The Bellator middleweight division will have a clear picture once Bellator 296 is finished, as the champion and his contenders all discussed plans during a recent press conference.
Bellator 296 features Gegard Mousasi vs. Fabian Edwards
In a No. 1 contender match in the middleweight division, former champion Gegard Mousasi meets Fabian Edwards Friday at Bellator 296. The card takes place live from the Accor Arena in Paris, France, airing on Showtime.
Earlier this week, Mousasi, Edwards and current division champion, Johnny Eblen, all held court during a press conference to discuss things.
Eblen captured the title back in June when he scored a decision victory over Mousasi. Since that time, he has posted a successful title defense vs. Anatoly Tokov to improve to 13-0 overall.
Mousasi is fighting for the first time since that defeat, while Edwards, the brother of current UFC champion Leon Edwards, is riding a two-fight win streak that includes a first round knockout of Lyoto Machida.
Mousasi contemplating retirement in near future
For Mousasi, each fight from here on out could very well be his last.
He turned pro all the way back in 2003 and has faced some of the best of the best regardless of the weight class or promotion. Mousasi won his first title in 2006 with Cage Warriors and has also held the DREAM, Strikeforce and Bellator belts.
But he is now 59 fights into his career and knows this could be the end of the road.
“This is what I do. I don’t know anything else. One more shot at the title, my fight with Edwards and then I’ll go from there,” Mousasi said. “I’ll first focus on Edwards, and I just need to come and fight. He caught me good in the first round, and he got the best of me. I just need to come to fight and that’s what I am going to do on Friday, I was hesitant last time to go all out.”
Edwards: Mousasi ‘just another man’
Edwards understands who he is going up against, but as he prepares, he isn’t focusing on that.
Instead, Edwards is doing all he can to humanize Mousasi.
“On Friday night I’m going to put my hands on him, so I don’t care if he’s looking over me,” Edwards said. “This fight means a title shot. I don’t look at him (Mousasi) as a legend, he’s just another man.”
The 30-year-old from Jamaica has rebounded nicely since suffering his first two losses of his career to Austin Vanderford and Costello van Steenis.
Eblen: ‘I’m the best’
Eblen made it known that he has no preference over facing Mousasi or Edwards. The 31-year-old from Des Moines, Iowa has won all nine of his Bellator fights and owns six total finishes.
“This is really exciting here. Whether I retire Gegard or crush Fabian’s dreams, I look forward to it,” he said. “I mean they’re both one of the best guys in the world. But I’m the best. I can’t wait to prove that against one of them, so I hope they both put on a show come Friday night.”
