If Gegard Mousasi can send one message to the martial arts world right now, it’s that he’s not retiring even though he hasn’t fought in nearly a year.
He last competed in Bellator in May 2023, losing a decision to Fabian Edwards, but was looking forward to the chance to compete again. Sadly, Mousasi has been sidelined since the PFL acquired Bellator with no clear indication of when he will fight, and said he has grown frustrated with the lack of communication.
“The problem is we can’t catch them,” Mousasi told MMA Fighting. “They’re refusing to respond to us. I’ve been training, I’m ready. But like I said, they won’t promote me or people won’t let me know if I actually I think he retired. People don’t even know that after my fight, Fabian Edwards fought twice and they haven’t even talked to us since. I know they have an obligation to give me such a fight, but I don’t know. I just wait, but what can I do? Or?
“I tried to fight Derek Brunson. [in Saudi Arabia]. But they said, “Do you want to fight?” So I said, “Yes, let me fight,” but I didn’t hear anything from them anymore. ”
When the deal was finalized for PFL to acquire Bellator from Paramount, company co-founder Don Davis said the promotion aimed to maintain its entire roster of fighters, with behind-the-scenes executives and team members also transitioning. He said he was looking forward to it.
A number of key players were transferred as part of the acquisition, including Bellator matchmaker Mike Cogan and members of the public relations staff, but many players were ultimately released. Mousasi claims he was told at least the entire top 10 in each weight class would be leaving Bellator for the PFL, and that he was definitely eligible as a former middleweight champion who was two fights away from retaining the belt. ing.
Mousasi promises that he has tried numerous times to sign up for one of the upcoming Bellator fight cards, but to no avail. He believes that, at least in part, is due to his contractually mandated salary.
“The manager tried to contact them, but there was nothing,” Mousasi said. “I tried to contact Mike. [Kogan] Because that’s the only person I know and I don’t get much of a response from him. Maybe politics is trying to force me to take a reduced salary, but I know other fighters are being paid as much and they’re already fighting. For some reason they don’t want me to pick a fight.
“I talked to Mike Cogan and he said, ‘Well, you make too much money.’ He said, ‘We can’t leave this hanging, so we’ll talk it over and then we’ll get back to you.’ I haven’t heard from him either. ”
Since consolidating the roster, Davis has declared that his new company will no longer compete for the number two spot behind the UFC as the top promotion in mixed martial arts. Instead, Davis prefers to use the term “co-leader” when discussing PFL’s position within the UFC.
Mousasi vehemently disagrees with that declaration, at least based on his experience so far.
“The problem is they want to be the No. 2 company, but they don’t act like it,” Mousasi said. “I told them I want you to at least tell me what you want me to do so I can move forward with my life. Whatever you want to do with your career, then you can move forward. They don’t even let me talk to them. That’s the problem. They don’t tell me, ‘I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’ We email them but they don’t respond.
“I’m talking to Mike Cogan because he’s the only guy I know who went from Bellator to the PFL. He said he was going to get back to me. He never got back to me. There is nothing I can do at this point other than to tell them through the media that I am not retiring, I am here, but they are ignoring their obligations.”
Nima Safapour, Mousasi’s long-time manager, said every effort had been made to secure a return booking for the player, but no final answer could be obtained from the PFL.
“Is this how we treat our legends now?” Safapour told MMA Fighting. “This business is such that people’s lives depend on promoters doing what they say they will do in good faith. We are in contact with his PFL and are optimistic about this relationship.” I told them I was excited to partner with them and help them improve their brand.
“From the beginning, they made no effort to promote him or appoint him. I have to guess, they booked him even though they had an obligation to do so.” I have no intention of doing so.”
Mousasi cannot say for sure what will happen next, but he is hopeful that by speaking publicly about the turmoil they are facing, they will eventually get some resolution from the PFL.
In a perfect world, Mousasi would get word that he is booked to fight under the terms of his previous Bellator contract, but we don’t know if that will happen.
“When you have a fight, you rely on the promoter to give you the fight,” Mousasi said. “UFC gave me a lot of fights but less pay. Coming to Bellator, I got more pay but less fights. Now the PFL doesn’t even know what’s going on. They don’t let me know. There’s always something going on, but to be honest, this time was the worst.
“I don’t know what they want to do. Just be respectful [saying], “We don’t need you, or we don’t want to give you a fight, or you’re making too much money.” Please tell me why so I know what I’m doing. As I said earlier, we can’t communicate, [when there is] It’s a type of communication that says, “You’re being paid too much.” ”
