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BRAIN ATHLETE SPORTZ

Pandemic forced Bellator 250 headliner Gegard Mousasi to adjust retirement timeline

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Gegard Mousasi could only have half a dozen fights left in his career, with Thursday’s championship tilt against Douglas Lima at Bellator 250 being the first of the bunch.

Mousasi (46-7-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA), who fights welterweight champ Lima (32-7 MMA, 14-3 BMMA) for the vacant middleweight belt in the headliner at Mohegan Sun Arena on CBS Sports Network, has been teasing the possibility of retirement for the past couple years. Factors such as injuries, damage absorbed in fights and his passion to compete have been mentioned, but an unforeseen scenario came up in recent months that adjusted Mousasi’s mindset.

With the coronavirus pandemic pushing back the original Mousasi vs. Lima fight date from May to October, it’ll be exactly 13 months since “The Dreamcatcher” stepped in the cage. At 35, he didn’t anticipate losing more than a year of his career. The world changed in a drastic way, though, and it’s made Mousasi realize he still has a good bit of fight left in him.

“Next year, next two years I want to do five fights (overall),” Mousasi told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “I’m going to sit down and think what I’m going to do. Two more years for sure, 100 percent (I will retire with Bellator).”

Mousasi said his goal is simply to fight consistently as he winds things down. Bellator president Scott Coker has teased Mousasi moving up to the light heavyweight division, but Mousasi said he “doesn’t care about that.” He just wants to be offered fights in rapid succession. Whether it’s a title defense after this against who Mousasi called the No. 1 contender in John Salter or someone else entirely, activity is the goal.

It remains to be seen how active Mousasi will be able to be in the immediate aftermath of Bellator 250, though. He takes on Lima, who is tied for the most knockout wins in Bellator history and has a knack for inflicting punishment on his foes.

Mousasi said he has “a lot of respect” for Lima, but he sees himself holding all the advantages in this fight, as well as more ways to get his hand raised.

“I can make it technical if i want to. I can keep the distance. I can do it, or I can go for the finish, and I can take him down,” Mousasi said. “You never know in a fight, but I’m the guy who is going to decide if it goes to the ground or standup.”

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