After Bellator offered Gegard Mousasi a lucrative deal to defect from the UFC, the industry-leader tried to keep the top-ranked middleweight in the fold.

The UFC offered a bigger paycheck and a fight with ex-champ Luke Rockhold (15-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC 215 if Mousasi (42-6-2 MMA, 9-3 UFC) re-signed with the promotion.

Although the UFC’s number was “in the zone,” Mousasi’s manager Nima Safapour today told MMAjunkie, Bellator’s contract offered Mousasi more money, perks and greater leeway to shape his career.

“Throughout the entire experience, Gegard asked me, what’s the better deal? And I told him, it’s never about what deal is better,” Safapour said. “It’s just different. What made it better was what Gegard wanted and what was best for his family. When he looked at that deal from that perspective, the Bellator deal was better.

“With that said, the UFC deal was competitive. And they fought for the deal up to the very end. They deserve a tremendous amount of credit for trying to make this deal, even if they came up short. The Bellator deal was the more competitive deal.”

Although the exact terms of Mousasi’s contract with Bellator are not public, Mousasi and Safapour provided some details on the new deal, which include:

A six-fight deal with guaranteed up-front pay and higher per-fight pay

A potential cut of profits if Mousasi competed on pay-per-view

The ability to fight in overseas promotions and participate in boxing

The ability to compete in multiple weight classes

Additional drug testing considerations to replace the USADA program used by the UFC

Mousasi said by the time the UFC came back with its second offer, he’d already made up his mind on where he was going.

“Because I know what other fighters were making,” he said. “If I compare myself to Vitor Belfort, I know Vitor has been fighting for a long time. But I’m a better fighter than Vitor. I have a better record than him. I have more championships, I’m younger, and I can fight another five years, while he’s on his way out.

“I didn’t even want the same number as Vitor. That’s the problem. I just wanted to be a little bit closer. Maybe half of what Belfort would make. I didn’t think I was asking for too much.”

Belfort (26-13 MMA, 15-10 UFC), of course, was one of five consecutive opponents Mousasi beat on his current run. Yet he struggled to get a raise when he ended his contract with a controversial second-round stoppage of ex-champ Chris Weidman. He publicly shot down the UFC’s first offer.

“The new owners (at WME-IMG), they don’t understand fighting as well,” Mousasi said. “The Fertitta brothers, they made the company. Even (UFC President) Dana White, he doesn’t work with the same people. All the other guys got fired.

“One fight before my contract expired, I believe they would have pushed bigger negotiations, and it would have been different. But this company, they have a lot of debt. That’s not the fighters’ fault that they’re cutting staff and cutting fighters’ money. That’s not our problem.”

The No. 6 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, Mousasi was on the cusp of a UFC title shot when he signed with the Viacom-owned promotion. He joins Ryan Bader, Rory MacDonald and Lorenz Larkin in a group of ranked fighters who’ve defected to Bellator.

Mousasi also relishes the idea of being able to acquire his own sponsors under his new promotional home. In the UFC, he was subject to the Reebok deal, which pays fighters according to their experience on a tier-based system. The deal remains a sore subject among active fighters, prompting the industry-leader to convene a special grievance meeting during its annual summit.

“They gave me $10,000 for Reebok,” Mousasi said. “Ten-thousand dollars. What can I do with that? Even if I don’t make $10,000, I’m not required to do anything (with Bellator). I can do whatever I like. I’m more happy about that than the $10,000 I get – it’s a slap in the face. (Reebok is) literally stealing from the fighters.”

Mousasi’s deal also gives him the opportunity to make money from other sources – namely, overseas promoters that don’t compete with Bellator. Safapour said he’s entertained several lucrative offers from unnamed parties, but until now, he hasn’t been able to truly consider those possibilities.

“W’e not going to compete for UFC Fight Pass organizations,” Safapour said. “But you might very well see Gegard box in Russia. It could very well happen. Our focus for the moment is Bellator.”

And while the UFC’s anti-doping program with USADA remains the gold standard for MMA promotions, Mousasi said Bellator is willing to accommodate his concerns by testing opponents he suspects may be using banned substances.

“I can say I want extra drug testing,” he said. “If I feel like a guy is cheating, they can show up at his door suddenly and test him. There’s more ability to talk and have an opinion.”

Mousasi has not inked an opponent for his debut, but expects to compete in September or October. A first priority is winning the Bellator middleweight title – currently held by Rafael Carvalho – but he also talked up high-profile opponents in the light heavyweight class. He repeatedly mentioned MacDonald as a possible super fight.

“It’s not my opponent, but that’s an intriguing fight,” Mousasi said. “Even Wanderlei (Silva) because of his name. Quinton Jackson. I don’t know. I can bounce around divisions. But I’m going to get the middleweight belt first, and I think Rory MacDonald is a good fight. People would love to see that. But my goal is to win the belt.”

That goal was the same in the UFC. But now, Mousasi will try to take over another division. After he’s done with that, he said, he’ll try to capture the light heavyweight title. He might as well if he has the freedom.

If there’s one thing he’s learned during his UFC tenure, being a two-division champion is a pretty powerful point of leverage.

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.