Gegard Mousasi isn't a household name as of yet; however, if the elite Dutch-Armenian kickboxer and current Strikeforce middleweight champion continues his winning ways, he soon will be.
An outstanding grappler and a member of the Red Devil International Sport Club, the 24-year-old Mousasi—who trains with urban fighting legend Fedor Emelianenko—has amazing natural hand speed, which, during his youth, allowed him to become a boxing champion in the Netherlands at the amateur level.
Mousasi, who is no newcomer at 22-2-1 with 15 KOs, is currently on an 13-fight win streak, and in his last fight, on the Aug. 15 Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg card, he thrilled the crowd by defeating Renalto Babalu Sobral with a spectacular first-round knockout to become the Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion.
My personal feelings are that Mousasi is one of the top cage-fighters in the game, but it's also my opinion that he is playing in the wrong field, and that his greatest fights are certainly yet to come.
I'm hoping, if he continues to play his cards right, Mousasi—depending on the uncertain future of Strikeforce and Dream fighting promotions—will find himself competing against some of the greatest fighters in the world, who are currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Recently, Mousasi has been in a war of words with former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho, who stated that he would like to compete in a "winner take all" match with the newly crowned Strikeforce champion.
On Sept. 7, Mousasi lashed back at Filho in an interview with Fighters.com
I'm posting it here to let you see for yourself; however, my feelings are much the same as Mousasi's.
I also strongly feel that the failure of so many former fighters of the now-defunct promotion known as Pride Fighting Championships—who when transitioning to the UFC fell far short of their loyal fans expectations—was due in whole or in part to the corrupt nature of the promotion and its total neglect of steroid drug testing.
Mousasi stated that he would agree to fight Filho; however, he was adamant that the bout would only take place if Filho would do his part and pass all random drug tests with a clean slate.
Can anyone blame him?
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