After rising through the ranks and becoming a top ten ranked fight at middleweight following his capturing of the DREAM middleweight title in 2009, it would appear M-1 Global fighter Gegard Mousasi has conquered another weight class.
Scheduled as the co-main event during Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg” fight card broadcast live in the United States on SHOWTIME and around the world on SHO.com, Mousasi once again proved critics who questioned his decision to abandon the 185 lbs. weight class with his 1:00 TKO of Renato “Babalu” Sobral.
With the victory, Mousasi has now been crowned the new Strikeforce light heavyweight, adding yet another title belt to his growing collection.
“I felt very good coming into the fight,” Mousasi told M-1Global.com in an exclusive phone interview shortly after the bout. I trained very hard for this fight and to be honest, I expected it to go much longer than it. No disrespect to Sobral, but I was surprised.”
Mousasi is already looking forward to his first defense of the title but will now focus on his next official bout scheduled to take place on Oct. 6 in the DREAM “Super Hulk Grand Prix,” where he is currently scheduled to fight Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. No stranger to tournaments, Mousasi said he intends to add yet another championship to his resume.
“It was my dream to become the 185 lbs. champion in DREAM,” Mousasi began. “I accomplished that dream and then accomplished another by winning the Strikeforce light heavyweight title. I would like to finish what I starter in Japan and become the DREAM Super Heavyweight champion. From there, within a couple of years, it is my dream to then become a heavyweight champion. I realize those are ambitious goals, but I am young and I want to push myself and see how far I can go.”
For fans who do not want to wait to see Mousasi again, they will be able to see him participate ina special sparring exhibition against fellow M-1 Global fighter Fedor Emelianenko during M-1 Global’s upcoming “Breakthrough” show on Aug. 28 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City. The card will be broadcast live in the United States on HDNet.
