Issue 168

June 2018

The Dutchman is ready to take the Bellator title after surviving a scare in his promotional debut.

The following interview was conducted in 2018, Mousasi became the Bellator Middleweight World Champion but lost the title to Rafael Lovato Jr in 2019.

After five wins in a row, including four consecutive knockouts, many people expected Gegard Mousasi to be near the front of the queue to fight for the UFC middleweight title. The organization went another way instead.

In turn, the Dutchman also went in another direction. Rather than entertain a new contract, he crossed the great promotional divide last July to Bellator to chase its world title. Given his fantastic run of form, he was expected to have gold around his waist in no time. He’d have to earn that chance, but who’d bet against a man who’d just stopped Chris Weidman, Uriah Hall and Vitor Belfort? No problem, right?

As it turned out, Mousasi received a baptism of fire as the ultra-tough Alexander Shlemenko came desperately close to upsetting the applecart. The Russian caused huge damage to his opponent’s eye in round one and did enough in the second and third frames to take the judges’ decision in many observers’ eyes. The only opinions that mattered, however, were those belonging to the three judges sitting cage-side, who all scored the fight 29-28 for Mousasi.

With his name officially in the win column, the former Cage Warriors, Dream and Strikeforce champion is ready to challenge for the 185lb championship at Bellator 200 in London, England, where Rafael Carvalho waits. Now he’s cleared that difficult first hurdle, he tells FO to expect a much more emphatic performance this time...

You had to rely on one eye in your Bellator debut after an early punch from Shlemenko. How do you feel about your performance with that handicap?

As a fighter, you are a perfectionist. You want to win all rounds. You want to finish the fight. Obviously, the fight didn’t go as I wanted.

I still got the victory. I know a lot of people think I lost that fight. I went back and watched the fight. I clearly won rounds one and two and he won round three. I was injured and he just pushed in the third round.

I wasn’t able to push the offense so I was just defending. It’s not my greatest performance, but I move on.

How much credit do you give yourself for overcoming that level of adversity for so long?

The eye was closed immediately. So, everything changed from that moment. I was trying to survive. I was gabbing on to him, trying to take him down. I wasn’t fighting with a game plan, I was just trying to get through the rounds. Things changed very quickly in the first moment of the fight. I didn’t have any control of that. What can I say? S**t happens.

You must have felt a sense of urgency in case the fight was stopped at any moment because of your injury...

Once I had his back, I was forcing the submission. I used a lot of energy. I wasn’t clearly thinking at the moment. I was thinking, ‘Oh, s**t, my eye is closed! Hopefully, I can finish in one round and get the job done.’ There wasn’t a lot of game plan after that moment.

That made the fight very even, because I thought, technically, I was superior in every area of the fight. Shlemenko is a fighter, so if you go and brawl with him it will be an even fight. He is known for exchanging and getting the best out of it. It made it an even fight after that eye injury. It didn’t go the way I wanted to, but I got the win. I will take it.

Should we expect a more convincing performance against Rafael Carvalho at Bellator 200?

He’s mainly a standup fighter.

He’s not a slick grappler. He’s a little bit stiff, so I feel I have many advantages on the ground. I feel like I have the better standup. I think that I am the better fighter, but he is a champion for a reason. There are no easy fights anymore. He is 14-1 and lost his first fight way back. It’s a fight. The cage closes and even if you’re better prepared, things may not go your way. It’s not like an exam where you study, you take the test, you get an eight out of 10 and you are done. With fighting, you can train and be in the best shape ever, but it’s not in your hands. It’s up in the air. I am con dent I am a better fighter and I will put it on the line on May 25th. I am in the best shape I can be in and I will go in there and put it on the line. I am con dent in myself. Many people may not think I am con dent after my last performance, but I have never had two bad performances in a row. I will come back stronger.

How much would it mean to add the Bellator title to your other accomplishments in your career?

That would mean a lot, actually.

It would be my sixth belt. I have been chasing the belt for a long time. I was really close in the UFC. I am almost there. This fight will secure a little bit of my legacy, if I have any legacy. It’s very important to me. Once I win the middleweight title, some other doors open. Maybe even a light heavyweight title fight. Things open up once you become a champion, so it’s a very important fight for me.

Do you want to jump up to 205lb straight away if you win the 185lb title?

Yeah, either that or fight Rory MacDonald. I like him personally, but he had some words about my last performance, so let me win this fight and then maybe I will fight him or go up a division. 

A fight between you and Rory MacDonald would be a super fight in Bellator. How excited would you be to step in there against him?

I like Rory, actually. He was saying I lost the fight. I don’t know why everyone has to give their opinion. I wasn’t impressed by him in his last fight, either. I’m not going to go on Twitter and talk s**t. Rory, style-wise, is perfect for me. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I have to win the fight against Rafael Carvalho first.

Would you consider a move to heavyweight to compete in the Bellator Grand Prix if the opportunity came up?

Oh, no. Those guys are too big! But it’s possible. I have five fights left. I want to finish them and then I want to do fun fights. Who knows? You get tired of cutting weight. I have cut weight since I was little and it’s a little too much. I will manage for five more fights then maybe a few fun fights. Then I think its end of the road, the end of a career.