Bellator light heavyweight Muhammed Lawal has one simple piece of advice for people who want to fight professionally.

“I suggest they start an LLC or a corporation,” Lawal recently told MMAjunkie Radio.

As tax day approaches and America digs through receipts, the 35-year-old veteran can remember the days when he didn’t follow that advice and wound up paying for it.

“King Mo” remembers stories of fighters who have made the audacious move of ignoring taxes altogether. You can guess what will happen when they decide to file a return.

“When I started, I was writing stuff off and didn’t know what I was doing,” said Lawal (19-4 MMA, 7-3 BMMA, who headlines Bellator 154 opposite Phil Davis (15-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA). “Then four years down the road, I get a new tax guy. He’s like, ‘I’m looking back at your taxes. There’s a bunch of red flags going on.’”

Bellator 154 takes place May 14 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card, including the Lawal vs. Davis headliner, airs on Spike after prelims on MMAjunkie.

Lawal’s frequent trips to Las Vegas were confusing his accountant, which meant the government might be confused and hit him with a big tax bill. Although he swore his travel was related to work and the ever-present need to get top-level training, the expenses and resulting write-offs might work against him.

If he were traveling to Sin City to train, Lawal’s accountant told him, he needed a business account so it was clear he was there for work. So the fighter started an LLC and redid his taxes.

They punched him in the gut.

“I owed the government probably $70,000 – just the back taxes and penalties of redoing all that stuff,” Lawal said. “It came back and got me.”

But in the end, the short-term pain of a big bill was easier to deal with than the possible result if he did nothing. Stories of IRS seizures from entertainers who went years without paying their proper share motivated him to get on the right side of the tax man.

Others weren’t so motivated, he observed.

“You talk to a lot of boxers, and they turn pro right out of high school,” Lawal said. “When the amateur stuff is over with, they turn pro. They’re 19 or 20, and they don’t know about taxes. So they fight, they get paid, and they buy stuff, party. And then tax season hits, and they don’t file any taxes. Finally, when they realize what taxes are, eight years later they file taxes, and they get hit with eight years’ back taxes.

“I know fighters that we know – I can’t say any names – and they’ve never even paid taxes. They’ve been fighting for seven, eight years, and they’ve never even filed taxes. So when they file, they’re going to get destroyed.”

Lawal chuckles at the thought. He said he’s tried to tell his colleagues what a bad course of action they’re taking, but the response is akin to denial.

“They’re like, ‘Man, I’m in too deep,’” Lawal said. “But it’s like this: If you’re going to file, move to Florida because the IRS can’t come seize your property. I just found that out. I think that’s why (O.J. Simpson) moved here.”

What the Bellator veteran is forgetting is the fact that while Florida, his home state since joining the famed American Top Team, has greater protections against homeowners, the IRS can still very much seize property to pay delinquent taxes. So it’s better to prevent that notice from arriving in the first place rather than fighting it in court.

But some people learn later than others. The gap can often be measured by the size of the tax bill.

For more on Bellator 154, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.