Say hello to the new champion, Gegard Mousasi
In a much anticipated hold over fight from Affliction Trilogy, Mousasi won the Strikeforce light-heavyweight title by dismantling veteran fighter Renato “Babalu” Sobral.
Overnight “The Dreamcatcher” has catapulted to the top of the rankings in one of MMA’s most stacked divisions. However, Saturday night’s performance should come to no surprise to people who have seen this young prodigy in action. Mousasi boasts an impressive 26-2-1 record, with almost no weakness in his game. Saturday evening’s TKO victory over Babalu was his thirteenth in a row, and he hasn’t suffered a defeat in almost three years.
This Dutch-Armenian fighter started his journey to the top practicing Judo and Boxing at the age of 15. At 16, he became an amateur boxing champion in his home country the Netherlands. Due to lack of advancement in Hollands boxing world, he eventually switched to kickboxing and mixed martial arts. His first professional fight was in 2003 and he has been on the upswing ever since.
He currently fights out of Team Jurojin in the Netherlands, but is also a member of Vadim Finkelchtein’s Red Devil Sports Club. Already, comparison to Fedor Emelianenko and his fighting style have been made. Both humble champions with almost an unbeatable fighting style, consisting of devastating power and impressive ground games.
At a young age Mousasi looks like he is just getting started in what looks to be a very long and prosperous career. His next scheduled fight is set to take place in October against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in DREAM’s “Super-Hulk” Tournament.
Mousasi admitted there was a lot of pressure and nervousness leading up to his first fight in America against Babalu. But, if Saturday was any indication of how he fights under pressure, his opponents are going to be in trouble when the pressure is off.
If Saturday was the first time you got the pleasure of seeing this young champion in action, I’m sure he has already made a lasting impression.
Jason Polley is is a contributor to FiveOuncesofPain.com
| All posts by Jason Polley
Hello.
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“Overnight “The Dreamcatcher” has catapulted into the light-heavyweight pound for pound rankings in one of MMA’s most stacked divisions.”
I think you need to edit that sentence.. (i have no idea what you mean by it..)
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@sawebernet
Yeah, the sentence would have worked nicely with light-heavyweight AND pound for pound rankings since Moussasi certainly has moved up in both.
But Jason edited it for you and it just says LHW rankings now.
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He trains with 1 of the best fighters of all time in Fedor too. Big things, BIG THINGS.
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I look forward to him being a great champ. My only gripe is this exhibition with Fedor. Are you going to tell me that sparring is going to co-main event a card. Didn’t Rocky have an exhibition against Thunder Lips (my attempt at humor). Will that even count on the records?
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Are they not gonna strike like the Aoki Fedor thing, or are they just gonna go easy in all aspects?
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A little off topic but I just read Chuck Liddell is going to be on dancing with the stars, this is one season I might acually watch.
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With regards to the upcoming Fedor/Mousasi sparring match on the upcoming M-1 event in KC.
twyg “Will that even count on the records?”
Ahh… do you really have to ask this?
edub “Are they not gonna strike like the Aoki Fedor thing, or are they just gonna go easy in all aspects?”
Well since one was a grappling exhibition and the other is a sparring exhibition you tell me.
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I Think this will end up being a pretty good card, we get to see if Kerr can get somewhere near his older form, we get to see King Mo, and we get to see Fedor in great shape from training for Barnett, spar Mousasi. It was fun to see his exhibition with Aoki and I expect we will see things normaly not seen in mma fights with these two.
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Mousasi is one bad dude. Bright future indeed.
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Didnt know the other one was a grappling exhibition. Glad to see your in a hater mood today though.
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“Didnt know the other one was a grappling exhibition. Glad to see your in a hater mood today though.”
Just kidding dont take it personal.
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Wow this article is like reading his Wikipedia entry with a few extra bits, congratulations.
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He put in a dominant performance. I definately look forward to seeing him fight again. It’s always nice to see a night of fights where they are all finished except for one.
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