Strikeforce Champ Gegard Mousasi: Fedor Emelianenko Is Not My Mentor, But I Look Up To Him

In advance of M-1 Global’s Breakthrough in Kansas City 28 August where new Strikeforce light heavyweight champ “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1) will spar with Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1), Fighters.com put it to Mousasi tougher than “Babalu” Renato Sobral (31-9) did in their one-minute title fight Saturday in San Jose in which Mousasi TKO’d the former Strikeforce champ and UFC challenger.

Mousasi first revealed his plans to join Emelianenko and his Red Devil camp in St. Petersburg exclusively to Fighters.com in September 2008. Ever since, the Dutch fighter of Armenian descent has been tied to Emelianenko and M-1 Global, Emelianenko’s MMA promotion. But, Mousasi is his own man, his own fighter.

When Fighters.com quizzed whether Emelianenko is Mousasi’s mentor, Mousasi answered emphatically, “No. We have trained together,” then added, “but, I do look up to him.”

The two champions will engage in an exhibition on the undercard of Breakthrough, which is marqueed by a fight between über-prospect “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (3-0) and should-be-out-to-pasture “Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr (14-10).

Mousasi explained to Fighters.com, “It’s just like a light sparring.”

Fighters.com wondered if it could turn into more when thousands of jacked-up fans are urging on the action.

“No, we are not animals. We can control ourselves,” Mousasi responded.

After his exhibition sparring match with Emelianenko, Mousasi will rejoin the DREAM Super Hulk tournament this autumn, or commonly know across the MMA diaspora as “Freak Show”.

But, Mousasi reprimanded, “People have to see this differently. If this kind of tournament helps to make MMA big in Japan again, then its a good thing. They had very good TV ratings last time and, beside the tournament, they have very good, competitive fights on their cards. And, also in the tournament there are some very good fighters. Defeating Hong Man Choi is a difficult fight for anyone!”

Mousasi is optimistic that the three promotions he’s committed to, Strikeforce, M-1 Global, and DREAM, will be able to keep him fighting quality competition over the next year.

“Strikeforce works with DREAM and M-1 Global now. There are some names in Strikeforce that can fight for the title. It’s all about who wins a fight or two, but these things are the organisations’ jobs; and, I believe in Scott [Coker, Strikeforce CEO] and Vadim [Finkelchtein, President of M-1 Global]. They know what they are doing. Give M-1/Strikeforce some time and I really believe that they have everything to be a big great organisation.”

Fighters.com asked Mousasi about a sensitive topic that has spawned astonisment among his fan base: his reported $2000 payout for defeating Sobral last Saturday.

Mousasi said, “I am sorry, I can’t say anything about that. I ain’t a rich man, but [my fans] don’t need to worry.”