Tweet
Now this is a fight I would like to see! Mousasi is the real deal.
Heading into Strikeforce on Saturday night, light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi was a huge favorite against former UFC fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, but the fight had some great back and forth moments that challenged the 205-pound titleholder.
In the end, Mousasi was able to get the upper hand and finish off Sokoudjou in the second round. Following the fight, the champion remarked that he knew his opponent was tough and no one should have underrated him going into the bout. That said, Mousasi, who is now on the radar as one of the top fighters on the planet, misses the role of playing the underdog. A position he occupied just a couple of years ago before some huge wins burst him into spot he sits in today.
"I like more the underdog position; there's no expectation," Mousasi told MMAWeekly.com in an interview following the win. "That's better for me cause I don't like to be the favorite."
As the champion, Mousasi will likely be the favorite in most of his fights moving forward, but the challengers seem to be at a minimum right now. Following his destruction of former champion Renato "Babablu" Sobral and the win on Saturday over Sokoudjou, Mousasi will have to wait and see who Strikeforce brings in to challenge him next.
One thing is for sure, Mousasi will not be going back to his former weight class to look for a challenge while waiting for the next 205-pound contender.
"I won't make it anymore. It's not healthy for me, so 185 (pounds) I will never do," Mousasi said. "Maybe for an experiment go for heavyweight, but that's also too soon. I'm just going to stick with 205, there's a lot of good fighters coming now, a lot of shows. With Dream in cooperation with M-1 Global and Strikeforce next year I heard they have 20 shows, so eventually they will build up contenders and I'm pretty sure I will have tough opponents in the future."
One name that kept popping up all night for Mousasi after the win was a potential match-up against Dan Henderson, who has been discussing his future options which could include Strikeforce in the very near future. Mousasi believes that a fight against Henderson could be a big seller in the United States as opposed to some other fighters that could be brought in for the challenge instead.
"It depends on what's best for the U.S. market. I think a fight against Dan Henderson would be more interesting than fighting a guy like Ricardo Arona because he's from Brazil, I'm from Holland," commented Mousasi. "It depends on the opponent and what Scott (Coker) decides and what the audience wants to see."
Following the win over Sokoudjou, which was a non-title affair, Mousasi commented that "it doesn't make a difference" if his next fight is a defense of his title or not, but with his recent success, if Strikeforce can find the right opponent, he could find himself in main event territory.
In the end, Mousasi was able to get the upper hand and finish off Sokoudjou in the second round. Following the fight, the champion remarked that he knew his opponent was tough and no one should have underrated him going into the bout. That said, Mousasi, who is now on the radar as one of the top fighters on the planet, misses the role of playing the underdog. A position he occupied just a couple of years ago before some huge wins burst him into spot he sits in today.
"I like more the underdog position; there's no expectation," Mousasi told MMAWeekly.com in an interview following the win. "That's better for me cause I don't like to be the favorite."
As the champion, Mousasi will likely be the favorite in most of his fights moving forward, but the challengers seem to be at a minimum right now. Following his destruction of former champion Renato "Babablu" Sobral and the win on Saturday over Sokoudjou, Mousasi will have to wait and see who Strikeforce brings in to challenge him next.
One thing is for sure, Mousasi will not be going back to his former weight class to look for a challenge while waiting for the next 205-pound contender.
"I won't make it anymore. It's not healthy for me, so 185 (pounds) I will never do," Mousasi said. "Maybe for an experiment go for heavyweight, but that's also too soon. I'm just going to stick with 205, there's a lot of good fighters coming now, a lot of shows. With Dream in cooperation with M-1 Global and Strikeforce next year I heard they have 20 shows, so eventually they will build up contenders and I'm pretty sure I will have tough opponents in the future."
One name that kept popping up all night for Mousasi after the win was a potential match-up against Dan Henderson, who has been discussing his future options which could include Strikeforce in the very near future. Mousasi believes that a fight against Henderson could be a big seller in the United States as opposed to some other fighters that could be brought in for the challenge instead.
"It depends on what's best for the U.S. market. I think a fight against Dan Henderson would be more interesting than fighting a guy like Ricardo Arona because he's from Brazil, I'm from Holland," commented Mousasi. "It depends on the opponent and what Scott (Coker) decides and what the audience wants to see."
Following the win over Sokoudjou, which was a non-title affair, Mousasi commented that "it doesn't make a difference" if his next fight is a defense of his title or not, but with his recent success, if Strikeforce can find the right opponent, he could find himself in main event territory.
Comment