, is never afraid to try and get under his opponent’s skin with some verbal jousting. This was monumentally apparent as ‘The Menace’ lived up to his alias when he featured on OKTAGON Challenge: England vs Ireland. The show featured four Irish prospects facing off against four English prospects, much in the same vein as the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter. Throughout his time on the show, Frimpong managed to frustrate, antagonise and upset nigh on all of the English team. The Irishman made it all the way to the final where he faced George Staines and although coming up short in the final, he was still awarded a contract due to his exciting fighting style and menacing behaviour.
The 29-year-old has already competed twice this year and has picked up impressive back to back unanimous decision wins against Jan Siroky and Callum Mullen.
With the PFL heading to Glasgow, they have a several very recognisable Scottish athletes featuring. In the main event, Stevie Ray will make the walk to the SmartCage, in a Welterweight bout against Lewis Long. The co-main event will see Scottish MMA veteran Robert Whiteford take on Roger Huerta.
