PFL/Bellator Official Fighter Roster Update
pic.twitter.com/HNZjwBy0g1— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA)
May 23, 2024
After 10 appearances under the Bellator MMA banner, former titleholder Gegard
Mousasi is moving on.
The 38-year-old recently appeared on
The MMA Hour, claiming that he has not been offered fights
since the Professional Fighters League purchased Bellator
at the end of the year. The PFL
stated in April that Mousasi had been offered a fight at light
heavyweight, but Mousasi did not accept. On Thursday, PFL and
Bellator jointly
announced through Mike Kogan, Bellator’s Head of Fighter
Operations, that Mousasi had been released from his deal, while
noting, “We wish him all the best in his next fighting
chapter.”
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce talent told
The MMA Hour on Wednesday that before Bellator was purchased,
he had signed a new contract worth “a couple million [dollars].” He
also stated that a potential miscommunication between the teams
resulted in a lack of a fight being offered, with him noting that
PFL officials may not have been made aware of his new contract
until the purchase was finalized.
Mousasi last fought a little over a year ago, dropping a five-round
decision to Fabian
Edwards at Bellator 296. This setback put “The Dreamcatcher” on
the very first losing streak of his lengthy career, as he
previously surrendered his middleweight throne to Johnny
Eblen in 2022. Mousasi held the Bellator belt on two separate
occasions, first snatching it from Rafael
Carvalho in 2018 and then reclaiming it against Douglas
Lima in 2020. The Dutch ex-kickboxer has faced a veritable
who’s who across a career that began in 2003, and he made history
in 2009 by becoming a simultaneous champion in the Strikeforce and
Dream organizations.