Gegard Mousasi doesn't want to lose to Keith Jardine and 'screw himself' in front of the UFC

The UFC buyout of Strikeforce has created an environment in which fighters are no longer afraid to speak their minds about their desire to move up to the world's largest fight promotion.

The latest to do so is Gegard Mousasi, who tells Sherdog Radio his upcoming fight against UFC exile Keith Jardine on April 9 in San Diego at the "Diaz vs. Daley" event is a potential deal-breaker.

If he wins, he (likely) receives a title shot against Dan Henderson sometime in the summer and moves him one step closer to a potential champion vs. champion inter-promotional match-up.

If he loses, well, there's no telling what will happen to the former champion, who hasn't seen action in the Strikeforce cage since losing his strap to Muhammed Lawal in April 2010.

"If I win this, I get a title shot in Strikeforce hopefully. It all depends of course on how I perform, but I just need to win every fight and I think it will be OK. This fight is important. I think this one is a deal breaker or maker. I need to win this one. If I win the light heavyweight belt, then there’s more meaning for me to go to the UFC. Because then champion versus champion can be done. There’s a little bit more pressure now because there’s no competition. If you screw up, you’re screwed yourself. There’s more pressure, but other than that, I can just fight the best that I can. I hope they like my style."

If "The Armenian Assassin" gets by "The Dean of Mean," should he indeed be given a title shot against "Dangerous Dan" later this year?

And would a win in that theoretical bout be enough to convince you he belongs in the UFC? And how do you think the rest of the Strikeforce division feels about his "no competition" assessment of the light heavyweight division?

Sound off, Maniacs.