(This story appears in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

SAN JOSE, Calif. – It’s a beautiful day in the Bay Area, the sun is just beginning to set, and Muhammed Lawal is chill as can be as he sits on an outside table listening to some hip hop.

“King Mo” is cool, and he feels good, which is something he hasn’t felt in a long time.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt good, you know what I’m saying? Without no aches,” Lawal told MMAjunkie. “A year ago I couldn’t even sit like this. I couldn’t put my foot up on this bench.”

It’s a good thing, too, as Lawal (21-6 MMA, 10-5 BMMA) prepares to meet Ryan Bader (24-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) on Saturday night in the last quarterfinal-round bout of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix. The bout serves as the main event to the Paramount-televised Bellator 199 event at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., and the winner advances to face Matt Mitrione in the semifinals of the tournament that will crown a new heavyweight champ by year’s end.

For Lawal, it’ll be his first fight since March 31, 2017, when he defeated Quinton Jackson via unanimous decision in a heavyweight bout. That makes this 407-day layoff the longest of his nearly 10-year career, but it wasn’t by choice.

Lawal’s lengthy absence from competition has been due to an ailing hip. As best “King Mo” can remember, the hip first started giving him problems in early 2010, but he fought through the pain over the years – until finally he couldn’t take it anymore.

He had surgery known as Birmingham Hip Resurfacing, an alternative to complete hip replacement for younger individuals, in May 2017. A flare-up forced him out of a Bellator 185 matchup with Liam McGeary in October. But since then, Lawal insists he’s finally 100 percent.

“I feel healthy, man,” 37-year-old Lawal said. “I can walk without limping. You noticed that, right? I ain’t been limping. Man, I don’t know. I guess y’all going to see on Saturday.”

Lawal isn’t expected to go far in the heavyweight tournament, in large part because he’s the smallest competitor of the field. Even against 205-pound champion Bader, Lawal – who could probably fight at middleweight if he wanted – is still a nearly 3-to-1 underdog.

Those odds don’t seem to bother Lawal, though, probably because the end result doesn’t matter much to him.

“Tournament’s nothing to me really. When it comes down to it, it’s just another group of fights,” Lawal said. “It’s funny how people discount me when I (already) beat Quinton Jackson. They discount me, and I beat Quinton, who’s already lost in the tournament (to current semifinalist Chael Sonnen in January). But it is what it is. I ain’t going to lie. I’m polarizing. People love me or hate me. A lot of people hate me. I get a lot of hate. I get a lot of love. It is what it is.”

In other words: Don’t expect Lawal to worry about a thing, especially his size disadvantage.

“Like Bushwick Bill said from the Geto Boys: Size ain’t sh-t. It’s technique, tactics and the heart. I’ve got plenty of heart,” Lawal said. “I’ll fight anybody. You won’t see me quit, you won’t see me pull guard, and you won’t see me shoot to my knees and let somebody take my back and beat me up. I’m there to fight – five minutes, 25 minutes.

“You want to fight in the street? We can fight in the street. You want to fight on a dirt road? You want to fight in the bank? You want to fight at 7-Eleven? You want to fight at Wawa’s, you know what I’m saying? I don’t care, man. Just get the check ready.”

For more on Bellator 199, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.