Mousasi still up for fighting Kennedy if Gastelum can't fight



Why he was willing to fight Anthony Johnson



The case for interim titles

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Gegard Mousasi is a man truly living the "anytime, anywhere" fighter mentality right now.In just the past few weeks, the Dutchman has saved the UFC Fight Night Belfast main event, offered to fight Tim Kennedy at UFC 206 on short notice, and more unbelievably offered to fight UFC light heavyweight title contender Anthony Johnson on short notice.Speaking to FloCombat today, Mousasi explained the whirlwind past few weeks and why he'd offered to take all these fights with little time to prepare."I told the UFC I wanted to fight Kennedy because I think he's a good matchup for me," Mousasi said. "I'm in great shape right now, and I could fight him today, but the UFC wasn't interested in that fight--instead they were too busy talking to that new guy … I forget his name [Kelvin Gastelum], but they weren't interested in that fight."While not interested in making the Kennedy fight at the time, the UFC could potentially give Mousasi a call in the next few days if the New York State Athletic Commission doesn't lift its suspension on Kelvin Gastelum.Despite the already-quick turnaround, Mousasi is still game to take the fight on even shorter notice than he originally requested. According to Mousasi, all the UFC has to do is pick up the phone and he will be ready."Yes, I'm ready--I'm still training," Mousasi said. "The time is ticking, so I don't think they are going to do it, but it's still one week after this. I don't think it will happen, but I'm training and I'm ready to fight."If they call me, I will take the fight."The UFC didn't bite on his offer to fight Kennedy, but Mousasi did reveal they were happy to offer him the fight with Johnson."They did call me about Anthony Johnson and asked what I thought about fighting him," Mousasi said. "I said, 'Yeah, I'm definitely open to fight him,' but Johnson didn't want to fight, so that fell out."Asked whether he was at all wary of Johnson's notable size and strength advantages, the Dutchman said he was aware of them, but he still felt he had the tools to get the job the done."[If] I fought him, of course he would have the size and strength advantage, but I felt good going into it and I have a good chin--not that I would want use it," Mousasi said with a laugh. "I'm a difficult guy to hit and he's powerful, but I feel I would be able to take the fight to the floor, and from there I have everything to beat Johnson."I know he would have a big advantage size-wise, but I feel very confident that I would've been able to do it. It's too bad it didn't happen it."With Conor McGregor being stripped of his featherweight title recently, the talk of interim belts has been widespread throughout the mixed martial arts community. Mousasi revealed that yet another interim belt was ready to be handed out if Johnson had agreed to their proposed fight at UFC 206."If he had accepted the fight, we would've fought for an interim title," Mousasi said. "That makes the fight make a lot more sense for me. To me an interim title is an interim title--it means you get to fight for the real belt when the opportunity comes."When you have that interim title, you know that you are guaranteed the next shot. That's the good thing about those titles. Interim titles are a good thing, especially if a guy gets injured for a while--it's easier than just stripping them."He then used another combat sport to further his point."In boxing they have a million titles," Mousasi said. "In MMA, we have just one champion and not everyone can fight for that belt all the time--especially when people get injured. This way we can have a second champion and that's not a bad thing."Don't miss breaking news, feature stories, event updates, and more. Sign up for the FloCombat mailing list today.