News Gegard Mousasi says 'legacy is all bulls**t,' reveals Luke Rockhold fight was in the works

That's great, didn't know Ishii named his son after him! He's also his godfather from what I just read. Musashi Ishii sounds pretty badass, let's hope the kid picks up Judo...

"Musashi spelled like Mousasi" reminds me of the most random fight from Gegard's resume... Remember when K1 put together a kickboxing bout between Mousasi and Akio "Musashi" Mori because their names/nicknames sounded similar? Only in Japan

I mean, Mousasi never had a pro kickboxing bout in his life (he's had a handful of Muay Thai bouts a few years before though) and Musashi was already talking retirement, in his next fight (against Jérôme Lebanner for the yearly K1 tournament) he had told the media in advance that if he lost, he would retire.

But somehow they're matched together because they sound the same?
That was quite the mindfuck back then; I've always been a fan of Mr Mousasi, he entered PRIDE about a year after I had started to follow the promotion so was always on my radar. Always rooted for him, always will!

(ok, when he rolled with Fedor in that M-1 exhibition I wanted Fedor to win, but that's the one and only time ^^ plus if it was like Fedor vs Aoki, then I suppose the result was predetermined, it was just a show for the fans... or at least I've always assumed so? that used to be the consensus when these 2 exhibitions took place, wonder what new fans think of them?)
 
Mousasi gets the game. Take little damage, get rich and get out.

He never cared about belts, legacy and all that jazz. He knew fighting was a means to an end.
 
Shak_Fu said:
Hey Sherbros,

Gegard Mousasi mentioned y'all plenty during this interview. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. You can click here for the written feature. You can watch the full video interview below (with timestamps).



Timestamps:
0:00 - Teaser
0:13 - Intro
0:48 - Many nicknames of "Dreamcatcher"
1:42 - Praise from Khabib Nurmagomedov
2:54 - Gegard Mousasi believing in his greatness
4:03 - Sherdog and online fans
4:33 - Shedding off calm demeanor
|5:17 - How the Internet changed MMA
6:23 - Hall of Fame and legacy
7:20 - Bellator contract and boxing Anderson Silva
8:45 - Yoel Romero, Johnny Eblen, Anatoly Tokov and Bellator MMA division
10:13 - Move to heavyweight
10:55 - Early life
13:30 - Business vs legacy
14:20 - Advice for young MMA fighters
14:36 - UFC departure and planned Luke Rockhold fight
15:58 - ADCC Championships
16:22 - Weird fans
17:08 - Satoshi Ishii
17:49 - Persian music and favorite food
21:39 - Next fight

Select quotes below (more in the article).

Gegard Mousasi on legacy:
"That legacy is all bullshit. These guys who say they fight for pride or honor or country -- if you don't pay a guy a penny, they're not going to fight. First of all, they need to get paid. Everybody fights for money, everybody.

"Don't get fooled by it. Everybody fights for money ... Young fighters are not that bright."

Gegard Mousasi on Rockhold fight:
"I think they had Luke Rockhold in mind. I think that was the fight that they wanted to make, but I knew what Jacare [Souza] was offered," Mousasi said. "They offered me much, much lower than Jacare. I said, 'I'm not going to sign that shit.' They lowballed me. On my first contract also, because I was coming off Strikeforce, I wasn't doing very well in UFC, they said, 'You sign it or you leave.' No negotiations. You sign or you leave.

"UFC can be hard in negotiations. People think it's all kisses and hugs. Believe me, they can be brutal. If they need you, Dana White will call you... If they don't need you, you're going to find out [online] that you've been released."
Click to expand...

Thank You for posting this! Good stuff.
 
As an appetizer, I'd love everyone to see what Mousasi would do to Whitaker..... then everyone could place their bets on thee fight - Adesanya v Mousasi.

UFC held Mousasi to a contracted 90 day nego. This was towards the end ( mousasi wanted to stay), the Rockhold fight was all but done except a deal that was seemingly in place , broke down. You heard the best middleweight in the world - " unacceptable "
UFC played chicken with Gegard and it didnt work out. I say this cause they did offer Mousasi a " somewhat competitive " offer after Scott did deal with Moose on day 91........ UFCs right to do so.

The damage was done and here we are.
At age 36, fresh as fuck after 19 years of fighting. The only fighter in the sports young history to own 2 primes ..... and over every top promotion and several weight classes.

Mousasi farms bless-
 
Moosetony said:
Branch isn't mousasi
Mousasi would whoop luke
Click to expand...
I think he was showing how a guy like Branch was countering Luke with combos. I actually think David koed him and woke him up on that combo with Luke's back to fence.

Actually-- not even countering.... just showing how Luke can be touched by a brawler like branch.



Pretty sure that's what he was fishing for.
 
Last edited:
Moose has been top-shelf since the late 2000s.

Of all the guys who broke out during the DREAM/SF era he is one of the few who can still go with the elite of the elite.

I sometimes forget how damn good he is.
 
Good interview.
But please next time, the correct term is "European-Americans." White is offensive.
 
PIT FIGHTER said:
Moose has been top-shelf since the late 2000s.

Of all the guys who broke out during the DREAM/SF era he is one of the few who can still go with the elite of the elite.

I sometimes forget how damn good he is.
Click to expand...
European fighter of the year in 08' . In hindsight his 6-0 and the quality of it - hes fighter of the year.

MMA s paradox..... and I've been claiming it quite a bit now.
 
Franklin U. said:
The only fighter in the sports young history to own 2 primes ..... and over every top promotion and several weight classes.
Click to expand...

I'd argue that Shogun Rue also had 2 primes, being the number 1 205er in 2 eras.
First in PRIDE in 2005/2006, then in the UFC in 2008/2009.

While Mousasi had been more consistent, he's never been the top dog in his divisions... top 3 for sure, but undisputed number 1?
He's more like Mark Hunt, who had a first prime in PRIDE (after an impressive K1 career), then much later in the UFC, but never reacher the top spot.

WAR MOOSE
 
Richard Fannin said:
I'd argue that Shogun Rue also had 2 primes, being the number 1 205er in 2 eras.
First in PRIDE in 2005/2006, then in the UFC in 2008/2009.

While Mousasi had been more consistent, he's never been the top dog in his divisions... top 3 for sure, but undisputed number 1?
He's more like Mark Hunt, who had a first prime in PRIDE (after an impressive K1 career), then much later in the UFC, but never reacher the top spot.

WAR MOOSE
Click to expand...

First - respect your opinion.
2nd - Mauricio one of the top half dozen in Frankin U' s stable of backed gladiators.

#1 undisputed is subjective. ...especially in this sport.

Example : I 1000% believe that the Gegard Mousasi who beat up Chris Weidman at UFC 210 was thee best middleweight in the world in fighting out his contract and this was towards the beginning of his 2nd prime ... but that's my opinion.

Nobody in mma history can say that they were " elite "/ upper tier for 15 years and running( champ - top5 - 10).Hes been at this since 17 years old. 19 years of fighting...... and we're talking every top promotion ( otherwise my posturing wouldnt be a full glass).

Rua won UFC gold but it was basically at the start of his other side of career .... thanks to horrific injuries but it still counts.He exchanged wins and losses at this point.

Gegards first prime ended after Souza 2 and finally built an entire team and understanding the concept " steel sharpens steel ". Gegards brother no longer handled everything ( that in itself is crazy when u think).

Mousasi is the apple of my mma eye so , of course, when people cry bias .... I have no legs to stand on but when his time comes ( and it will) then I'll have no choice to call it for what it is.

Unless - he does finish his 5 fights , wins them all and calls it a day.

Prime , belts , and being #1 ( in whatever rankings) are all separate.

I wish Gegard wouldve chose to stay in UFC. I mean - look who's champ at 205 ?

We'll never know.

If Jon Jones were to win heavy belt and stick around for a few defenses ( I dont think either is happening) then JJ would be on this short list of 2 primes. Its rarified air and just doesn't happen especially in a brutal combat sport.
 
Richard Fannin said:
That's great, didn't know Ishii named his son after him! He's also his godfather from what I just read. Musashi Ishii sounds pretty badass, let's hope the kid picks up Judo...

"Musashi spelled like Mousasi" reminds me of the most random fight from Gegard's resume... Remember when K1 put together a kickboxing bout between Mousasi and Akio "Musashi" Mori because their names/nicknames sounded similar? Only in Japan

I mean, Mousasi never had a pro kickboxing bout in his life (he's had a handful of Muay Thai bouts a few years before though) and Musashi was already talking retirement, in his next fight (against Jérôme Lebanner for the yearly K1 tournament) he had told the media in advance that if he lost, he would retire.

But somehow they're matched together because they sound the same?
That was quite the mindfuck back then; I've always been a fan of Mr Mousasi, he entered PRIDE about a year after I had started to follow the promotion so was always on my radar. Always rooted for him, always will!

(ok, when he rolled with Fedor in that M-1 exhibition I wanted Fedor to win, but that's the one and only time ^^ plus if it was like Fedor vs Aoki, then I suppose the result was predetermined, it was just a show for the fans... or at least I've always assumed so? that used to be the consensus when these 2 exhibitions took place, wonder what new fans think of them?)
Click to expand...

Always thought that exhibition ended the way it was supposed to. Young Mousasi always looked up to Fedor . Gegard always thought the world of Fedor ( aside from their stint of training together).

I think he replicated his insouciant demeanor inside the cage from Fedor.
 
Mousasi is completely right. One of the most self aware guys in the game. Hope he doesn't blow it all away buying everyone in his family rolexes or something stupid....
 
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