Free At Last: Gegard Mousasi Gets Boot from PFL After Fight Over Contract

The Professional Fighters League knew there would be some hiccups when it purchased Bellator. Integrating an entire roster was going to be a process that took a few years to work itself out. Former Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi got tired of waiting.

Some fighters who had signed with PFL called out Mousasi, but the major issue was with the contract. People within the PFL’s administration claimed they didn’t know about a new contract Mousasi had signed with Bellator before the PFL acquired it. 

Mousasi claims that the PFL wasn’t willing to honor that contract, according to MMAfighting latest news. When Mousasi’s team discussed a possible lawsuit, the PFL cut him loose. While there are limited opportunities at the top level for Mousasi, who is 38, he now at least has the opportunity to settle in with an organization he feels comfortable with.

MMA is a Tough Business

The reason the UFC has survived its infancy as a company was because of consistency at the top of the organization. UFC CEO Dana White has the support of the people above him, and the promotion was able to grow because of it. MMA breaking news shows that the PFL is struggling to build the same kind of respect.

Mousasi called the PFL the worst organization that he’s ever been a part of. He is someone who would have an idea of how to do business in the world of MMA. Mousasi has 60 professional fights under his belt in the cage.

Mousasi, who has a 49-9-2 record, doesn’t believe that the PFL was unaware of the contract he had with Bellator. At this point in his career, Mousasi can’t afford to walk away from money. He claimed the new contract with Bellator paid him millions to fight.

The PFL wasn’t willing to match. So now Mousasi is stuck in a weird sort of limbo with what kind of opportunities lay ahead. However, if anyone can handle the adversity of trying to find a job, Mousasi would have to be at the top of the list. He’s seen things that were a lot tougher.

Mousasi Survived Tough Upbringing

Mousasi isn’t likely to take any form of disrespect. Few things will be as tough on him as his childhood. Mousasi was born in Iran just before the Iran-Iraq War. He spent the first four years of his life in a refugee camp before his family settled in the Netherlands.

His life steadily improved, and he found his way into kickboxing. As Mousasi started to pick up more skills, he decided to transition into MMA. He took his first professional fight in April 2003, defeating Daniel Spek by TKO in Amsterdam.

Mousasi then settled into being a nomad. Over the next 10 years, Mousasi fought in PRIDE, Strikeforce and Dream. Mousasi had his first opportunity to fight for a championship in 2005, when he took on Gregory Bouchelaghem for the Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship.

Mousasi won that fight after Bouchelaghem submitted to punches back in December 2006. Mousasi never defended his belt and spent the next few years bouncing between promotions.

Champion and Time in the UFC

Mousasi’s many travels gave him several opportunities to fight for belts. In 2011, he won the light heavyweight championship while fighting for the Japanese promotion Dream. After making one title defense, he decided to fight for Strikeforce.

This would be another time Mousasi would get caught up in a merger. Strikeforce founder Scott Coker sold to the UFC, and Mousasi ended up fighting in the UFC from 2013 to 2017.

This ended up being a productive period for Mousasi. While he didn’t win a championship, he picked up a number of wins over big-name fighters. Mousasi beat former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman by TKO, as well as respected veterans Thiago Santos, Dan Henderson, and Vitor Belfort.

But Mousasi soon left the UFC because he felt underappreciated. He felt the win over Weidman should have given him a chance to fight Michael Bisping for the championship.

However, Mousasi was bypassed in line by the then-retired Georges St-Pierre. Mousasi felt like he would never get a fair shot, so he shocked many people by signing with Bellator.

Bellator Decision Was the Right One

While many people felt Mousasi should have stayed in the UFC, Bellator provided a much more direct opportunity to fight for a championship. In only his second fight in the promotion, Mousasi had an opportunity to fight Rafael Carvalho for the championship.

Mousasi looked like he belonged at the top. A little over three minutes into the fight, Mousasi landed stiff punches to pick up the TKO win. Mousasi would make one defense of his championship, a TKO win over Rory MacDonald, before dropping the belt to Rafael Lovato Jr.

Mousasi would have a second reign with the belt. In August 2012, Mousasi knocked out John Salter to claim the then-vacant middleweight belt against Douglas Lima. Mousasi defended the belt twice, this time beating Salter and Austin Vanderford by TKO. He lost his championship to Johnny Eblen at Bellator 282 in June 2022.

What’s Next for Mousasi?

One major negative for Mousasi is that the Bellator and PFL merger took away one of the promotions pushing to be a world power. With how Mousasi left the UFC, it is unclear if he would still get another opportunity there because of his age. Mousasi, however, may be willing to fight on the European scene.

Oktagon has been making great strides to bring in top talent, and Mousasi fought at Cage Warriors at one point in his career. Mousasi clearly still has something left in the tank. While Mousasi hasn’t fought since he lost to Fabian Edwards by decision in May 2023, he has the desire to compete.

Hopefully, he will get the opportunity.

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By Dean McHugh.