Gegard Mousasi expected to emerge from Bellator Bellator 206 with his hand raised. But he also expected a little bit more resistance from Rory McDonald.
“The Dreamcatcher” dictated the action with his jab throughout before finishing the fight with elbows and punches from full mount 3:23 into round two. Not only was Mousasi dominant, but MacDonald never got untracked before the finish.
“I knew I was faster,” Mousasi said at the post-fight press conference. “The game plan was to throw straight punches, no hooks, and hurt him and make him come and maybe put pressure on him to shoot and take over. Actually, the fight went pretty much the way we planned.
“It surprised me he didn’t do much. He didn’t punch that much. I was the more active fighter. He was the lighter fighter, I thought he would do more.”
Mousasi has now won eight consecutive bouts, establishing himself as one of the top middleweights in the world. That run includes triumphs over MaDonald, Rafael Carvalho and Alexander Shlemenko under the Bellator banner. After besting “The Red King,” Mousasi called for an immediate showdown with rising contender Rafael Lovato Jr. – and also targeted a future clash with former UFC foe Lyoto Machida.
Lovato is currently unbeaten in nine pro bouts and is coming off a third-round submission of John Salter at Bellator 205. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace has finished all but one of his opponents inside the distance. Bellator President Scott Coker seems to be on board with making Mousasi vs. Lovato next.
“That’s the fight that Gegard wanted,” Coker said. “He also wanted to fight Machida. I think Lovato is right up there, one of the top contenders to fight Gegard. Maybe we’ll put that fight together because I know Gegard wants to fight right away.”