Bellator London’s Gegard Mousasi: ‘I’m Fighting To Get Paid’
Some fight for the love of mixed martial arts, others such as Gegard Mousasi use money as the key motivator.
Tomorrow (June 22), Mousasi will defend his Bellator middleweight gold. Challenging him will be Rafael Lovato Jr. The title bout will serve as Bellator London‘s main event. It’ll air live on the Bellator app at 5 p.m. ET.
Mousasi spoke to MMAFighting.com ahead of his second Bellator middleweight title defense. “The Dreamcatcher” admitted that the love for MMA is not what keeps him going:
“I’m fighting to get paid. I’m not doing this because I love the sport so much. I’m not a crazy person. The motivation if I beat these guys, if I keep winning, my paycheck will go up eventually after my contract is done. That’s the motivation for me. It’s my job.
“The better you do, the more you make. It’s the same for a doctor or lawyer. If you’re a better lawyer, you’re going to make more money. That’s what I’m trying to do. I want to be the best fighter that I can be to beat these guys and then I get a better contract. That’s the whole thing that keeps me going. Fighting is not my life.”
Mousasi is riding an eight-fight winning streak. In his current span, he’s beaten the likes of Thiago Santos, Vitor Belfort, Chris Weidman, and Rory MacDonald among others. He hasn’t suffered a loss since Sept. 2015.
The undefeated Lovato Jr. will look to pick up his first world title as a professional MMA fighter. He’s coming off a submission victory over John Salter back in Sept. 2018.
