Mousasi: Adesanya 'would be a good fight for me'
Although Gegard Mousasi won't be coming back to the UFC anytime soon, he thinks he'd match up well against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
"It would be a good fight for me," Mousasi told theScore. "You have to be patient and not brawl with him. Because then he counters - and I'm good at the distance. That would be a great fight because I sparred with some guys he fought at Glory (kickboxing) and I did very well against them. So I can measure with that. ... But it's a hypothetical, so it's not going to happen."
Mousasi (46-7-2) opted not to test free agency and potentially rejoin the UFC earlier this year when his Bellator contract ran out. The former Strikeforce champion instead re-signed with Bellator.
"I talked to (Bellator president) Scott (Coker), and in (less than an hour) we had a deal, I think," Mousasi said. "So, I'm happy, I'm very happy. ... I've been treated very well. I feel like the payment is good. The relationship that I have with Scott, the Bellator staff, it feels like you're part of a team, you know? It's more connected, let's say."
The 34-year-old competed in the UFC for four years before signing with Bellator in July 2017. One of the reasons the former Bellator middleweight champion left the UFC was the way the promotion has booked its title shots.
"That was one problem with me," Mousasi explained. "I was on a winning streak, and then Georges St-Pierre came out of retirement after three years - and he was a welterweight - he fought for the belt (against then-champion Michael Bisping at UFC 217). And Michael Bisping fought Dan Henderson (at UFC 204), who was coming off all losses. So I wasn't getting the fair treatment."
However, Mousasi says he understands the decision UFC matchmakers made in passing him over for a 185-pound title shot.
"I understand it's a business, you need to make money. People want to see a big name against a big name. It's understandable," he continued. "People want to see those fights and they're gonna give the fans probably what they want to see."
Mousasi is scheduled to face Douglas Lima for Bellator's vacant 185-pound title May 9 at Bellator 242.
Watch the full video interview with Mousasi below and subscribe to theScoreMMA YouTube channel here.