This Saturday night, in Stockholm, Sweden, middleweight standout, Gegard Mousasi will be facing off against longtime fan favorite and hard hitting, Dan Henderson for the 14th installment of the UFC on FOX series of cards. Both men are in a "must win" situation, as they are each coming off losses, and still have hopes of making a run at the title.
Recently, Bloody Elbow staff writer, Karim Zidan spent some time in Russia with various MMA fighters, trainers and other personalities. Of note was Mousasi's former trainer, Ino Alberga, who detailed what he felt was the most important issue with the 29-year-old's fight game.
Ino stated that Gegard's lack of commitment to the sport and disinterest in taking up a full-time coach and focusing on one team that can truly better him was the reason he's not been able to string together a win streak in the UFC the way he did in Strikeforce and Dream. Mousasi gave an honest accounting of his performances, and told Bloody Elbow that while this may have been the case in the past, it's not an issue now.
He may have a little bit of a point, yeah, just a little bit, but for this fight, I don't lack any commitment or drive. With me, I can have mental issues, a mental block. Sometimes I have ups and downs; sometimes I perform very well, and other times I just don't. I think it's more mental than anything else, but I'm very sure I've addressed everything in this fight camp, and I'm 100% certain that I'm going to win. It's all up to me. I haven't shown everyone what I can do, so I've trained really hard and plan to go in there and fight hard. I just don't see myself losing.
There's a 5 man cluster of fighters that are the frontrunners for the next shot at the Middleweight title; Anderson Silva, Luke Rockhold, Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza (Jacare), and Yoel Romero. Gegard has formed a friendship with Jacare over the years, with each of the men holding a win over the other, and feels that he will be the one to face off against the winner of Weidman vs. Belfort.
"Definitely Jacare. He's on a big winning streak, and I just think he deserves it the most, but from what I've heard, Anderson Silva will get the next one if he beats Diaz. Any of the guys in the Top 5 deserve it, but it's about timing, and I think it's Jacare's time."
When it comes to fighter scandals, the Dutch fighter feels that people might be making more out of the situation than it warrants.
"I think Jon Jones is a grown man and can do what he wants. Of course a lot of people have their eyes on him because he's a famous athlete, but I think people are making too big a deal out of it. We've all done stupid things when we're young. Because he's a celebrity athlete, people pay closer attention to what he does."
Mousasi relayed that the focus on this camp was primarily the conditioning aspect, adding that Henderson still carries dangerous power.
"I trained the most on being mentally ready for the fight. I'm in great shape, my conditioning is great, and that gives me a lot of confidence. You can't really train for the power in his hands, and that's what makes him a challenge. He may be a little slower, but he's still dangerous. I feel that I'm ready for anything he throws at me. I'm absolutely confident I'll get the win."
