The fate of UFC on FUEL 9’s main event still hangs precariously on Alexander Gustafsson’s last-second facial laceration. With the bout between top contenders slated to take place in a matter of days, fellow light heavyweight headliner, Gegard Mousasi, is among those anxiously awaiting a ruling from the Swedish MMA Federation (SMMAF).
“So far as I know, the fight is still on,” Mousasi said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.
“I haven’t heard a lot but my manager is in contact with Joe Silva, I believe, and from what I have heard the fight is on and we’re going to go tomorrow to Sweden to the fights, and everything is the same as usual.”
News of Gustafsson’s injury, a reportedly significant cut above one of his eyebrows, dribbled out on Sunday, just seven days before the scheduled event in Gustafsson’s home of Stockholm, Sweden. Despite initial rumblings that the fight was in severe jeopardy of being cancelled, UFC President Dana White staved off rumors for the time being, issuing a short statement that revealed the SMMAF had yet to make a final decision and Gustafsson still wanted to fight.
For his part, Mousasi admits the current situation is exasperating, and even a bit demotivating, though there isn’t much he can do.
“For sure, some motivation goes,” Mousasi explained. “But what can I do? I don’t have any control. Sometimes I’m the last one to hear things. So I’m just waiting. That’s all I can do.
“I put a lot of work into it. I did the media stuff, everything. I’ve done almost 90-percent of the job and the training, or whatever. The fight is the most easy part for me. It’s frustrating [if] it [doesn’t] go through. But they said to me — at least not to me, but I’ve heard from my manager — the fight is still on and there’s nothing I can think differently than what they say to me.”
According to Mousasi, no dialogue has taken place about bringing in a new opponent on short notice. And although he hadn’t considered the potential advantages of fighting a pre-cut Gustafsson, Mousasi made it clear that if the two men do fight, he won’t shy away from the Swede’s injury either.
“If he’s cut, I’m going to make sure I hit him where he’s cut,” Mousasi admitted. “I’m not going to be Mr. Friendly and be very sporty, sport-like, man-ship. I don’t care. I just want to win the fight.”
True to his even-keeled nature, Mousasi seems to be handling a tough situation as best as he can without getting too riled up.
A former champion of both DREAM and Strikeforce, the 27-year-old has been waiting for his opportunity to fight in the UFC for a long time. And despite Gustafsson’s question mark status now pilling onto a few preexisting “personal issues,” Mousasi is confident he won’t let the noise affect him come fight night.
“I’m more relaxed now than I was when I was younger,” said Mousasi.
“What can I say? Life … is waiting to f–k you up. One thing comes after the other. So if I have to make a big deal out of everything, then everyday I have to cry.”
Aside from his home recently getting robbed, part of Mousasi’s troubles extended to training, as the Armenian-Dutchman — notorious for work habits that leave much to be desired — admitted it was tough to get motivated so soon after completing a long training camp for Mike Kyle.
Enthusiasm was “difficult” in the beginning for Mousasi, but in recent weeks, he luckily began feeling that “everything has fallen into it’s place.” Now it’s just a question of whether he’ll get to show off the fruits of his hard work.
“I feel like I’m in shape, so I know I didn’t come short on the training,” Mousasi vowed. “I’ve done everything that I should have.
“I don’t care about the opponent. I train for it for eight weeks, even longer, so I just want to fight. I don’t care if it’s him or someone else.”