Randy Harrison
Gegard Mousasi has accomplished in twenty-four years what some people could not in a lifetime. He has already become a DREAM Middleweight Champion by winning the promotion's Middleweight Grand Prix before vacating the title to move up to Light Heavyweight. In his first bout as a Light Heavyweight, Mousasi destroyed Renato "Babalu" Sobral to earn the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship. He's also been successful in the past in K-1 and boxing and is looking to possibly begin a boxing career with Strikeforce's TV partner, Showtime, to coincide with his MMA career.
With a 26-2-1 overall record and a thirteen fight winning streak that features the likes of Denis Kang, Evangelista Santos, Mark Hunt and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, it looks as though the best could be yet to come for the talented fighter known as "The Dreamcatcher". Mousasi took some time to sit down with Nokaut.com prior to his grappling exhibition with Fedor Emelianenko at M-1's premiere event, Breakthrough, and talked about his desire to box, his future plans for MMA and his thoughts on where he stands as a fighter, while also putting to rest any rumors of a deal being offered to him by the UFC in the days after the collapse of Affliction Entertainment.
Without any further delay, let's get to Nokaut's exclusive interview with the current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, "The Dreamcatcher", Gegard Mousasi!
Nokaut.com: For some of the fans who may not be as familiar with your career, tell me a little bit about how you grew up and how you started with combat sports.
Gegard Mousasi: Well, I grew up in Iran. When I was eight I went to Holland. My father brought me to a judo gym and I did judo until the age of ten. I did some fitness, went into boxing and kickboxing and then eventually came into MMA
Nokaut.com: How did you first find out about MMA? Was it through your training in judo and kickboxing, or was it through just being a fan of the sport?
Gegard Mousasi: My brother was doing some grappling and I joined him and I liked it. That's when I started working on ground game and then my first fight came and I started doing MMA fights.
Nokaut.com: Talk to me a bit about your early career. During your first few fights were you relying more on your natural athletic ability and earlier training while you attempted to learn all of the different facets of MMA?
Gegard Mousasi: Basically, I was more of a boxer and really wild. It took some time for me to pick up the ground game a little bit better and then I started working on my takedowns and takedown defense. It all came for me step by step.
Nokaut.com: You spent some time in PRIDE as part of the Bushido series, tell me how that opportunity came about and what that experience was like for you.
Gegard Mousasi: I fought first in Holland and that was sort of a qualifier for me to fight in Japan. Then I had to fight twice in DEEP and when I won those fights, they gave me the opportunity to fight in PRIDE Bushido. I fought three times there and it wasn't a good experience for me because I wasn't ready yet for that high level of competition. It ended up being a good experience for me and it's made me a better fighter today.
Nokaut.com: That's interesting. Looking at it from the angle of knowing what you know now, would you have possibly turned down the opportunity because you weren't ready for it?
Gegard Mousasi: No, I think I learned a lot from that loss. I fight a lot smarter now and basically the way I trained my ground game wasn't so good so I changed my gym, my trainer. Basically that fight made me realize that I had to change things and from there I've been doing very well. Sometimes it's good to lose, it helps you to realize the things you do wrong. It was also a neat experience to fight on a big stage in front of such a big crowd. I would probably do it all the same because if I hadn't lost that fight I don't think I would be where I am now.
Nokaut.com: From PRIDE, you bounced around a little bit before moving to the DREAM promotion. Were there any offers or contact made with the UFC during that time or directly after they bought out PRIDE?
Gegard Mousasi: No. After PRIDE, I didn't really make a name for myself, so I was fighting in other organizations through Canada and in Bodog. Every fight that I could, I was taking and so eventually DREAM came along and asked me if I'd like to fight in the tournament so I fought there and from there I'm now in DREAM and Strikeforce. There's never been an offer from the UFC. The offers that were made to me were by DREAM and Strikeforce and I'm happy now fighting for both organizations.
Nokaut.com: So that can put the rumor of a possible offer from the UFC after the dissolving of Affliction's MMA promotion to rest then?
Gegard Mousasi: There was never an offer from them, so yeah. Talking about it is like talking about nothing because there never was an offer. I could have never gone to the UFC even if they had because I have a contract with DREAM and the UFC is very exclusive and I wouldn't have been able to fight there anymore. I don't think they would have been very happy about that. I'm focused now on Strikeforce and DREAM and boxing that I might be doing on Showtime. I'm very happy with the situation right now.
Nokaut.com: You blew through the first two rounds of the DREAM MWGP before facing Melvin Manhoef in the semifinals. Did you give any thought to standing with him based on your boxing and kickboxing background, or were you looking to take things straight to the mat?
Gegard Mousasi: Well, I think he's a talent that can beat anyone with his explosiveness and his punching power so I didn't want to take any risks. Also with the tournament, I had to fight again in the same night so for me it was to win efficiently and as quickly as possible. Knowing that Manhoef's ground game was not as good, I definitely wanted to take advantage of that.
Nokaut.com: How do you think the fight with Souza would have gone on the mat had you not landed the upkick? Were you feeling confident enough in your ground skills to roll with him our would you have tried to keep the fight standing?
Gegard Mousasi: With Jacare, I really wanted to fight only stand-up with him. I don't know how the fight would have gone. Jacare is one of the best fighters in 185 and I wish him all the best. I think he just needs time to win the title. He's also signed with Strikeforce and he's going to fight for the DREAM Middleweight Championship. He had a very good chance of winning that fight. He's a very nice guy and I'm just happy that he's going to have a chance now to fight in Strikeforce so that he can show the American audience what he can do. I think he's one of the guys that will end up in the top three.
Nokaut.com: Moving on to the aftermath of the tournament, you decided to vacate the DREAM Middleweight Championship and move up to the Light Heavyweight division. Was that always the plan after the tournament was over, or was that more of a feeling you got as the tournament wore on?
Gegard Mousasi: I always had the desire to fight in heavier divisions and I've always wanted to fight Heavyweight. At the New Year's Eve event, I was planning on fighting Akiyama but that fight didn't happen so they came up with Musashi, the K-1 fight. I gained a lot of weight for that fight and after that I decided that I didn't want to fight at Middleweight anymore. I already had it in mind to go to heavier divisions, but that fight with Musashi really pushed me to move up to a heavier division.
Nokaut.com: Depsite being an underdog you scored a first-round KO and stunned a lot of people with your kickboxing prowess. Do you see more K-1 bouts in your future or was that the only kickboxing match you plan on pursuing for now?
Gegard Mousasi: I don't see it happening again. I have a very busy schedule with DREAM and Strikeforce and I'm looking at fighting Sokoudjou or Hong Man Choi, so it's going to be a very long time before I can consider fighting in K-1. I don't see it happening in my future.
Nokaut.com: How many fights do you see yourself taking in the Light Heavyweight division before moving up to Heavyweight, as you've been quoted as saying in the past?
Gegard Mousasi: It depends on my future and how well I do at 205. If I'm successful at 205, then I can consider making the move up so it all depends. For me, after two years I will be 26 and I think that that's a good age where I'll be more mature. About two years or so would be best, but that all depends on how I do in the 205 division in the meantime.
Nokaut.com: If the plan is to move from Light Heavyweight to Heavyweight eventually, will there be any chance of seeing you and Fedor fighting each other down the road someday, or are you looking to be more of an apprentice or successor to Fedor?
Gegard Mousasi: I don't think so. We're both under M-1 management and I think for me to fight him now wouldn't make any sense. He's a much better fighter and he's much heavier and for me to say I would fight Fedor isn't very realistic. I don't actually think it's going to happen ever.
Nokaut.com: How are you preparing for the second round in the Super Hulk Tournament for DREAM and since there have been some rumors as to the tournament possibly being pushed back to a different event, have you heard definitively when that fight is taking place?
Gegard Mousasi: The second round I've heard it's going to be on October 6th and my opponent is not announced yet. I'm now in New York, doing some interviews and I have some other things I have to do, I have the exhibition match in Kansas City with Fedor. After that I go back and back to training every day and preparing for the fight, whoever it is.
Nokaut.com: In your last fight with Babalu you were very calm and serene and it was noted by the announcers repeatedly. Very similar to Fedor Emelianenko who is always emotionless when he fights. Is this a result of your time spent with Fedor and a technique you've worked on with him?
Gegard Mousasi: I think that I was like that even from when I was doing amateur boxing. I don't get excited before the fight or after the fight, I don't feel any emotions. The more that I've fought, the more confident I've become and the more relaxed I am, I feel like the better I fight. I try to be as relaxed as I can be so that I can perform at my best. For me it was more about being relaxed and it makes me less nervous when I go into a fight. I think that a busy schedule works best for me.
Nokaut.com: What types of things had you focused on in training prior to the Babalu fight and was it difficult at all to have the fight pushed back a couple of weeks when you had planned on peaking for the 1st instead of the 15th?
Gegard Mousasi: No, I went to the US and the deal was done very quickly, the same day that I arrived. I was training every twice every day in the US and then I went back and trained once a day. By fight day, I was ready so it didn't really affect me a lot.
Nokaut.com: What were you working on specifically in your training camp for the Babalu fight?
Gegard Mousasi: I was working a lot on my wrestling, I went to a wrestling school just to train my wrestling so a lot of work was done on the ground. Basically, the same things that I've done for any of my other opponents, just with more on my wrestling.
Nokaut.com: There was a video of you training with Freddie Roach floating around the internet just prior to the Babalu fight. Was that working with Roach to help tighten up your striking for MMA or was that dipping a toe into the waters of a possible boxing career that you've talked about previously?
Gegard Mousasi: I was in Los Angeles and I knew that Roach's gym was there so I just wanted to do some boxing, do some sparring and see if I could compete in boxing. It was just for me, for my own feeling, to see how I would do and I think it went well. I want to say also that Freddie Roach is a great trainer and a very nice guy. It was just a test for me to see if I can compete in boxing. I don't want to go into a boxing ring without having some idea about how I would do, so I considered it a test for me.
Nokaut.com: Do you feel like you passed the test and boxing is seriously in your future?
Gegard Mousasi: Yeah, definitely. It will be this year that I will hopefully be fighting on Showtime or definitely next year. I'm going to take it step by step and I won't do it like Anderson Silva, who wants to fight Roy Jones Jr. right away, I would take it step by step. For me, I can also make a career in boxing. I want to see how the first couple of fights go before I even begin thinking of any big names in boxing.
Nokaut.com: Would a move to boxing come in addition to your MMA career or at the expense of it? Would you welcome the challenge of trying to keep both going?
Gegard Mousasi: It depends. I think I would do both at the same time probably.
Nokaut.com: Now the fight with Babalu was an incredible performance and possibly one of your strongest ever. Were you looking to make a statement with your performance in this fight, seeing as it was your first fight televised live in the United States, and if so, do you think that you've proved your point as one of the top fighters in the world?
Gegard Mousasi: I don't really consider myself one of the top fighters in the world, but it was my first fight in the US and I wanted to perform. Some people were expecting a good peformance from me so I just wanted to put on a good fight and win because everyone saw me in Japan and then I came to the US and I wanted to show that I'm a good fighter. There was some pressure, but luckily for me the fight went pretty well. It could also have gone into the later rounds so I just wanted to perform well in the US because I trained really hard for that fight.
Nokaut.com: You finished Babalu in just over a minute and in fact have stopped nine of your last ten opponents in the first round. Have you always considered yourself a fight finisher or has that skill evolved and improved over your career as your training has progressed?
Gegard Mousasi: I don't know. Like you said, I've won nine fights in the first round, but I think it just happens. I haven't had a fight yet where I've had to go to war or have a very difficult fight. In one way it's very good because I don't get any injuries, but on the other hand I want to see how I do in the later rounds or in the championship rounds so that's something that I think experience-wise is not good. It's sometimes frustrating to me because I don't know how I will do in the later rounds, but I'm sure that there will be an opponent at some point that will take me to the later rounds. For me, if I can finish the fight in the first minute or the last, it doesn't make a difference to me. As long as I finish the fight, I'm happy.
Nokaut.com: Who do you see as future challengers for your title in Strikeforce and have they talked to you at all about who you might be facing in your first defense? A possible rematch with Babalu?
Gegard Mousasi: I don't know. I think that Scott will arrange something maybe a catchweight for me to fight a lighter opponent or a heavier opponent. We might have to give Strikeforce a little bit of time for them to build up some fighters. Strikeforce has everything to be one of the biggest MMA organizations in the world and I think that they just need some time. UFC in the beginning also didn't have a lot of fighters that could fight for the top prizes so it'll just take some time. We have some top fighters and we also have top fighters outside of the Strikeforce organization that I can fight and I will just leave that up to Scott. I'm sure he'll do a great job.
Nokaut.com: Thanks to you Gegard for taking the time out of your busy schedule and if there's a message that you wanted to send out to your fans and any sponsors that you'd like to thank, the floor is yours.
Gegard Mousasi: Thank you for the support and for watching the fights. I hope that I will do very well in the future and continue to perform and put on good and exciting fights. I'm very thankful to the fans because it's because of them that the sport has gotten to where it is now and I can make my living because of them watching the fights and supporting the fighters.
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