Earlier today (May 10, 2012) we brought word that former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Muhammed Lawal has signed a deal to compete under the Bellator banner while also being allowed to wrestle with Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling.

A conference call was held today with Spike TV President Kevin Kay, TNA President Dixie Carter and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney to formally announce the signing. Details quickly emerged regarding a few specifics of the deal, the most notable of which being Lawal's status for the near future.

Kay revealed "King Mo" will join the TNA roster of talent by the summer but he won't fight for Bellator until 2013 when the promotion officially makes the move to Spike TV. That's because he still needs to satisfy a nine-month suspension handed down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for a failed drug test back in January.

Lawal was also on the call and he stated that his intentions are to enter the Bellator light heavyweight tournament, win it and go on to win the belt. Dixie Carter chimed in by saying TNA would incorporate his real world fighting aspirations into his storylines on Impact.

That should be most interesting. Those lines you see there? Yeah, they're getting increasingly more blurry.

As for a potential return to Zuffa, be that in Strikeforce or UFC, Lawal all but completely shut the door on that and said this deal is "like a dream come true." Not only does he get to finally climb inside the pro wrestling ring to be the entertainer he always wanted to be, he also gets to keep his competitive juices flowing inside the Bellator cage.

A win-win if there ever was one.

For those wondering how Lawal will look once he gets inside a pro wrestling ring, he gave assurances that he's trained with the likes of Mark Henry and John Morrison, which is true. To get a look at some of his chops, check out this video of Lawal and Daniel Cormier doing some work a few years ago after the jump.