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MMA Quick Quote: Gegard Mousasi performs well under pressure

"There was some pressure coming into the fight because it was my first fight in the US, but I trained hard for it and I was very comfortable and confident in the ring. I wanted to fight stand-up with him but I knew he would go for the clinch. I didn't want to give him any advantage so I knew when I could take him down, I would, [and] I had the chance so I took it. After 1-2 rights I felt he was a little bit dizzy, so I gave him some more -- for better results."

Newly crowned Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi adds another belt to his collection via Sho Sports after a complete and utter dismantling of Renato Sobral at the August 15 'Carano vs. Cyborg' event in San Jose. "The Dreamcatcher," who also held the DREAM middleweight title and Grand Prix championship, now pushes his record to 26-2-1 after winning his thirteenth straight fight. Mousasi will next fight Sokoudjou in the Super Hulk Tournament at DREAM 12 and is definitely a force to be reckoned with at light heavyweight -- but is there anyone in the Strikeforce 205-pound division that can give him a run for his money?

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babs took a beating, shame the fight didnt last longer as there could have been some great action, theres absolutely nothing left for gegard in strikeforce now and the real preasure is still to come.

by paniczoo on Aug 16, 2009 5:11 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Ahhhh i meant to say Jon Jones would bring the pressure.

by paniczoo on Aug 16, 2009 5:14 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

i think they are on different paths at the minute jones is yet to prove himself and if mousasi landed in the ufc he would be on the same tier as the like of jardine, silva and forest

by ukmma on Aug 16, 2009 6:41 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

MOusasi confimred what I already knew last night….He is a worldclass fighter that has a chance to be really special in this sport when its all said and done.

What NEEDS to happen now is: Strikeforce signing Rogerio Nogueira, and booking lil Nog vs. MOOusasi for the title on the november card that Fedor wlll headline!

liil Nog vs. MOusasi is as good a fight as just about every match up that the uFC could offer!

Hey Scott Coker, “Git-r-done”!

by john G on Aug 16, 2009 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Lil Nog is as good a fight as just about every match up the UFC could offer. Machida, Anderson, Rampage, and Shogun would all destroy lil Nog. I don’t get it? Mousasi needs to be in the UFC THE END!

by jimmy_dean on Aug 16, 2009 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

We all know the best talent is in the UFC so the question is will Gegard prove himself or will he follow Fedor down the path of stealing money from gullible MMA fans.

by Beaver on Aug 16, 2009 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Mouss would beat Forrest, Jardine, Thiago Silva and guys like that for sure!

by RoBerto on Aug 16, 2009 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

You could be right but I think it’s safe to say they all would test Gegard more than any Strikeforce fighter.

by Beaver on Aug 16, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

In strikeforece i say – Feijao once he gets a tune up. He lost his last fight but that was due to the bs with gettin him an opponent. His strength/conditioning coach had to go back to brazil so they did their training plan over email which i have to believe since he’s never gasses ever before in a fight.

by NameNotRequired on Aug 16, 2009 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Gegard can suck my d!ck if he doesn’t come to the UFC!!! All this hype will be for naught if he doesn’t prove himself against the best!

by The Negation on Aug 16, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

be beat melvin, jacare,denis kang,mark hunt and babalu. he is only 24 years old and he has plenty of ops outside the ufc. matyushenko, lil nog,mike whitehead, king mo lawal, sokoudjou and others. yes if he want to be the best he has to fight andserson/machida but he is only 24 right now he has time

by the heat on Aug 16, 2009 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Hasn’t matyushenko signed with the UFC? Only guy i’d be interested in is Lil Nog. Mike Whitehead and Sokodjou suck balls and dont get me started on Queen Mo. Unfortunately Moussasi is Fedor’s bum boy and another M1 puppet, he’ll never go to the UFC. Another wasted talent resigned to fighting second rate fighters, Ufc cast offs and cans. Pity!

by attakdog on Aug 17, 2009 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Please. Jon Jones? The top 5 of the division are the guys who will give him a rough time: Lyoto, Page, Shad, Shogun, (can’t think of a No.5).

by Synyster on Aug 16, 2009 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

WTF Jones?

by jay on Aug 16, 2009 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

You can absolutely tell that Gegard has been working with Fedor. He appears to have the “Fedor state of mind” before his fights now, especially last night. He was so calm and relaxed. The only time he showed any emotion was when he gave a lil smile to the camera during the stare down.

I thought and was saying, and bet that Gegard would dismantle Babalu. But WOW he owned him! Props to Gegard the gentleman for seeing Babs’ eyes roll in back of his head and stop nailing him, even before Big John intervened to stop the fight. I loved the overhead camera angle of Babalu KO’d.

There is pretty much zero competition for Gegard at LHW outside of the UFC.

by ViolentMike on Aug 16, 2009 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Slow Down there VM…There is a HUGE fight available for Musasi in the UFC:

MOusassi vs. Rogerio nogueira! I want to see that really bad!

As big of a Babalu fan as I am, There was no doubt in my mind that Mousasi was going to win that fight (won $300 on Gegard), but I had no idea he was going to dismantle him with such precise DESTRUCTION.

vM: you made 2 GREAT points:

1)You can definitely tell that he spends a lot of time with Fedor, which gives him a mental edge over 90% of the worlds fighters. Being able to stay even keel, blocking out al emotions is an invaluable asset in the fight game that til now, only Fedor has possesed. tHE ABILITY TO STAY CALM, COOL, AND COLLECTED regardless of the situation is what seperates him from everyone else, and if MOusasi continues to develop it, he will be very difficut to beat

2) I was so impressed with the class he showed by pulling back and not hitting babalu.You dont see that very often in today’s mma. I realy liike the way babalu carries himself. I has a good grasp of the elglish language. Its more then just conversational english skils…He knows a lot of sayings that you would never hear from other american speaking Foreigners like Machida!

PS: Stop with the Jon Jones CRAP!!! Yes, he has all the potential in the world, and is awesome to watch….but YOu guys are making me start to hate him. THe guy hasnt accomplished a focking thing yet. do you people realize he has been fighting Cans? He hasnt even been matched up against a gatekeeper yet. I am a big fan of bONES, but you people are starting to make me hate the poor kid.

I have heard foolish people say everything about Jon JOnes from: “being the man to beat Machida” to “finding a cure for Cancer”….. Let the kid grow! if it was up to half of you, you would throw him in the Cage with Machida tomorrow! DAMN!!!!!

by john G on Aug 16, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

You are starting to make me hate Mousasi. Just as much as fedor. It’s all cause of you and your hate for the UFC.

Lets hope he doesn’t sign with M-1 or else we’ll have another fedor situation again. Bring him into the UFC so we can finally see how he handles some real pressure. Strikefarce has no one else for him.

by Natas on Aug 16, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

He’s been with M-1 for a long time but he’s not like fedor where he owns part of it. Once all his deals around the world run out i.e dream, strikeforce, m-1, showtime boxing, K-1 then he’ll be in the UFC. He talked to Joe Silva and he was told that the UFC didn’t make an offer once affliction folded so the UFC doesn’t want him yet despite what Dana said in teh presser.

by NameNotRequired on Aug 16, 2009 6:17 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I hate the UFC? R u an idiot? This is my favorite sport and the uFC is the best organization that boast 90% of my favorite fighters….How the FOCK could I possibly hate the UFC?

by john G on Aug 17, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

i said jon jones would bring the pressure, their styles would make it a great fight, jones is hungry and on a warpath too. better than fucking soko, minowa, hunt or hong man choi fight anyway thats for sure.

by paniczoo on Aug 17, 2009 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

That’s the quickest dismantling I’ve seen since my daughter threw my last BlackBerry on the floor.

by El Mexicutioner, formerly The Mexicutioner on Aug 16, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Haha been there too…funny

by bigmcmac on Aug 16, 2009 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

he needs to go to the ufc, thts the only place to be at light heavy

by Horndog on Aug 16, 2009 5:12 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

He would shoot to the top very quickly and would make the division much more interesting, but I would not be to bothered if he doesn’t sign a UFC contract as I would miss out on seeing him compete in any future K1 Dynamites or other Japanese tournaments like Drean where he can fight whoever he pleases without them having a tight grip on his balls and telling him when and when not to breath.

by Ade on Aug 16, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Relax: strikeforce is constantly bringing in new talent. There is no doubt in my mind that they will bring in top lhw’s to match up against MOusasi.

Oh crap, its the day after an event….thats when people start hopping on and off fighters bandwagons!

by john G on Aug 16, 2009 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

huh! your right john..with all due respect you jumped from bones to dreamcather…

just kidding john.. :)

by gaara on Aug 17, 2009 2:39 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

yeah john how weird that people form opinions of fighters based on their performance in their most recent fight, DONKEY DUUUUUUUUUUHHHH

by paniczoo on Aug 17, 2009 10:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Man, who else CAN they get to fight Mousasi?
Unless Arona and little Nog come around, it’s really hard to think of anyone else in his weight class that will make it a competitive fight.

by Tim on Aug 16, 2009 5:25 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Gegard, after you wipe Soukoudjou off the map get your ass to the UFC where you belong!

What the hell are you doing at these minor league shows??

by rhys on Aug 16, 2009 5:40 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

For sure!

I want to see him get tested in the UFC. Just so he can add a little more excitement into that division. I say put him up against Anderson Silva after he wins his first UFC fight.
I wonder how long he will last. :D

by Natas on Aug 16, 2009 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I wonder how long Anderson would last.

by frosnt1 on Aug 16, 2009 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

me too! maybe anderson will last till the next round? just a guess though

by gaara on Aug 17, 2009 2:40 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

GM is my new Idol!! He´s the greatest ever! I love U Gegard!

by johan-lofgren on Aug 16, 2009 6:21 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

sign King Mo!

by ekc on Aug 16, 2009 6:26 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Why? He sucks. Queen Mo hasn’t beat anyone above a C level.
Mousasi would wreck him worse the he did Babalu.

by El Mexicutioner, formerly The Mexicutioner on Aug 16, 2009 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Lawal sucks! And he ain’t funny too!

by The Negation on Aug 16, 2009 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Haters, you’ll be on his nuts soon enough when the UFC gets him. Everyone has to start somewhere people. You become great by building your skills then pitting them against great fighters. Not by jumping in head first ill equiped- And i know for a fact that you guys are big enough fans to be able to name a dozens great beginner prospects ruined by horrible matchups.

by NameNotRequired on Aug 16, 2009 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Mousasi is madness! He matches up perfectly with so many guys in the ufc. Top picks for me would have to be – A.Silva, T.Silva, J.Jones and M.Hamill

by Insain on Aug 16, 2009 7:13 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

WTF, Hamill?!? i say Vera, Jardine, Thiago, and maybe even Shogun!! Then after that we could start talkin’ about Machidas and Silvas. But throwin’ him to the wolves right off the bat poses no problem to me at all. Throw him in I say!

by The Negation on Aug 16, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

the amount of anal loving on jon jones these days is unbelieveable. potential? yes. bt he aint had an acid test yet. put him in with a vera or jardine next to see what hes really got. right now id pick moussassi 1st round ko!

by Horndog on Aug 16, 2009 7:27 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Jones is better than anything Strikeforce can give him that’s for sure.

by Beaver on Aug 16, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

lol, can u repeat that little kid??

by gaara on Aug 17, 2009 2:41 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

here garaa i will repeat it, jones is better than anything strikeforce can give him thats for sure. that means jones would easily beat the only other lhw fighter strikeforce has to offer, bobby southworth. understand now dipshit?

by paniczoo on Aug 17, 2009 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Gegard is pretty good, but he’s pretty much the Jake Shields of his weight class, who else can he fight?

by General Jim on Aug 16, 2009 7:57 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

jon jones jon jones blah blah moussassi would do him in a round.

by Horndog on Aug 16, 2009 8:09 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

And do him in the as$ at that!

by The Negation on Aug 16, 2009 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Soku is going to get owned by Moussasi. There are no other 205#‘s out there that are not in the UFC. I am surprised the UFC didn’t make a bigger play for him when they took the Affliction contracts. He would have definitely shaken things up in the LHW UFC division.

by Da Monkey on Aug 16, 2009 8:50 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Gegard looked superb, I’ve never been convinced by Babalu and Mousasi looks like the real deal so I’m not surprised by the result. Still it was an excellent performance over a big name and Gegard has established himself as the best fighter not named Fedor outside of the UFC. He is so well rounded and still young so it’s scary how good Gegard has the potential to be and I hope that he is matched up against the best possible fighters at whatever weight class he sticks with.

He should get past Soko and Minowa/Choi no problem in Dream, then after that I hope he joins the UFC because with Vitor and Tito resigning he has no big name and competetive opponents at 205 in SF or Dream. There are some decent fights at 185 like Diaz, Shields, Jacare II, Mayhem, Lindland and Lawler but he doesn’t seem keen on cutting weight for that division again so I want him to sign for the UFC as that has the most competition for him at 205.

by David W-S on Aug 16, 2009 9:08 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

haha for real, mousasi technically just beat strikeforce’s entire 205 lb division. who else is he gonna fight? bobby southworth? seems to me they’ll try an use this opportunity to stir up some sort of b.s catch weight match between him and shields. which part of me kinda wants to see just cuz i wanna watch shields get destroyed and mousasi is definitely capable of doing so.

by matmar87 on Aug 16, 2009 10:02 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

It was awesome how Mousasi saw Bab’s was out so he stopped hitting him before the ref jumped in, true class act!

First time I’ve had the chance to catch Gegard live and WOW did he ever impress. Kids a monster, he looked like a vet out there, with how calm and composed he was. Can’t wait to see more of him, the UFC needs to get hold of him, I’d love to see him fight Thiago Silva or Luis Cain!

On a side note, anybody else catch Bab’s face when ko’d, that was a scary image!

by ppwwpp on Aug 16, 2009 10:07 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Completely agree. I am officially on the Gegard bandwagon. Did you see how he looked into the camera and gave a little smile in the middle of the staredowns? I’ve never seen that before. That guy may be even cooler and more unflappable than Fedor. Then at the end of the fight when he could have landed a couple of more very damaging punches on Babalu, he held off and waited for Big John. Pure class. Besides that, he actually speaks friggin English.

by Adam T. on Aug 16, 2009 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah I caught that little look. He’s ridiculously calm in there. Very Fedor like.

by RobH86 on Aug 16, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Agreed. I can’t believe the UFC didn’t snag this guy when they had the chance. But then, maybe Dana’s plan is to have him gain some great U.S. exposure on Strikeforce’s nickel and THEN wrest him away to the UFC. Does anyone know how many fights are on Gegard’s current Strikeforce contract?

by whatev on Aug 16, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Guy is a real talent, too bad we won’t ever know how really good he is fighting scrubs in Strikefarce.

by kibbled_bits on Aug 16, 2009 10:24 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yea cause at 24 yrs old the rest of his career is locked up with strikeforce! If he goes undefeated in strikeforce then the ufc will probably sign him when his contract is up.

by ItsNormlToSmokePot!! on Aug 16, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

man this guy was the reason I watched strikeforce last i was dying to see him fight live and he ruined sobral its sucks that m-1 global fucked out of the ufc by lying to him about the money they were offering him, this is bull whos he gonna fight now man fuck m-1 global I hope hes smart enough to get away from them and fight where he wanted to fight in the first place against the best in the ufc

by denni on Aug 16, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Let me 2nd the motion, FUCK M-1 GLOBAL!

by The Negation on Aug 16, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

For those who were introduced to Mousasi last night, this kid’s the real deal. There’s some good YouTube footage and his DREAM showing. Get aquainted, you’ll be seeing a lot of him.

I think he’s the most credible threat to Silva’s title at 185. A shot he’d unoubtedly get the second he signs a three-fight deal with Dana

by Daveisyourhero on Aug 16, 2009 11:27 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Actually, I was introduced to Mousasi by this guy named JAcare, who ate an upkick…Hehehe!

by The Negation on Aug 16, 2009 6:17 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

lol, i didnt know that shit syd…ive been the only one on vega’s bandwagon ever since..well, maybe the only one who blatantly admits it on here a year ago.

by gaara on Aug 17, 2009 2:47 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

strikeforce has no body in their light heavy division, gegard shouldn’t have signed that 3 fight deal, if he wants a challenge come to the ufc

by bryant on Aug 16, 2009 11:47 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I’m sure Dana White will learn of the results of this fight. He’s no fool when it comes to procuring available talent.

by Rider on Aug 16, 2009 11:50 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Thats true but there is easy money in Strikeforce just ask Gerard buddy Fedor who loves the gullible MMA fans cha ching for just stepping in the ring and padding a record why try and get the most honored belt in MMA when there is no (key word) “guarantee” when we can fight easier fights and get paid like kings? Fedor loves the wanna be hardcore american fans they treat him well LOL.

by Beaver on Aug 16, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Man, is Gerard for real. Babalu is a totally credible fighter, a borderline top 10 LHW, and Gerard walked through him with ease, without even breaking a sweat. He looked like he just got up off the couch after a nap he was so calm leading up to the fight.

Yes, he just about cleaned out the division by beating Babalu, but a couple more dominating wins will serve as a good introduction to him and then the UFC can hopefully snap him up.

He should fight someone like Jardine/Thiago Silva/Griffin in his first UFC fight. If he wins that, then a Rashad/Rampage type and then a title shot.

His talent level seems way up there, and he could be built into a credible challenger for either Anderson or Lyoto. Lord knows they need one because they won’t fight each other.

by revjames13 on Aug 16, 2009 3:57 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Well that was the chumpion………..phhhhhhhhh! First fight in Strikeforce and he makes the champ look real bad!!!! Gegard is the real deal he just needs to go were there is some legitimate talent!!!!!

by the spyder on Aug 16, 2009 7:10 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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