At least one individual was anything but amused by Wanderlei Silva’s April Fool’s joke saying he was fighting Gegard Mousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 Saturday: Gegard Mousasi. “The Dreamcatcher” took to Twitter almost immediately after hearing the ne…
At least one individual was anything but amused by Wanderlei Silva‘s April Fool’s joke saying he was fighting GegardMousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 Saturday: GegardMousasi.
“The Dreamcatcher” took to Twitter almost immediately after hearing the news, bashing “The Axe Murderer” for a prank he clearly believed to be in bad taste:
The Armenian-Dutch fighter accepted a fight with Silva yesterday, so he obviously at least thought fighting the PRIDE legend was a realistic possibility
For the time being. Mousasi is still set to face Alexander Gustafsson in the evening’s main event, though that could change in a matter of hours if “The Mauler” isn’t cleared by the Swedish MMA Federation.
Mousasi makes his UFC debut on the heels of a 5-0-1 run in his past six fights, most recently submitting Mike Kyle with a rear-naked choke at Strikeforce’s final event in January.
Should he be forced to withdraw from the headlining bout this weekend in front of his Stockholm, Sweden home crowd, Gustafsson would miss a golden opportunity to earn a title fight next.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, Silva has not responded to Mousasi‘s disparaging remarks.
Was Wanderlei‘s April Fool’s joke just a fighter having fun, or was it actually a really poor idea to begin with given the situation at hand?
Additionally, could this ordeal open the doors for a Silva vs. Mousasi matchup regardless of if the former Strikeforce and DREAM champ wins Saturday night?
Former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva had a good portion of the MMA community believing that he was filling in for an injured Alexander Gustafsson and fighting Gegard Mousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 this Saturday in Sweden. However, a tweet from “The Axe…
Former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva had a good portion of the MMA community believing that he was filling in for an injured Alexander Gustafsson and fighting GegardMousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 this Saturday in Sweden.
However, a tweet from “The Axe Murderer” Tuesday morning confirmed what certain fans and analysts (and even UFC President Dana White) were saying all along: April Fools!
I catch you wand the best April first ever!! But I would like this to be true!!! O melhorprimeiro de… instagram.com/p/Xmr70Dkq4A/
The Brazilian brawler’s name came into play when rumors swirled on Easter Sunday that Gustafssonsuffered a facial cut and would be forced to withdraw from Saturday’s headlining bout.
The 36-year-old sent out a tweet yesterday stating he was offered and accepted a fight with Mousasi and even updated by saying that he was flying out to Sweden for the event.
Oddly enough, Mousasi seemed to be just as in the dark as the fans, indicating that he would be open to fighting Silva if “The Mauler” wasn’t able to go.
Despite calls for his retirement in recent years, Silva showed he still has some gas left in the tank by scoring a brutal knockout over Brian Stann at UFC on FUEL 8 last month in the show’s main event.
Silva has now won two of his past three bouts, as well as three of his past five. His two most recent wins, over Stann and Cung Le, came by (T)KO.
While it has been established that Wanderlei won’t be fighting, Gustafsson‘s status remains up in the air as he is yet to have his cut cleared by the Swedish MMA Federation.
As of this writing, all that can be said for sure is that Mousasi still plans on fighting Saturday night.
“The Dreamcatcher,” currently listed as No. 10 in the UFC’s official light heavyweight rankings, makes his UFC debut on the strength of a 5-0-1 run in his past six fights.
Ever since news broke about the possibility of Alexander Gustafsson’s cut, rumors have began to swirl about the Swede’s chances of competing in his scheduled contest at the UFC on Fuel TV 9 event. His fight also happens to be the card’s main event…
Ever since news broke about the possibility of Alexander Gustafsson‘s cut, rumors have began to swirl about the Swede’s chances of competing in his scheduled contest at the UFC on Fuel TV 9 event. His fight also happens to be the card’s main event and only major draw on the card.
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting spoke to George Sallfeldt, the president of the Swedish MMA Federation, and he revealed that Gustafsson‘s cut will be examined today. It also seems like a conclusion to the big mystery may have a definite ending by today.
“If the medical committee feels there is a sufficient information to make a decision, I’m sure they will,” Sallfeldt said. “They understand that having this hang in the air until Friday is not ideal, so that is why they are working on him now.”
Sallfeldt noted that they were informed of the cut on March 30. He confirmed that three doctors examined the cut shortly thereafter and all three came to the same conclusion.
“They felt it would be very unlikely that he would be medically cleared,” he said. “However, they don’t have a mandate to stop the fight.”
That goes along with what UFC president Dana White has been saying all along—that Gustafsson wants to fight and hasn’t been told he can’t fight. Yet. Although Sallfeldt remained distant when pressed about his belief of when a decision would be made, he is expecting a quick resolution.
“I personally feel that it would be unlikely that the medical committee would let this wait until Friday,” he said. “That’s just my personal opinion. That would surprise me.
“I hope that they would be clear by the end of [Tuesday].”
The mystery surrounding Gustafsson‘s cut, which was reportedly suffered in training, has caused quite a bit of speculation about not only the Swede’s chances of fighting but also who would be able to step in on such short notice to face his opponent, GegardMousasi.
However, the speculation doesn’t seem to be bothering Mousasi‘s camp.
“We are waiting for information,” Mousasi‘s manager Lex McMahon said. “Our position is Gegard is ready to fight, he just needs an opponent. He’ll fight Gustafsson, Vitor, Wanderlei, Thor, Odin, it just doesn’t matter. Gegard is the baddest man in Stockholm and he’s ready for a fight.”
(Wandy’s Trollshades increase his AprilFoolpower by a magnitude of eleventy bazillian. / Photo via Wandy’s FB fan page)
At some point, April Fool’s Day became less about playing elaborate pranks to humiliate your loved ones, and more about just lying to people all day. Nobody puts in the effort anymore. Announcing that your girlfriend/wife is pregnant on Facebook? Yeah, that’s not funny at all. (Side note: @Karmaatemycat gets a pass for doing this yesterday, because the idea of Jefferey Watts as a father is so terrifying that it actually made me hold my face in my hands for about 20 seconds.)
The MMA fighter equivalent of announcing a fake pregnancy is announcing a fake fight or retirement. Tim Kennedy did it. John Alessio did it. Louis Gaudinot did it. The idea is, these statements are believable enough to be true. But in the grand scheme of things, does anybody really give a fuck if John Alessio is coming in to replace Ryan Couture on Saturday? I hate to rag on a guy who we otherwise have so much respect for, but I’m just saying, it’s not a joke, it’s a lie, and making up lies about yourself to trick people is both uncreative and kind of egotistical. As our bro Vince puts it, “Getting me to believe something plausible but untrue is not a ‘prank.’ If that’s a prank, then man have I pranked some women and prospective employers, hoo boy.”
The biggest difference between Wanderlei’s possibly-fake fight announcement and all the others, is that Wandy actually reached out to media. He confirmed his story with MMAWeekly’s Ken Pishna. Then, he gave a rather entertaining interview to Tatame where he had this to say:
(Wandy’s Trollshades increase his AprilFoolpower by a magnitude of eleventy bazillian. / Photo via Wandy’s FB fan page)
At some point, April Fool’s Day became less about playing elaborate pranks to humiliate your loved ones, and more about just lying to people all day. Nobody puts in the effort anymore. Announcing that your girlfriend/wife is pregnant on Facebook? Yeah, that’s not funny at all. (Side note: @Karmaatemycat gets a pass for doing this yesterday, because the idea of Jefferey Watts as a father is so terrifying that it actually made me hold my face in my hands for about 20 seconds.)
The MMA fighter equivalent of announcing a fake pregnancy is announcing a fake fight or retirement. Tim Kennedy did it. John Alessio did it. Louis Gaudinot did it. The idea is, these statements are believable enough to be true. But in the grand scheme of things, does anybody really give a fuck if John Alessio is coming in to replace Ryan Couture on Saturday? I hate to rag on a guy who we otherwise have so much respect for, but I’m just saying, it’s not a joke, it’s a lie, and making up lies about yourself to trick people is both uncreative and kind of egotistical. As our bro Vince puts it, “Getting me to believe something plausible but untrue is not a ‘prank.’ If that’s a prank, then man have I pranked some women and prospective employers, hoo boy.”
The biggest difference between Wanderlei’s possibly-fake fight announcement and all the others, is that Wandy actually reached out to media. He confirmed his story with MMAWeekly’s Ken Pishna. Then, he gave a rather entertaining interview to Tatame where he had this to say:
“I was surprised when I got a call from Joe Silva today, but what others see as adversity I see as opportunity. I’m ready and I’m actually closing my suitcase right now. My flight to Sweden departs tomorrow morning. I’m going to my gym tonight to hit some pads and tomorrow I’ll fly out to Sweden. I’m bringing Rafael Cordeiro, and maybe Fabrício Werdum with me. You know it was in the last minute.”
“I’m weighting 222,6 pounds and I’m already losing weight. I’ll work out tonight, but it will be easy to get down to 205. I’ve been doing this for the last 20 years, I’m used to it. I’m bumped, and don’t worry guys because this is not an April 1st fool. You can celebrate because daddy is in the house again.” [Ed. note: Awesome.]
“There are some crazy things that just Silva does. My last fight against (Brian) Stann was pretty tough, but I did very well. Can you imagine if I do it again? They will give me a crown down there. I have nothing to lose. Mousasi is a tough guy, he is great, and is the perfect profile for me. I don’t run away from good fights and I know that I’ll test myself to the extreme.”
For his part, Gegard Mousasi has been patient through this entire ordeal, operating under the assumption that he’s still fighting Gustafsson unless there’s an official announcement otherwise. On his charmingly unpolished twitter page, Mousasi responded to the Axe Murderer rumors yesterday evening: “hey mr Silva, if this is true and you are ready to fight me than I accept the fight, It’s an honor for me Much respect for you…at this moment I do not have any new info about my situation But if ufc want’s and mr @wandfc is ready for me than let’s Go!”
Alright, so here’s what Wanderlei posted on Instagram at about 9:50 a.m. ET today: “I catch you wand the best April first ever!! But I would like this to be true!!!”
You catch me? No, Wandy. You lied all day, and when the clock struck midnight and it wasn’t April Fool’s Day anymore, you kept lying, and after you had your morning acai smoothie today, you figured, hey, why not let the fans down easy with a silly photo?
The Octagon returns to Sweden this Saturday, April 6, for the ninth installment of the UFC on Fuel TV series.The event will be headlined by Alexander Gustafsson, who will look to continue his title run by eliminating promotional newcomer Gegard Mousasi…
The Octagon returns to Sweden this Saturday, April 6, for the ninth installment of the UFC on Fuel TV series.
The event will be headlined by Alexander Gustafsson, who will look to continue his title run by eliminating promotional newcomer Gegard Mousasi.
Mousasi’s UFC debut is long overdue, and he’ll attempt to leapfrog the light heavyweight pack by defeating the surging Gustafsson.
Beyond the night’s headliner, UFC on Fuel 9 will play host to an additional 12 fights that will air via Facebook and Fuel TV.
Here you will find information about when and where to catch the action, previews for each of the night’s bouts and predictions, made by yours truly, for every outcome.
Gegard Mousasi has fought all over the world, held titles in several different organizations and faced top talent in multiple weight classes, but still he’s being regarded as a bit of an unknown underdog heading into his first UFC fight. Throughout his…
GegardMousasi has fought all over the world, held titles in several different organizations and faced top talent in multiple weight classes, but still he’s being regarded as a bit of an unknown underdog heading into his first UFC fight.
Throughout his career, Mousasi has never backed down from a challenge. From fighting heavyweights like Mark Hunt during an open weight grand prix in Japan to standing toe-to-toe K-1 kickboxers like Musashi on their terms under their rules, Mousasi is a man who enjoys having the odds stacked against him.
It’s one thing when those odds are because he’s facing a bigger opponent or fighting someone strictly in their own discipline, but it’s entirely another because Mousasi just happens to be facing a fighter with a bigger, more well known name than his own.
“I have to prove to be considered at least a good fighter. I feel people still don’t give me credit for being a good fighter. At least give me credit for being a good fighter, but certain fighters get that and I don’t,” Mousasi said when speaking to Bleacher Report. “I still feel those fighters have performed far less than me, but because they’re more popular and have fought popular guys. I can’t mention names, but I’ve seen fighters lose, they get beat up, and still no one doubts their abilities as a fighter.
“Somehow with me, I haven’t fought a lot in the U.S. or I haven’t fought as big names that are in the UFC, but certain things that make people think a certain way.”
Mousasi admits that some of his animosity stems from the reaction he’s received from some fans on social networks like Twitter, who have attacked him since signing on for his UFC debut. Of course he recognizes that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but he wishes there was a more tactful way of expressing things.
“I feel everything is positive, but you always have some certain people that talk a certain way like fans that they have their opinion but they say it in a rude way,” said Mousasi. “It’s like why don’t you come do the same work and I’m going to rip on you. Of course there are certain people who talk like ‘you’re going to get knocked the f—k out’ or they talk certain ways that are not appropriate, they don’t have any respect.
“But people like that you’re always going to have. I want to see them do something with their lives and let me talk about them a certain way and see how they are going to feel. Fans have their right to their opinion. Of course that’s what makes it exciting, but some people don’t know how to talk. They should have a little bit more respect towards the fighters.”
With his new deal in place, Mousasi has his chance to showcase what he’s been doing for years, but now he’s competing on the largest platform in the MMA world in the UFC.
“They’re considered the best, so fighting them is going to put me as one of the best,” said Mousasi. “Of course it’s better for me to fight these well known names than somebody you don’t know, but you can still lose to those guys. I’m getting more rewarded fighting a guy with a big name than fighting someone that’s less known. It’s all about the popularity of some fighters, but it’s a great thing for me to fight some of these big names.
“I’m going to definitely take advantage of the opportunity.”
No matter who Mousasi ends up facing at UFC on Fuel 9 or for his next fight, he’s ready to seize this moment and show the world he belongs among the best of the best at 205 pounds and beyond.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
Ever since news broke about the possibility of Alexander 
