Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi on potential super-fight against UFC champion Israel Adesanya
Gegard Mousasi reclaimed his Bellator middleweight crown after defeating Douglas Lima at Bellator 250 on October 29th.
Gegard Mousasi outperformed Lima in every discipline to get a comfortable unanimous decision victory.
Speaking to the media in the post-fight press conference he was asked whether he would like to face the UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in a super fight.
Mousasi responded by saying, “Nothing is impossible, but he is not on my radar right now, He is in the UFC and I am in Bellator. It’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
Gegard Mousasi was also asked how highly he ranked Douglas Lima in the list of fighters he has defeated. Mousasi replied by saying that at the age of 31, Douglas Lima was in his prime and therefore putting on a spectacular display against him left Mousasi very pleased with his performance.
Incidentally, Lima was the 11th world champion Mousasi has defeated in his illustrious MMA career. Mousasi’s hit list includes names such as Vitor Belfort, Chris Weidman, Mark Hunt, Dan Henderson among many others.
To add to this impressive list, he holds wins over Rory MacDonald, Lyoto Machida, Rafael Carvalho, and now Douglas Lima.
Mousasi was in contention to challenge the former UFC middleweight champion and Hall of Famer Michael Bisping when he had the belt but his relationship with the UFC deteriorated in 2017. He has since joined Bellator FC and conquered the middleweight title twice in the organization.
Mousasi first won the title in May 2018 after a brutal first-round knockout of former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho. He would then lose the belt to Rafael Lovato Jr. at Bellator 223 before reclaiming the strap again on Thursday.
Gegard is also a former Cage Warriors, DREAM, and Strikeforce champion having won both middleweight and light heavyweight straps.
Gegard Mousasi wants to fight John Salter next
Gegard Mousasi while dismissing a super fight with Adesanya, has made it clear that he wants to fight John Salter next for the title.
Salter, like Mousasi, is a UFC alumnus and has been on a three-fight winning streak.
“Yes, he is the next guy, definitely looking forward to that fight..” Gegard Mousasi said when asked whether Salter would be the next fight for him.
Gegard Mousasi also had praise for Lima saying that he was a tough opponent in his prime. Mousasi mentioned that he realized Lima would not be finished and he would have to fight for the whole 5 rounds to win.
He also mentioned that Lima hurt him with leg kicks in the fifth round of their fight.