Friendship on hold for Souza-Mousasi rematch
LEDYARD, Conn. — Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo Souza knew there was a chance the friends could fight each other back in 2008.
They weren't so concerned with it, though, that they didn't pal around a little before fights leading up to their eventual matchup for the Japan-based Dream promotion. In fact, Mousasi says, "Jacare" helped him cut weight in the very tournament for which they would go on to fight each other in the finals.
Six years later, neither was calling for a rematch of the first fight, which Mousasi won with a well-timed up-kick knockout as Souza tried to dive down to punch him. But with both standout middleweights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, they knew friendship might have to get tossed aside again.
That happens tonight as Souza (20-3 mixed martial arts, 3-0 UFC) and Mousasi (35-4-2, 2-1) headline UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs. Mousasi from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn. (10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1)
"I wasn't thinking about fighting him ever again," Mousasi, from the Netherlands, tells Paste BN Sports. "But we're both in the UFC, we're both middleweights and we're both running for the title, so it makes sense. I consider him a friend. ... He's a great person and a great fighter, but it's just a fight. Afterward, we're going to still be friends."
Souza, a Brazilian with a dangerous jiujitsu game on the ground, brings a six-fight winning streak into the headlining bout, with five stoppages since losing the middleweight title to Luke Rockhold in the now-defunct Strikeforce three years ago.
He says the first fight with Mousasi goes right out the window this time.
"In the first fight, I did something wrong and he won," Souza says. "But this is a totally different fight. I'm much more prepared. ... It wasn't a fight I'd ask for, but because we're top fighters (at middleweight) I knew that this could end up happening.
"I do consider him a good friend, but we both have a war to face."
In a UFC where virtually nothing is guaranteed, least of all title shots, both fighters can take big steps forward with a win. Souza could make a particularly strong claim to be next in line for a shot at the winner of the fight between champion Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort, who are slated to meet in early December.
Souza says he has the type of game that can top Weidman, who he thinks will beat Belfort, even though he tries to stay focused on just getting past Mousasi first.
"That's not something that crosses my mind. I have to focus on Mousasi — that's my goal. But I do see myself winning (if I fight Weidman)," Souza says.
A win for Mousasi would be just two in a row after a loss to recent title challenger Lyoto Machida. But a win against someone the likes of Souza could elevate him more than a mere small streak.
Mousasi sees himself in the thick of the race, along with Souza and Rockhold. He'd take another fight if he had to, he says, perhaps against Rockhold, in order to get to a title fight in the UFC for the first time after holding belts for Strikeforce and Dream.
But with a one-at-a-time mentality, first he'll have to fight a friend to get there.
"Sometimes you like the guy; sometimes you hate the guy," Mousasi says. "But at the end of the day, in the fight, you want to hit him."
