Gegard Mousasi may very well be the best MW in the world as of 2019, here's my top 5

[GordonMMARamsey]

Jacare, Gastelum, Whittaker, Romero, and Rockhold were all ahead of him and his 7-1 was not that impressive. He didn't have one top 5 win. Lets break it down...

Chris Weidman- Ranked #6 and was riding a two fight losing streak and was a bullshit TKO. That fight should have been restarted and Chris was not decisively beat.

Uriah Hall- Ranked number 12 and was coming of back to back losses

Vitor Belfort- Ranked #9 an old TRT-less post USADA vitor isn't much to brag about

Thiago Santos- was ranked 24 in the world at that time and went on to lose to Eric Spicely (who?) in his next bout. Can't believe this guy is going to be fighting Jones.

Thales Leites- was ranked 11 and was coming of a loss to Micheal Bisping

Uriah Hall- A fight he lost and was ranked at number 32

Costas Philippou- was ranked 13 and coming of a 2 fight losing streak

Dan Henderson- who was unranked (coming back from a LHW stint) was old and without TRT and was 1-4 in his last 5 fights

I can see you saying maybe Yoel, and for sure Whittaker were ahead of him during his 7-1 streak. But you want to talk about unimpressive? Lets look at Jacare, Kelvin, and Rockhold. None of them were ahead of him.


Really? He was behind Kelvin? During that same time frame that Mousasi went 7-1 (Jan 2015 to April 2017) Kelvin went..

Loss to Woodley
Beat Nate - that would be Nates 2nd loss in what went on to be a 2-6 run.
Lost to Magny
Beat Kennedy who hadn't won a fight in over 2 years and retired
Beat Belfort - Spoiler alert - He beat Belfort 6 months after Mousasi beat him.
Lost to Chris Weidman - Weidman snapped a 3 fight losing streak, thanks Kelvin.And Weidman lost to Mousasi 3 months before he beat Kelvin...doesn't do much for Kelvin eh?
Not sure how you put him ahead of Mousasi - feel free to explain that. 3-3 vs 7-1 uhhh what?

Jacare during that same time.
Beat Chris Camozzi ...k
Lost to Yoel
Beat Vitor - he beat Vitor 6 months before Mousasi did. So again, if you want to discredit Mousasi for it, it doesn't help Jacare.
Beat Tim Boestch - during this same time frame Boestch went 2-4 and was finished in all 4 fights.
Got destroyed by Whittaker.

How was Jacare ahead of Mousasi? In the same time frame that Mousasi went 7-1, Jacare went 3-2 and beat zero ranked fighters.

Romero during that same time frame, again Jan 2015 - April 2017
He beat Machida
He Beat Jacare
He Beat Weidman - this is the only fight you can hold against him, but since this win in your opinion is a knock AGAINST Mousasi, Yoel beating him 5 months before Mousasi did, you cant use it to help Yoel.

So Yoel was 3-0 while Mousasi was 7-1 with them both beating the same guy. Sure, you can put Yoel ahead of Mousasi if you'd like.

Rockhold -
Beat Machida - Are you seeing a pattern here? During this stretch Machida lost to Weidman, Luke, Romero, and Brunson. Cant give these guys a lot of credit for beating someone on a bad streak.
Beat Weidman - Hey so did Mousasi - I believe you remember how this works...if it doesn't help Mousasi, it doesn't help Luke.
Got knocked out in 86 seconds by Michael Bisping....

How do you have him ahead of Mousasi? He goes 2-1 in that stretch and get's knocked out in less than 2 minutes by Bisping but you put him ahead of Mousasi who is 7-1 during that same stretch?

Whittaker -
Beat - Brad Tavares
Beat - Uriah Hall - beat him right after Hall beat Mousasi, was ranked 22nd before that fight That would kick off a sweet 2-4 run
Beat Natal
Beat Brunson - Another one that this was the first loss in a 2-4 stretch
Destroyed Souza
Put him ahead of Mousasi, I wont argue.




At worst he was #3 in the Division during his 7-1 run. Nobody else was nearly as active, and nobody had as many wins during that stretch. And the 1 loss is laughable. Won the first round 10-8, at a kick and got stopped. In the rematch it was a repeat for the first match only Mousasi put him away. Also sure he lost to Eric Spicely - and then went on an 8-1 run and like you said, is fighting for the title.

 

[GordonMMARamsey]

It's fun when you try to discredit a fighter by picking apart his record... Until it backfires when you compare his record to the guys you rank ahead of him.

 

[rjmbrd]

??? Lol - uh I just basically answered the same thing you said. I find myself pinching myself.
Lol- ok , hes a fun top 10 fighter - ok.

I think Joe Rogan( alot smarter than you-mma) said it fairly and best recently (September 18th or 20th...think 18th).
He works for UFC and brought up how it was a good thing that Bellator acquired certain acquisitions . He immediately brings up Mousasi and I quote " right now gegard mousasi certainly one of the top 3 middleweights in world - IF NOT THEE BEST". No disrespect to you and it is subjective (even coming from Joe) but I'm riding with him on this one.

You do know that elite fighters do fix their problems as they grow and evolve .... hence " elite".
The cat is 33 and looks like 28 after a successful run everywhere and every top promotion at 46-6 [ and looks no worse for wear].

Hey- you're entitled to your opinion.

Moose fought two elite guys in his division in the UFC. They both beat him.

He was literally the THIRD GUY IN A ROW to beat Weidman, who still hasn't gotten out of his career spiral. Beating old, retiring farts in Hendo and Belfort isn't a win streak worth anything.

Moose is a top 10 guy, but to aporpos of nothing just say he's capable of beating guys like Romero and Whittaker is stupid at face value.

 

[Steve-French]

Moose fought two elite guys in his division in the UFC. They both beat him.

He was literally the THIRD GUY IN A ROW to beat Weidman, who still hasn't gotten out of his career spiral. Beating old, retiring farts in Hendo and Belfort isn't a win streak worth anything.

Moose is a top 10 guy, but to aporpos of nothing just say he's capable of beating guys like Romero and Whittaker is stupid at face value.

This... No matter what way you want to spin it the only top 5 guys he ever fought he ended up losing the fights.

 

[Franklin U.]

Moose fought two elite guys in his division in the UFC. They both beat him.

He was literally the THIRD GUY IN A ROW to beat Weidman, who still hasn't gotten out of his career spiral. Beating old, retiring farts in Hendo and Belfort isn't a win streak worth anything.

Moose is a top 10 guy, but to aporpos of nothing just say he's capable of beating guys like Romero and Whittaker is stupid at face value.

Lmao - I'll take Mousasi +115 over Whitaker every day, all day..... and if I'm wrong , I'm wrong. I'll take gegard as a slightly bigger dog vs 42 year old stamina issues romero.... also.( just going by betting lines [ lol- Vegas smarter than you] I think you're really underestimating the situation. That said, you shouldn't use the word stupid.
Agsin , this 2019.... not 2014. You are exactly what I reference as having thee most uneducated fans of any sport.


Again, you're entitled to your opinion but I really dont think you know what you're talking about ( and i say that because the way you reference things ......its amusing.I could be wrong and gegard could lose but it still wouldn't change my opinion of what you're trying to say)

That prolly went over your head (I apologize...I actually mean that respectfully)

 

[benebox]

1- Bobby Knucles
2- Yoel
3- Moose
4- Adesnaya
5- Gastelum

This

 

[josh345]

I like Moose a lot but he is
Way to salty about the lyoto loss. Machida was an amazing fighter

 

[Vegeta]

1 Mousasi and Whittaker
2
3
4 the rest

 

[Vegeta]

Israel beats him with ease.

Whaha, good one.

 

[kickpuncher]

Gotta learn how to move on brother. That guy is special.

Lol @ Costa @20falarVerdades

5. Hermansson/Gastelum
4. Adesanya
3. Romero
2. Whittaker
1. Mousasi

I agree on Mousasi. He's a beast. I think Israel beats Whittaker, but loses to Romero, so Rob's higher. Plus he's more established against top competition.

Rory would crush Wonderboy, and we all saw what Wonderboy did to Robert. Also what did Gegard do vs Rory? I'll let you do the MMA math to figure that one out.

Having said that, I'm a huge fan of both Robert and Gegard and that, IMO, is the dream fight to make out of any other fighters in any promotion. As someone else mentioned I think the top 4 or 5 guys at MW could all beat each other, it is that close at the top.

 

[kahymo]

Romero and the champ are the best MWs period

anybody else lose to these 2

 

[Mike]

You can. It's a freak accident.

Getting hurt because someone punched or kicked you in the face, during a fight?
Agree to disagree.

 

[Mike]

That s your opinion and I like Whitaker and his style but it's really not fair because he ,yes, beat a super tough 41 year old and a much different version of Souza. He is UFC champ so he'll get benefits of doubts. Who wouldn't want to see Mousasi vs Whitaker ? Style wise, I like todays version of mousasi over Robert and in Vegas wed see an opening line of the slightest of a favorite which would validate anyone's opinion- either way.

On Rogans pod September 18th .....and he works for UFC- He brought up how it was a good thing for Bellator and some of the huge acquisitions they've made. He brings up Mousasi right away and I quote " right now gegard mousasi is certainly one of the 3 best middleweights in world- IF NOT, THEE BEST". If my quote isnt exact word for word, it's close to it especially the important part of quote

Lol rogan hyping the guy is supposed to prove something? Obviously what I said is.my opinion, it's a forum.

But it's definitely not an opinion that Rob has done more in the ufc mw division than Moose and should be ranked higher. That's a fact. Rankings are supposed to be based on what you've actually done, not potential.

Moose couldn't make it to a shot in the division rob is the champ of, but Moose is better? It's fine if his fans believe that but he's never proven it.

 

[streetglider]

Souza? Whittaker kicked his head nigh on off 7 nights after Moose beat Weidman.

just because the champ beats you doesnt mean he wasnt higher ranked and above moose. he finished moose a few matches before that, without much of an issue.
so yes Souza was above him

 

[Mike]

Good job in forming an opinion that disregards the topic, and going on a tangent about it.

Nothing you said addresses the fact that Mousasi was on a 5 fight win streak, with a TKO finish over a top 5 MW, and how he still wasnt in the title picture.

He was very easily next in line, or at the very least 1 contender bout away from a TS.

Arguing that he wasnt even in the top 5 when he left the UFC is ridiculous.

I didn't disregard the topic. His wins weren't over the best mws. Everyone knows that. During that span he got trashed by Jacare and lost to a journeyman in Hall. He could and probably should have been in the title picure after the Chris win, but he isn't a draw so they weren't interested in pushing him or giving him big paydays.

And try to spin it all you want, Chris has been on a slump for years. Beating him when he was already on a losing streak isn't that impressive. It's literally the absolute weakest "top win" he could have gotten.

 

[FWRGeorgie]

Hope they get to run this back in Bellator

 

[Quietus]

He left UFC at a weird time where he was in a good spot to get a title shot, so Bellator must have really showed him the money. He is one of the best for sure, look at what he just did to Rory and you think he couldn't do the same thing to bloated Welterweights like Gastelum or Whittaker?

 

[applesbananas]

Getting hurt because someone punched or kicked you in the face, during a fight?
Agree to disagree.

Its definitely a freak accident.

 

[pankrat]

Moose is like the MMA hipster's darling. People would say he is the best when he was in Dream and Strikeforce and now that he's in Bellator it's starting again. He's a top 10 fighter and maybe even top 5, but he wasn't getting anywhere near the belt when he was in the UFC.

He was getting really near, KOed Weidman, who finished Gastelum, who have just foughtt for a belt in a contested bout. Mousasi would beat Kelvin way easier that Israel did

 

[pankrat]

Whittaker is number1. Mousasi is certainly top5 at this moment