After taking out Thales Leites last month at UFC Fight Night 84 in London, Gegard Mousasi was calling for a fight with either Michael Bisping or Anderson Silva at UFC 200. With Silva booked for UFC 198, and Bisping waiting out a title fight or looking at Nick Diaz, Mousasi’s now looking towards other opponents, and he may have one booked.
According to a report from FoxSports.com, the UFC is targeting Mousasi for a matchup against Derek Brunson at UFC 200 in July.
Mousasi is 5-3 overall in his UFC run, with the losses coming against Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Uriah Hall. He’s won three of his last four outside of the shocking upset against Hall, and hopes to move into title contention with a few more wins.
Brunson, meanwhile, has been making waves of his own, riding a four fight winning streak into this event. The 32-year-old is 6-1 inside the Octagon, with his sole loss coming against top-ranked contender Yoel Romero. He’s stopped three straight opponents, most recently taking out Roan Carneiro last month.
Penick’s Analysis: This is a really good fight in the middleweight division. A win for either of them pushes them right to the top of the heap in this field; for Mousasi, it would keep him on track for the type of fight he needs to get into contention, while Brunson can pick up perhaps his biggest career win. It’s a good undercard fight for UFC 200, and if they continue to pack it with bouts of this quality it could be one hell of a stacked card.
[Photo (c) Jason Silva via USA Today Sports]
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