Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:59 am EST
Gegard Mousasi, who is set to fight Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Strikeforce in suburban Chicago this Saturday, had a video camera following him around at Wednesday's open workout as well as different photographers shooting pictures of his every move. He laughed through a session of shadow boxing for the cameras and took all the media attention in stride.
"If you win, they say good stuff, if you lose, they bring you down," Mousasi told Cagewriter. "To be able to win my fights, I must focus on the good things, like training."
After his last fight, a TKO of Renato "Babalu" Sobral, ended in just a minute, Mousasi wants to show off his skills to an American audience.
"I can win with submission, ground and pound or stand-up, so I'm going to take my time, be sharp and put the pressure and take whatever I can. I'm going to try to do everything."
Strikeforce TV analyst Frank Shamrock thinks that Mousasi is one of Strikeforce's budding stars.
"I think there's a fighter on the card who possesses an extraordinary skill set, and has been overlooked," Shamrock said. "Mousasi, for his weight, is one of the best fighters on the planet. No one knows it yet. They found out a little bit when he won the belt, and they're going to find out a little bit more on Saturday night."
At the same time, Mousasi's not overlooking Sokoudjou, who struggled with the UFC but was quite successful in fights overseas.
"He's a dangerous opponent. I think people underestimate him. I will take my time with him and hopefully do the job well."
If Mousasi does win, he said he wants to fight soon, but stopped short of calling out any particular fighter, including Strikeforce's newest light heavyweight signing, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, who was just a few feet away from him in the gym.
"There are some good fighters. King Mo, I hear is a new talent. A match with him would be an exciting one, but it's not up to me," Mousasi said.
Lawal, who is rumored to be fighting for Strikeforce on Dec. 19, sees a fight with Mousasi as inevitable.
"Me and him are going to end up fighting. It's going to happen eventually. It's bound to happen. He keeps winning, I keep winning, it's going to happen," Lawal told Cagewriter.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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38 Comments
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This was a very solid article.
Was Mousasi a good interview? He seems like he might be a little shy.
Oh...and by the way...you still need to do the TMZ crap every now and then to keep things light. This is a blog, after all...and I, for one, appreciate it.
Definitely continue your weekly pieces: CAC, MMKO, MMA Marketplace, and...of course...my favorite...CFOTW (Cagewriter Facepalm of the Week).
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Margaret is a cougar!
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How often can Ken Shamrock overstate the obvious?
Gerard is a special fighter and up and coming star who has been overlooked by so many. No kidding? You don't say?
I think Frank is suffering from a lack of intelligence and brain damage, and that's a bad combination.
Thanks for the blogs Maggie.
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Our complaints are toward the bias writers only covering one MMA organization. This is good see how peaceful it is.
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now don't get all butt-hurt or anything, just trying to spark some kind of life...or sign of on this thread.
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now I won't have to give up an arm and a leg to see this, I'm just a starving college student...
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1 - 25 of 38