Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

His August 1st US debut was delayed two weeks after Affliction got out of promoting business and basically folded up shop. Re-scheduled as Strikeforce event for August 15. Also, buzz that the Vagabond is training with Freddie Roach.

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

Mousasi preparing to make his U.S. debut next month a memorable one.

http://newsblaze.com/story/20090708135537trie.nb/topstory.html

Young & Hungry: Gegard Mousasi's California Dreaming


"All my focus is on Gegard Mousasi," asserts current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral (32-8-0) about his upcoming bout with the fast rising star. "He is a huge challenge for me. I look forward to stepping in there against a former Dream Middleweight Champion. This fight will be champion vs. champion."

Gegard "The Dreamcatcher" Mousasi (25-2-1) moved up in weight and will compete in a light middleweight bout against Sobral for Affliction M-1 Global's "Trilogy" on August 1st at Honda Center in Anaheim. He has an impressive record, is currently ranked the #3 middleweight in the world by Sherdog and #7 middleweight by MMAWeekly, and made the majority of last year's "Fighter of the Year" lists. Mousasi defeated Ronaldo "Jacare" de Souza for the Dream title last September and heavyweight Mark Hunt in the first round of DREAM's highly-publicized Super-Hulk Tournament at Dream 9.

Mousasi is managed under the Red Devil International banner, the same association Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko fights under, and the two have worked out together. Fedor, whose headline fight with Josh Barnett for "Trilogy" promises to be a blockbuster match up, has influenced Mousasi in a number of ways. The young fighter even speaks in the same calm, collected manner as the heavyweight champ. "Training with him, that's also one of the reasons I thought I can be a heavyweight," says Mousasi of Fedor. "Standing next to Fedor, I feel so much bigger than him. When you train with him, he feels like a middleweight. He's as strong as a heavyweight but as fast as a middleweight, so I think that makes him special. If I can take my speed as a middleweight, have that explosiveness and mobility and move up to heavyweight, I think that's something a lot of them don't have."

And Mousasi has the same quiet confidence in his abilities as Fedor, too. "I feel always that I'm physically stronger than my opponents. I feel like my opponents can't hurt me because I'm always comfortable in stand-up and there hasn't been a fighter that's ground-and-pounded me," he says. "I feel like I can hurt them, but they can't hurt me."

Still, Mousasi anticipates that facing Sobral in the ring will be a tough trial of his skills. "It's a good test for me, I'm training very hard for it," says the Dutch-Armenian mixed martial artist. "Babalu is a big challenge. I like the way he fights-he fights to win. He's a real fighter. I like fighters who come to fight. This fight will be and all out war. I think the fans will get an exciting fight."

Sobral agrees. "Mousasi is a great match for me. (It's) a great match for him, too. He's a true champion. People might not know him in the U.S., but he's a true fighter. I'm very impressed with him."

Sobral will pose the biggest challenge for Mousasi on the ground, where his years of experience and expertise will be a threat. "I think he will be the better wrestler and Jiu-Jitsu guy," says Mousasi. "But none of that matters-this is MMA."

And what does Mousasi bring to the table to try to unhinge Sobral's advantage on the ground? "He's hungry to fight," states Babalu, "That's the big difference. We both have great styles, so this fight will come down to youth vs. experience. Mousasi is a young, hungry fighter. He wants it. Against him I have the experience and strategy and the fight's in my backyard. That makes me think it's equal. We will see which mindset wins out."

"Even if he could take me down, I don't see him (being able to) ground and pound me," says Mousasi of Sobral. "I don't see him getting mount or top position (or) that he can do any damage. I don't see him submit(ting) me. So eventually it'll be a stand up fight again. And sooner or later, I'll catch him." Mousasi, who is enjoying an incredible 12 victory winning streak will be making his American fight debut at "Trilogy"-a great opportunity to increase his fast growing fan base.

"I'm going to fight stand up. If I can take him down, I'll take him down," the six-foot-one, two-hundred and sixteen pound competitor asserts. "I feel strong, I feel explosive. I'm very confident. I think I can beat him."

GoDaddy.com presents Affliction M-1 Global "Trilogy" featuring Fedor vs. Barnett in association with Golden Boy Promotions and Donald J Trump. The show is separated into two live broadcasts on the same night-a one-hour special will air on HDNet starting at 7:30 PM/ET (4:30 PM/PT), followed by the sensational Pay-Per-View event, "Trilogy," commencing at 9 PM/ET (6 PM/PT).

Tickets for Affliction M-1 Global's "Trilogy," ranging between $50.00 and $600.00, go on sale June 8th at Honda Center Box Office (1.714.704.2500), and also online at Ticketmaster.com and at all Ticket Master outlets (1.714.740.2000).

[Pazooki]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

It's official. Mousasi to make U.S. debut at The Pond.

Btw, I might get tickets for that fight.

Mostly for Gegard's and Fedor's fight.

[Pazooki]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

Gegard is a beast.

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

It's official. Mousasi to make U.S. debut at The Pond.

[Gavur]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6TsAnceI9A

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

Mousasi outclassed competition in debut in heavyweight division.

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

Fights today against Mark Hunt. Tapped to coach World Team in M-1 against three teams including Turkey in Kansas City, MO. In negotiations to make U.S. debut. http://www.mmafighting.com/news/2009...-m-1-challenge

Former DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will serve as coach of the World Team Friday, June 5 at M-1 Challenge at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City.
He'll lead his squad against Turkey, in one of three team matchups at M-1 Challenge's fifth event of 2009. The other two team matchups are USA East vs. Finland and England vs. France.

Mousasi (24-2-1), who vacated his middleweight title to move up in weight, has a fight lined up ten days before the coaching gig. The 23-year-old Mousasi will put his eleven-fight win streak on the line against heavyweight Mark Hunt at DREAM.9 on May 26 in the first round of the promotion's Super Hulk open-weight tournament.

According to M-1 Global, Mousasi is also in negotiations to make his US debut with an American promotion.

----
Mark Hunt, his opponent today, weighs in at 286 lbs. Looks like Mousasi has packed in the pounds also at 218lbs. Last I checked, that ain't no middleweight class.

http://www.fightticker.com/story_0525091625_dream_9_weigh_in_results

By Steve Ficca, FightTicker.com Blogger

Dream 9's official weigh-in results are in. In attendance for the weigh-ins were stars such Hong Man Choi, Jose Canseco, Kid Yamamoto, Gegard Mousasi, Ronaldo Jacare, and Mayhem Miller.

Here are the full results, courtesy of MMAWeekly.com:

-Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (83.7 kg)(184.5 lbs) vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller (84 kg) (185.1 lbs)
-Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (62.2 kg) (137.1 lbs) vs. Joe Warren (62.6 kg) (138 lbs)
-Masakazu Imanari (63 kg)(138.8 lbs) vs. Bibiano Fernandes (62.8 kg)(138.4 lbs)
-Yoshiro Maeda (62.8 kg)(138.4 lbs) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (63 kg) (138.8 lbs)
-Abel Cullum (62.7 kg) (138.2 lbs) vs. Hideo Tokoro (62.7 kg)(138.2 lbs)
-Tatsuya Kawajiri (70 kg) (154 lbs) vs. Gesias "J.Z." Calvancante (70 kg)(154 lbs)
-Gegard Mousasi (99 kg)(218 lbs) vs. Mark Hunt (130 kg)(286.6 lbs)-Jan “The Giant” Nortje (160 kg) (352.7 lbs) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (102 kg)(224.8 lbs)
-Hong Man Choi (150 kg)(330.6 lbs) vs. Jose Canseco (115 kg)(253.5 lbs)
-Ikuhisa Minowa (89 kg)(196.2 lbs) vs. Bob Sapp (145 kg)(319.6 lbs)

-------------------------------------

Mousasi is favored at -250. I guess he wasn't joking when he said he would move up in weight class.

[Pazooki]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

Why isn't he in the UFC?

I would love to see him dominate in UFC.

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Gegard Mousasi - Armenian MMA out of Europe

Mousasi's announcement to move up to light heavyweight leaves some asking "why?".

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/160700-is-gegard-mousasi-making-a-mistake-by-moving-up-to-lightheavy-weight

Is Gegard Mousasi Making a Mistake By Moving Up to Light Heavyweight?

by Tom Grant


Many consider the 23 year old Armenian, Gegard Mousasi, one of the top five middleweights in the world. His unique blend of Dutch kickboxing and Judo has resulted in an impressive 24-2-1 record and the reputation of the most dangerous middleweight outside of the UFC.

Recently it was announced that Mousasi was leaving the realm of 185 lbs and is entering the ranks of the lightheavy weights. To welcome the 'Young Vagabond' DREAM has arranged for very talented UFC flunk out Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

Mousasi's choice to move up a weightclass has left some scratching their heads, such a dominate, young fighter with a unique blend of skills leaving his weightclass and title?

Outside of the UFC the middleweight division does get a little thin, Mousasi is the big name that has never made an appearance in the UFC. Robbie Lawler jumps to mind as a highly rated non-UFC middleweight but it would require a leap to the smaller promotion of Strikeforce-Elite XC from the larger, Japan based DREAM.

Jorge Santiago is another middleweight possibility but his poor stint in the UFC, including a KO loss to Chris Leben hangs a bit over his head. Similarly Vitor Belfort has the talent of a top fighter, but has an inconsistent past that makes Mousasi v Belfort a tough sell as a 'superfight'.

Moving to LHW gives Mousasi the option of a true superfight by jumping to Affliciton and fighting Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira.

It also seems Mousasi is looking to answer the size questions in the first fight facing a much larger fighter. While Sokoudjou and Mousasi are both 6'0", Sokoudjou could easily fight at heavyweight and is an extremely powerful striker.

Mousasi on the otherhand has a similar body type to Dan Henderson, a very slim and lean 6'0" (6'1" in Henderson's case) but a strentgh and leverage beyond the eyeball test.

Sokoudjou also is a very interesting blend of Mauy Thai and Judo, but guard and cardio have been serious problems and as a result his results have yet to match his talent. He has power to spare and could take Mousasi's head off with a solid kick and will likely be able to muscle the smaller Armenian around.

Sokoudjou's biggest advantage aside from size is his unmatched explosiveness in the the first round, he commits to strikes like no other fighter and this really is the reason why he runs out of gas so quickly.

Mousasi's main advantage will lay on the ground, with 8 submissions wins. Mousasi also has superior footwork and can paint the canvas until Sokoudjou gasses himself out. Mousasi's main concern is not allowing Sokoudjou to smother him with size and strength.

Sokoudjou is in something of a lose-lose situation, if he wins he simply beat a smaller fighter who made a mistake moving up a weightclass. If Sokoudjou looses, it will be his third in a row and fourth in five fights, a virtual death sentence for his big promotion hopes.

In any event I certianly will be watching when these two collide.