Former Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi feels a clash with reigning UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya would be a good fight for him.
Mousasi looked to be on the cusp of a UFC title opportunity by the spring of 2017. He was riding a five-fight winning streak and had come off a second-round TKO victory over Chris Weidman. Mousasi decided to test free agency and signed with Bellator where he eventually became the middleweight ruler before dropping the gold to Rafael Lovato Jr.
Mousasi Feels He Stacks Up Well Against Adesanya
Adesanya wasn’t even in the UFC by the time Mousasi signed with Bellator. “The Last Stylebender” quickly shot up the rankings with impressive performances over the likes of Anderson Silva, Derek Brunson, and Brad Tavares. He starched Robert Whittaker back in Oct. 2019 to become the undisputed UFC middleweight champion.
Speaking to James Lynch of theScoreMMA, Mousasi said he thinks he can give Adesanya a run for his money.
“It would be a good fight for me,” Mousasi told theScore. “You have to be patient and not brawl with him. Because then he counters – and I’m good at the distance. That would be a great fight because I sparred with some guys he fought at Glory (kickboxing) and I did very well against them. So I can measure with that. … But it’s a hypothetical, so it’s not going to happen.”
Mousasi can claim the Bellator middleweight gold a second time. He’s scheduled to take on welterweight champion Douglas Lima for the vacant 185-pound gold on May 9. Lovato Jr. vacated the title after putting his career on hold due to a brain condition.
As for Adesanya, he’s coming off a successful title defense over Yoel Romero earlier this month. Many expect “The Last Stylebender” to put his gold on the line against Paulo Costa next.
How do you think a bout between Israel Adesanya and Gegard Mousasi would play out?
