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Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013

Opinion: Gegard Mousasi Has the Skills, Needs to Keep Motivation Going

Former Strikeforce champ Gegard Mousasi (far). Photo credit: Esther Lin

By Michael Hatamoto

Armenian fighter Gegard Mousasi could claw his way into a UFC light heavyweight title shot by picking up a couple of wins in the UFC cage.

He hopes to begin his UFC journey against Alexander Gustafsson, when the two fighters meet on Saturday night.

Mousasi admitted he doesn’t necessarily have the passion to train, but saw benefits of a proper training camp when he submitted Mike Kyle in Strikeforce.

I hope Mousasi has stayed motivated and trained hard for his expected UFC on Fuel TV main event fight against Alexander Gustafsson on April 6 in Sweden.  If not, the surging Swedish light heavyweight could use Mousasi as a stepping stone into a possible title shot against the winner of Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 later this month.

(Gustafsson reportedly suffered a cut in training, but the fight is still on, according to UFC President Dana White.)

Some would call Mousasi a drastic underachiever, seemingly letting natural talent slip by due to a lack of motivation in the gym.  The fighter holds a 33-3 pro MMA record, 8-0 pro kickboxing record, and a 12-1 amateur boxing record – and has fought at a high level in MMA and kickboxing.

If Gustafsson beats Mousasi, it’s virtually impossible to try and say he doesn’t finally earn a championship fight.  If Mousasi beats the Swedish fighter in front of his home crowd, I believe the UFC will want him to pick up at least one more high-profile win before a title shot.

posted by FCF Staff @ 8:00 am
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