Mousasi: ‘I’ve studied Machida’s striking very well, I can deal with it’

“…I understand better now how he fights. I would say he is much more of a smart fighter. He lures you in, he feints, so I studied him very well. I can deal with it. I’m getting the chance to fight Machida. I’m excited, you know, because maybe I can get a title shot after this. There’s not many contenders at middleweight at this moment I believe. This is a fight I must win. With that mentality I’m going to go into the fight. I’m more relaxed than I was a year ago. You have to be smart and make no mistakes. He’s dangerous if you lose your control and you get too aggressive or leap into your punches. That’s when he’s most dangerous, so you have to fight smart.”

“I think I’ll do fine. I did a lot of sparring for this fight, five rounds, five minutes per. I tried to replicate the fight. Of course, it’s going to be in Brazil with a hostile audience, but other than that I just need to be smart and keep my cool and everything will be just fine.”

In a recent interview with ‘The MMA Hour‘ this weekend’s main event fighter, Gegard Mousasi, discussed his fight against Lyoto Machida.

Should the winner get a title shot?