Gegard Mousasi wants showdown with Rory MacDonald after Bellator 200
It was recently announced that former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and UFC middleweight contender Gegard Mousasi will return to the Bellator cage at Bellator 200 on May 25. On this stacked card, which goes down in London, England, Mousasi will take on Bellator’s reigning middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho.
If Mousasi can get passed Carvalho at Bellator 200, he’s hoping it’ll open the door to more big opportunities in the Bellator cage – namely, a showdown with Bellator welterweight champ Rory MacDonald.
Speaking on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Mousasi broke down a potential matchup with MacDonald. After watching MacDonald’s title-winning five-rounder with Douglas Lima, Mousasi feels he can easily defeat the Canadian star.
“He didn’t have a great performance [against Lima], but I’m not going to go on Twitter and say stupid shit,” Mousasi said.
“After this fight, hopefully we can get it done and he can come and show his skills,” he continued. “But he will come up short. His style is perfect for me, he moves forward — he’ll get his ass kicked, probably.”
Of course, MacDonald isn’t the only option Mousasi sees down the road, should he defeat Carvalho. He’s also interested in return to his former haunts at light heavyweight, where battles with champ Ryan Bader, Phil Davis, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Chael Sonnen could await.
“If I beat Carvalho, doors will open,” Mousasi said. “I might go up to light heavyweight and maybe I can accomplish a title there. If I do well in the title fight and I win, I can achieve bigger things.”
Gegard Mousasi is currently on a six-fight streak, having recently defeated top-flight foes in Thales Leites, Thiago Santos, Vitor Belfort, Uriah Hall, Chris Weidman and most recently, Alexander Shlemenko in his Bellator debut.
Do you think Gegard Mousasi will capture gold at Bellator 200?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/11/2018.
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