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UFC ON FOX 14: GEGARD MOUSASI DETERMINED TO SECURE A WIN AGAINST DAN HENDERSON
mirror.co.uk
December 19, 2014 Friday 2:59 PM GMT
'The Armenian Assassin' talks to Mirror Fighting about his upcoming
fight with "legend" Dan Henderson and his disappointing showing against
'Jacare' Souza
By Alex Watt
Gegard Mousasi was not impressed by his last performance.
It's a point he makes abundantly clear over the course of our short
interview and something which he plans on correcting next month when
he fights at UFC on Fox 14 in Sweden.
Mousasi (35-5-2) fights fellow UFC, PRIDE and Strikeforce veteran
Dan Henderson (30-12) in the co-main event of the January 24 show.
Speaking about his future opponent, Mousasi said, "He's tough. He has
fought the best and he's been against a lot of good fighters. He's
a legend. I'm happy to fight him."
The 44-year-old Henderson would appear to be in the twilight of
his career, having won just one of his last five fights. Not that
Henderson's recent form makes him any less dangerous in Mousasi's mind.
"He's fighting the best guys out there so, obviously, the chances of
losing is bigger," added Mousasi. "I don't know which Dan Henderson
is going to show up for this fight but I just prepare for the best one.
"There's no gameplan, I just fight. This time, I'm going to go in
there and just fight. After my last fight, it was bad and I wasn't
happy with my performance. This time, I just want to go out there
and give my all. Lose or win, I don't care, as long as I give my best.
"This fight, I'm going to fight like my old self; go forward and put
the pressure on and try and make it a high tempo fight."
That last loss came to Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza in September, when he
was outclassed by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist and succumbed
to a guillotine choke in the third round.
It's not an experience Mousasi looks back on fondly.
He said, "Even just walking to the ring that night I know I was not
myself. I've never felt so bad before a fight; not physically, but
with the desire to fight. I don't know, it just wasn't my day."
When pushed on what made him feel so out of sorts that night,
Mousasi is hesitant to respond, simply saying, "I know, but it's a
very long explanation".
Gegard Mousasi interview
'The Dreamcatcher' joined the UFC in 2013 and has gone 2-2 inside
the Octagon thus far.
Mousasi has won gold across two weight divisions in multiple promotions
- Strikeforce, Cage Warriors and Dream - but a UFC title shot looks
a long way away for the 29-year-old right now.
He added, "I've lost two fights against the best middleweights so
it's a far away thing to think about the title just now. I always
have that in the back of my head but, at this moment, I just need to
get a couple of wins before I can think about that again.
"I'm not even close. I mean, you never know in the UFC, but you
have Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva coming back, you have (Lyoto)
Machida, Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, there's so many guys, you
know? It's a difficult division now and I just have to take it one
fight at a time and see what happens."
At the top of the pile, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is set
to defend his title against Vitor Belfort at UFC 184 on February 28.
Although Mousasi has no dispute with Vitor Belfort getting the next
middleweight title shot, he has been vocal in the past about 'The
Phenom's' use of Testosterone Replacement Therapy. Unsurprisingly
then, Mousasi is pleased that the controversial 'TRT' has now been
banned in MMA but he doesn't sound convinced that it will completely
stop the use of PEDs in the sport.
"For sure (it's a good thing that TRT is banned). You never know,
people are going to try any way to get past it and pass the drug
tests. You never know if you're fighting someone who is on something
or not.
"The UFC is testing more so that's good but you're always going to
have characters who will try to cheat the system."
Fight Night Stockholm: Gustafsson vs. Johnson - Tickets On Sale Now!
For now, Mousasi's only focus is Dan Henderson and, primarily,
turning in a better performance than he did against Souza.
Mousasi added, "I want to go out and just fight and whatever happens,
happens. I'm going to go all out and what the result is going to be;
I don't care. I'm going to do my best and that's the most important.
"I'm going to go for the victory, for sure. But, I'm not going to be
disappointed. My last fight, it just wasn't me and I didn't do what
I set out to do, so with this fight I'm going to go out there and
just fight.
"If something happens, it's not my fault, anything can happen, it's
a fight. But I am always training hard for the fight and I will be
happy with any result."
Will Gegard Mousasi defeat Dan Henderson at UFC on Fox 14?
Mirror Fighting Facebook Promotion
mirror.co.uk
December 19, 2014 Friday 2:59 PM GMT
'The Armenian Assassin' talks to Mirror Fighting about his upcoming
fight with "legend" Dan Henderson and his disappointing showing against
'Jacare' Souza
By Alex Watt
Gegard Mousasi was not impressed by his last performance.
It's a point he makes abundantly clear over the course of our short
interview and something which he plans on correcting next month when
he fights at UFC on Fox 14 in Sweden.
Mousasi (35-5-2) fights fellow UFC, PRIDE and Strikeforce veteran
Dan Henderson (30-12) in the co-main event of the January 24 show.
Speaking about his future opponent, Mousasi said, "He's tough. He has
fought the best and he's been against a lot of good fighters. He's
a legend. I'm happy to fight him."
The 44-year-old Henderson would appear to be in the twilight of
his career, having won just one of his last five fights. Not that
Henderson's recent form makes him any less dangerous in Mousasi's mind.
"He's fighting the best guys out there so, obviously, the chances of
losing is bigger," added Mousasi. "I don't know which Dan Henderson
is going to show up for this fight but I just prepare for the best one.
"There's no gameplan, I just fight. This time, I'm going to go in
there and just fight. After my last fight, it was bad and I wasn't
happy with my performance. This time, I just want to go out there
and give my all. Lose or win, I don't care, as long as I give my best.
"This fight, I'm going to fight like my old self; go forward and put
the pressure on and try and make it a high tempo fight."
That last loss came to Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza in September, when he
was outclassed by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist and succumbed
to a guillotine choke in the third round.
It's not an experience Mousasi looks back on fondly.
He said, "Even just walking to the ring that night I know I was not
myself. I've never felt so bad before a fight; not physically, but
with the desire to fight. I don't know, it just wasn't my day."
When pushed on what made him feel so out of sorts that night,
Mousasi is hesitant to respond, simply saying, "I know, but it's a
very long explanation".
Gegard Mousasi interview
'The Dreamcatcher' joined the UFC in 2013 and has gone 2-2 inside
the Octagon thus far.
Mousasi has won gold across two weight divisions in multiple promotions
- Strikeforce, Cage Warriors and Dream - but a UFC title shot looks
a long way away for the 29-year-old right now.
He added, "I've lost two fights against the best middleweights so
it's a far away thing to think about the title just now. I always
have that in the back of my head but, at this moment, I just need to
get a couple of wins before I can think about that again.
"I'm not even close. I mean, you never know in the UFC, but you
have Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva coming back, you have (Lyoto)
Machida, Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, there's so many guys, you
know? It's a difficult division now and I just have to take it one
fight at a time and see what happens."
At the top of the pile, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is set
to defend his title against Vitor Belfort at UFC 184 on February 28.
Although Mousasi has no dispute with Vitor Belfort getting the next
middleweight title shot, he has been vocal in the past about 'The
Phenom's' use of Testosterone Replacement Therapy. Unsurprisingly
then, Mousasi is pleased that the controversial 'TRT' has now been
banned in MMA but he doesn't sound convinced that it will completely
stop the use of PEDs in the sport.
"For sure (it's a good thing that TRT is banned). You never know,
people are going to try any way to get past it and pass the drug
tests. You never know if you're fighting someone who is on something
or not.
"The UFC is testing more so that's good but you're always going to
have characters who will try to cheat the system."
Fight Night Stockholm: Gustafsson vs. Johnson - Tickets On Sale Now!
For now, Mousasi's only focus is Dan Henderson and, primarily,
turning in a better performance than he did against Souza.
Mousasi added, "I want to go out and just fight and whatever happens,
happens. I'm going to go all out and what the result is going to be;
I don't care. I'm going to do my best and that's the most important.
"I'm going to go for the victory, for sure. But, I'm not going to be
disappointed. My last fight, it just wasn't me and I didn't do what
I set out to do, so with this fight I'm going to go out there and
just fight.
"If something happens, it's not my fault, anything can happen, it's
a fight. But I am always training hard for the fight and I will be
happy with any result."
Will Gegard Mousasi defeat Dan Henderson at UFC on Fox 14?
Mirror Fighting Facebook Promotion