By: Dan Wyatt, MMATorch Contributor
Name: Gegard ?The Dreamcatcher? Mousasi
Promotion: Strikeforce, Dream
Division: 205, 265
Height: 6 ft 1 in
Reach: 76 in
Record: 29-3-1
Specializes: Kickboxing
Career Summary: Gegard Mousasi didn?t grow up in a nice home, training at the best martial art centers his parents could buy; instead, he grew up in a war ridden Iran during the Iran-Iraq war. He lived there until the age of four when he could flee the country with his parents to the Netherlands. He didn?t fight a couple times before he got his big break fighting for a big name MMA promotion. Instead, he fought in smaller promotions up until his fifteenth match when he signed on to fight for Pride, and even to this day he?s yet to settle into a single promotion, always bouncing around. There is only one constant in Gegard Mousasi?s fighting career, whether he was fighting for Pride or taking on overmatched opponents in small promotions, he?s not a guy you want to fight.
He started out as a strong kickboxer who could pull off a submission at the same time. After ripping through opponents on the small stage he was given his chance at the big time, being invited to Pride?s Welterweight Grand Prix. He was able to show off his power by breaking his opponent?s eye socket in his first fight; however, he lost the following bout by armbar to Akihiro Gono. Even though he lost it shined a light on his career, and he fought once more in Pride before moving up to middleweight and on to different promotions. He once again bounced around smaller promotions, including Bodog Fights beating on recent TUF 11 contestant, Kyacey Uscola. Eventually he was signed to Pride's successor, DREAM, being invited to their Middleweight Grand Prix. He once again won the first fight, but this time he kept going, fighting all the way to the inals. He took on Jacar� Souza, who is now the new Strikeforce Middleweight Champ. Mousasi was able to pull out the win, knocking out Souza with a rare upkick.
After becoming the middleweight champ, Mousasi once again decided to move up, but this time he not only moved up to light heavyweight, he also took fights at heavyweight. He fought in Dream again, this time against notable kickboxer Mark Hunt. He was able to win by submission, forcing the tap in just over a minute.
He was then introduced to the American fans, and once again he was fighting for the title, this time in Strikeforce. Mousasi defeated the reigning Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Renato Sobral by KO in a minute exactly. From there he fought a non-title fight against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in Strikeforce, and a heavyweight fight against Gary Goodridge in DREAM, winning both by TKO.
After defeating Goodridge he was to take on his first title challenger back in Strikeforce, wrestling extraordinaire Muhammed Lawal. Mousasi was favored coming into the match, but throughout the course of the fight Lawal was able to exercise takedown after takedown and work his top game. Despite Mousasi developing a strong ground game he was unable to defend himself while Lawal was in his guard and lost by unanimous decision.
Mousasi then returned to DREAM, fighting in their Light Heavyweight Grand Prix. His first fight was a semi-final match against Jake O?Brien; O?Brien missed weight by 7 pounds and was clearly the much larger fighter. However, Mousasi proved that size didn?t matter as he was able to choke out O?Brien less than a minute into the fight by guillotine choke.
He is now set to fight Tatsuya Mizuno for the open DREAM Light Heavyweight Title on the upcoming Dream 16 card, a fight that is expected to be an easy win for Mousasi.
Strengths: Even though Mousasi has developed a strong ground game, he still holds most of his power in his hands. He is a former kickboxer and can strike with almost anybody in MMA. He has worked in a strong ground game, and even though he lost his fight against Lawal, he showcased a strong guard that Lawal had extreme trouble passing. His submission game is ever improving, as he's picked up 10 of his 29 wins by submission.
Weaknesses: Even though he has a good ground game his ground defense has obvious holes. He was able to stall Lawal in his guard but could not execute a sweep in the guard. He also was shown to be vulnerable to takedowns in the fight, being taken down 11 times. But what seems to haunt him throughout his entire career is a seeming lack of talent in his opponents. While it?s obvious that Mousasi is a great talent, he hasn?t had much of a chance to showcase it against high level opponents; instead he tends to be set up against lower level opponents.
Where he stands in the division: In DREAM he is easily the most formidable light heavyweight and should win the championship with ease, he may even be the best heavyweight if he decides to fight more in that division. In Strikeforce, however, I have him second behind Rafael Cavalcante; I believe that if he fought Lawal again he could make the improvements in his game to win the match, and possibly against Cavalcante as well if given the chance.
What the future holds: What does the future hold? When you spend your career fighting in small promotions - where the future for not only your career in the organization is murky but the entire organization itself is a question mark - really does make your career a question mark. Unless the MMA gods smile upon Mizuno, Mousasi should be able to walk out with the win later this month. From there, though, he would probably try to work his way back into the title picture for Strikeforce, possibly becoming the first person to hold titles in two separate major promotions at the same time.
How close he is to a title shot: The time is once again upon Mousasi, as he has a chance to once again be a DREAM Champion, only this time at light heavyweight.
On deck for next week: I?ll be giving you all the details on perhaps the last hope for Japanese MMA, Shinya Aoki, as he gets set to prove his dominance against Marcus Aur�lio on the upcoming Dream 16 card.
Dan Wyatt is a communications major in college looking at a career in sports radio and sports writing. Outside of sports you can find him doing stand up comedy or acting in the upcoming independent film, Company of the Damned.
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