Gegard Mousasi is not afraid of Jon Jones, would love to fight him
Former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi is at home in the Netherlands, healing from a major injury right now. Most people were quite unaware that he had torn his ACL, having last seen Mousasi in his December victory over Ovince St. Preux. While Mousasi heals, he took the time to answer several questions, and in doing so, he set his sights upon the top of the food chain in MMA right now. When asked about current UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, a man who has run roughshod over former titleholders lately, Mousasi simply replied:
“I’d love to fight him. I’m not afraid of fighting anybody because I never got hurt in any fight – kickboxing, boxing, MMA. I may have lost a fight, but I’ve never been hurt in a fight. I’m always confident that whatever happens, I got my chance. And I know I have a good punch, so I never doubt myself that I can win a fight or not.” – via MMAJunkie.com
With the striking accomplishments of Mousasi well-known, talk would turn to the ground game were he ever to face Jones in the Octagon. Jones is a great wrestler, something that has been viewed as Mousasi’s weak point, stemming from his 2010 loss to Muhammed Lawal. The UFC belt is currently one of few that Mousasi has failed to obtain, having won Strikeforce, DREAM, and Cage Warriors championships. However there are many roadblocks to this scenario, with Mousasi tentatively scheduled to face Mike Kyle under the Strikeforce banner upon his return. He has several fights remaining on his Strikeforce contract, having signed a new one recently:
“I had one fight left (on my Strikeforce contract), then I was hoping maybe to go to the UFC after that, but then they offered me – they said we’re going to give you a new contract. So I signed for another six fights. Now I have a six-, seven-fight deal, I believe, in Strikeforce. They said the Strikeforce fighters were going to stay with Strikeforce, and that’s the thing that it was, so we signed again.”
With November being his hoped-for return date, Mousasi finds himself in an odd situation outside the UFC if he wishes to stake claim as one of the world’s top Light Heavyweights. There is no doubt that his striking skills are world-class, when will we see him in the UFC?
