Gegard Mousasi Escapes 'Unfair Treatment' In UFC, Eyes Bellator Gold
Gegard Mousasi Escapes 'Unfair Treatment' In UFC, Eyes Bellator Gold
Gegard Mousasi discusses his UFC departure, his Bellator 185 debut vs. Alexander Shlemenko, and more.
Gegard Mousasi is on a five-fight winning streak, with four of those victories coming via knockout.
This run, however, wasn't enough to convince the UFC to pay up, and when Mousasi became a free agent it was Bellator MMA who made the more enticing offer for "the Dreamcatcher" and his team.
This is a move Mousasi embraces fully. Things weren't always the best with the UFC, and now he gets a fresh start under Scott Coker and company. He'll get his first shot with his new MMA organizer on October 20 in Uncasville, Connecticut, where he squares up against Alexander Shlemenko.
"No one was happy [with the UFC middleweight title picture] because Michael Bisping is 'injured' when he's not actually, because he wanted to fight [Georges St-Pierre], but then they didn't want to make the fight, (so) he said, 'I'm injured,'" Mousasi told FloCombat. "And then he fought Dan Henderson, and now he's fighting GSP anyway.
"He's not fighting the No. 1 guys. They made an interim belt now, you know? (Robert) Whittaker went above me and fought for the belt. So I felt like I didn't get my fair shot to go for the belt. I think it's too much about popularity and who they like more."
He then went on to illustrate a particular example using 185-pound standout Yoel Romero.
"I can give you an example: Yoel Romero, he should've fought for the belt a long time ago, but they kept giving him fights until he lost," Mousasi said. "Now he's not in the title picture. He has to win another two, maybe, before he can fight for the belt. That's what I mean . . . you don't get the fair treatment."
Now with Bellator, Mousasi turns his sights away from the UFC elite and onto new challenges. First up is Shlemenko at Bellator 185. The former Bellator middleweight champ is also on a five-fight winning streak, and Mousasi believes a win only leads one place.
"First Shlemenko, then my goal is the middleweight belt," Mousasi said. "[Then] there's Rory MacDonald, there's light heavyweight. I can dream about the other fights (laughs)."
Where the "other fights" are concerned, Bellator offers options aplenty. And while Mousasi is singularly focused on the 185-pound division at the moment, he says a move up to 205 to snag double gold could certainly happen in the future.
"Yeah, definitely, [Muhammed 'King Mo' Lawal] is one of the options," Mousasi said. "But my goal is first the middleweight belt, and then if I go up to light heavyweight, I want to fight for the belt. And whoever has the belt, that would be my goal actually.
"Light heavyweight is not really my division. So if I go up there, I would probably go for one fight to get the belt and maybe go back down… I'm optimal at middleweight. That's my best weight class. So if I go up to light heavyweight, it's just to experiment, and big opportunities, I want to take them, and [I have] goals to achieve."
The other lingering fight outside 185 involves the former UFC welterweight title contender MacDonald, who has openly discussed jumping around weight classes to earn multiple titles in Bellator as well. While Mousasi hasn't worked directly with MacDonald in the past, he has trained with MacDonald's friend and mentor, GSP, as well as current Bellator welterweight king Douglas Lima.
Those experiences give Mousasi supreme confidence should a bout with MacDonald materialize.
"GSP actually invited me to join him for his training camp in Montreal, or where he trains, Tristar," Mousasi said. "We decided not to go because it was too close to my fight. Probably I would have seen Rory MacDonald there, but I don't have a problem with that. But I trained last time, Douglas Lima came to Holland.
"All I can say is the weight difference is a big issue, I think. If somebody wants to come up, there's a big difference in weight."
Of course, none of these prospective super fights will come to fruition unless Mousasi gets past Shlemenko at Bellator 185. To that end, Mousasi again is nothing but confident.
"I feel I should be able to finish him in two rounds," he said. "He's a guy who comes to fight, so [I'm] feeling like I'm a lot more technical than him. He's making a lot of mistakes. I should be able to finish him in two rounds."
This run, however, wasn't enough to convince the UFC to pay up, and when Mousasi became a free agent it was Bellator MMA who made the more enticing offer for "the Dreamcatcher" and his team.
This is a move Mousasi embraces fully. Things weren't always the best with the UFC, and now he gets a fresh start under Scott Coker and company. He'll get his first shot with his new MMA organizer on October 20 in Uncasville, Connecticut, where he squares up against Alexander Shlemenko.
"No one was happy [with the UFC middleweight title picture] because Michael Bisping is 'injured' when he's not actually, because he wanted to fight [Georges St-Pierre], but then they didn't want to make the fight, (so) he said, 'I'm injured,'" Mousasi told FloCombat. "And then he fought Dan Henderson, and now he's fighting GSP anyway.
"He's not fighting the No. 1 guys. They made an interim belt now, you know? (Robert) Whittaker went above me and fought for the belt. So I felt like I didn't get my fair shot to go for the belt. I think it's too much about popularity and who they like more."
He then went on to illustrate a particular example using 185-pound standout Yoel Romero.
"I can give you an example: Yoel Romero, he should've fought for the belt a long time ago, but they kept giving him fights until he lost," Mousasi said. "Now he's not in the title picture. He has to win another two, maybe, before he can fight for the belt. That's what I mean . . . you don't get the fair treatment."
Now with Bellator, Mousasi turns his sights away from the UFC elite and onto new challenges. First up is Shlemenko at Bellator 185. The former Bellator middleweight champ is also on a five-fight winning streak, and Mousasi believes a win only leads one place.
"First Shlemenko, then my goal is the middleweight belt," Mousasi said. "[Then] there's Rory MacDonald, there's light heavyweight. I can dream about the other fights (laughs)."
Where the "other fights" are concerned, Bellator offers options aplenty. And while Mousasi is singularly focused on the 185-pound division at the moment, he says a move up to 205 to snag double gold could certainly happen in the future.
"Yeah, definitely, [Muhammed 'King Mo' Lawal] is one of the options," Mousasi said. "But my goal is first the middleweight belt, and then if I go up to light heavyweight, I want to fight for the belt. And whoever has the belt, that would be my goal actually.
"Light heavyweight is not really my division. So if I go up there, I would probably go for one fight to get the belt and maybe go back down… I'm optimal at middleweight. That's my best weight class. So if I go up to light heavyweight, it's just to experiment, and big opportunities, I want to take them, and [I have] goals to achieve."
The other lingering fight outside 185 involves the former UFC welterweight title contender MacDonald, who has openly discussed jumping around weight classes to earn multiple titles in Bellator as well. While Mousasi hasn't worked directly with MacDonald in the past, he has trained with MacDonald's friend and mentor, GSP, as well as current Bellator welterweight king Douglas Lima.
Those experiences give Mousasi supreme confidence should a bout with MacDonald materialize.
"GSP actually invited me to join him for his training camp in Montreal, or where he trains, Tristar," Mousasi said. "We decided not to go because it was too close to my fight. Probably I would have seen Rory MacDonald there, but I don't have a problem with that. But I trained last time, Douglas Lima came to Holland.
"All I can say is the weight difference is a big issue, I think. If somebody wants to come up, there's a big difference in weight."
Of course, none of these prospective super fights will come to fruition unless Mousasi gets past Shlemenko at Bellator 185. To that end, Mousasi again is nothing but confident.
"I feel I should be able to finish him in two rounds," he said. "He's a guy who comes to fight, so [I'm] feeling like I'm a lot more technical than him. He's making a lot of mistakes. I should be able to finish him in two rounds."