Gegard Mousasi anticipates November or December return, possible move to 185

After tearing the same ACL he tore in 2012, Gegard Mousasi (34-3-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is again on the road to recovery.

The former Strikeforce and DREAM champ anticipates a return to the cage in November or December, but not before he does “a lot of partying.”

“I’m planning on the recovery, but I’m planning to enjoy life a little bit, he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) “In the past, I’ve always been training, always about the sport. Once you have this injury, you discover other stuff. I plan on having a good time.”

Mousasi toughed through his injury to outpoint short-notice replacement Ilir Latifi, who stepped in for his training partner, light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson, in the headliner of this past month’s UFC on FUEL TV 9.

In the weeks leading up to the fight, Mousasi struggled to stay on his track with his knee popping out in practice.

“I had to stretch my leg, and my knee would pop back in again,” he said.

Now off crutches following a recent corrective surgery, Mousasi said his recovery is going faster this time around. He first tore his ACL in early 2012 prior to a fight with Mike Kyle. (The bout was rescheduled for this past January, and he won via first-round submission.)

Mousasi said he worked with the same doctor that first repaired his knee.

“I’ve done my research,” he said. “He’s one of the best doctors. He’s doing all the soccer players from Holland. It wasn’t about the surgery. It was just maybe training too hard that caused the same problem.”

Recently, Mousasi, who’s nicknamed “The Dreamcatcher,” has complained that a lack of regimented training has led to problems inside the cage. He said he’s now fixed those, with individual coaches, though he said he still lacks good sparring partners in his hometown of Leiden, Netherlands.

A desire to minimize disadvantages in the cage has led him to contemplate a move back to the middleweight division, where he fought the bulk of his career. Shortly after UFC on FUEL TV 9, he asked his fans via Twitter whether the drop was a good idea.

“I believe if I go to 185 I’ll be much stronger,” Mousasi said. “At the highest level, you don’t want to give any advantage. If you look at Jon Jones, you don’t want to fight a guy that’s very talented, has the skills, and also has the strength. Then you give too much advantage away.”

But he’ll consult with the UFC before making any concrete plans.

“I think that there’s a big chance I will go,” he said. “If the UFC says, come fight at 205, and if you win two or three times, we’ll give you a title shot. If they say 185, because I was also middleweight champ, maybe win one fight and maybe I can be a contender. Whatever is the fastest way to the belt.”

For more on UFC on FUEL TV 9, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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