Gegard Mousasi: 'Full Of Sh*t' Rory MacDonald Will 'Chicken Out'
Gegard Mousasi: 'Full Of Sh*t' Rory MacDonald Will 'Chicken Out'
Gegard Mousasi outlines his plans to conquer some super fights under the Bellator banner, slinging heat toward Rory MacDonald in the process.
By Damon Martin
Gegard Mousasi has a clear path for what he wants to accomplish in Bellator MMA, but he's not certain everyone he wants to fight will actually face him.
This weekend, Mousasi will battle Rafael Carvalho for the middleweight championship in the main event at Bellator 200 from London, England.
A win will wrap a title around Mousasi's waist for the first time since he was the DREAM light heavyweight champion back in 2010. Becoming middleweight champion might also afford Mousasi some other opportunities.
Perhaps the one at the top of the list is a super fight pitting champion against champion, with Mousasi facing off against welterweight king Rory MacDonald.
The two fighters have verbally sparred in interviews and over social media, and it appeared Mousasi was preparing for a showdown with MacDonald should he get past Carvalho on Friday. Now, however, that may not be the case.
"I think Rory will chicken out to be honest," Mousasi said when speaking to FloCombat. "He's full of sh*t sometimes. Last time he was saying, 'I want to fight in the Heavyweight Grand Prix' and then he's saying he wants to defend his belt before he goes to middleweight. It's a little bit too much talk.
"Who knows, maybe he will. Let's say after this fight and the kind of performance I will put on, let's see if he will be willing to take the fight. If I have a tough fight, maybe he'll feel confident enough, but if I go out and smash Carvalho, maybe he will think twice."
If MacDonald isn't willing to face him or if he's unavailable after Mousasi gets though Carvalho, the former UFC light heavyweight and middleweight still has designs on facing another Bellator champion.
"I would like to go to fight at light heavyweight because, listen, Ryan Bader's a big guy so I'm taking a chance fighting that guy. If I lose, there's not much that I lose because I'm still the middleweight champ," Mousasi said. "It's a risk that's worth it for me to go to light heavyweight. That's something that would mean a lot to get that belt.
"At the end of the day, middleweight is my weight class. Light heavyweight is not my weight class, but I can compete so maybe if it's one fight or something like that, I could do it, 100 percent."
Of course, Mousasi isn't abandoning middleweight either because there is still competition for him to face in that division as well.
In fact, Mousasi just found out that former opponent Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal was planning a move down to middleweight following his most recent loss to Ryan Bader in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Mousasi has a loss on his record in 2010, when he fell to Lawal in Strikeforce in a fight that also cost him the light heavyweight title.
"I have this guy and if I win I want to fight Rory MacDonald and then maybe light heavyweight even. We'll have to see," Mousasi. "There's "King Mo" [Lawal], he's coming to middleweight I hear. There will be some other guys I think Bellator is trying to sign, so I think middleweight will grow very much in the next couple of years."