Check out this exclusive interview that Jeremy Botter of HeavyMMA.com did with fighter King Mo.

Heavy.com: You’re headlining the first-ever Strikeforce event in Texas, a place where you spent a lot of time growing up. How much influence did the state have on your upbringing.

King Mo: I claim Texas as my home, but I’m pretty much from the South. I traveled to a lot of places but I did spent a lot of time in Texas. My upbringing comes from my Momma, who was a single parent. She raised me to be a hard-working, smart and intelligent kid.

Heavy.com: When did you start watching MMA?

King Mo: I started watching it my sophomore year. It had been around for awhile, but the thing is that I never saw it until one time I saw it at Blockbuster. I rented it, and after that I just started renting all of them. I had this one friend who had bootleg stuff, so I started watching some of the bootlegs of these vale tudo fights he had from Brazil and from Japan. And after that I just fell in love with it.

Read the rest of the interview here.

MMA Promotion Strikeforce hosts its second CBS televised event tonight with Strikeforce: Nashville. The main card has just three fights set, but all three are title fights. Here are my picks for tonight’s event.

Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (24-4-1) vs. Dan Henderson (25-7)
Dan Henderson is making his first appearance in Strikeforce after leaving the UFC in a contract dispute. He immediately steps in to fight Jake Shields, the middleweight champion who is a natural welterweight. Shields has had success at the bigger weight class, but in this fight, he will have trouble controlling Henderson on the ground like he has past opponents. Henderson is a very solid all around fighter and his bigger size should allow him to get the win by either knockout or decision.

Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1) vs. Muhammed Lawal (6-0)
Two very different people meet in this fight as Mousasi is like a silent killer. He stays composed and just runs through opponents while Lawal is very loud and cocky despite having just six professional fights. Lawal is good on his feet with powerful strikes, but in this fight, he will need to fight off his back against Mousasi, who can take the fight anywhere. Lawal has a puncher’s chance, but Mousasi will be smart enough to get the fight to the ground, where he will win by submission.

Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez (-160) vs. Shinya Aoki (+130)
This fight should be very competitive. Melendez has won his last three, but all of his fights have been fast paced and close. His win over Josh Thompson won him the title, but now he faces Aoki who bounces around to different weight classes and finds success in each. Melendez will look to use boxing and wrestling to win while Aoki will try to use quickness and submissions. Look for Melendez to win a hard-fought five-round decision over Aoki, but each fighter will have their chances to finish the fight.