Scouting Report: Gegard Mousasi

Gegard Mousasi

Born: Aug. 1, 1985 (Age: 37) in Tehran, Iran
Division: Middleweight
Height: 6’2”
Reach: 76”
Record: 49-8-2 (7-2 Bellator MMA)
Association: Kops Gym
Stage of Career: Post-Prime

Summary: Mousasi, an all-time great middleweight, remains extraordinarily difficult to beat despite being past his prime. He possesses one of the greatest jabs in the sport’s history—a laser shot that is powerful on its own and sets up many other damaging shots. His uppercuts and hooks are excellent from either side, but his right cross is especially deadly and he puts it together with the jab in a seamless, powerful one-two. Mousasi is also exceptionally hard to hit, possessing outstanding defense despite limited movement on the feet. Mousasi is outstanding in the clinch thanks to powerful knees, elbows and dirty boxing. He has defeated as many opponents with his grappling as he has with his striking due to some of the most brutal ground-and-pound in the sport’s history. Mousasi pairs solid takedowns and top control with an amazing ability to sweep and turn into opponents off his back. He has proven difficult to take and keep down, though some premier grapplers have managed to do so. Mousasi is not as proficient as getting back to his feet as he was in his prime, and his hand speed and cardio have diminished over the years. With that said, he remains extraordinarily smart and almost impossible to hurt.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Noticeably above average.
• Jab: One of the best in MMA history. A gorgeous, consistent weapon that is fast, sudden, deadly accurate and very hard, doing damage by itself while also setting up bigger blows.
• Cross: Fast, sudden, accurate and powerful. He has hurt and knocked out countless opponents with it.
• Left Hook: Thrown with a very tight arc and great rotation, it is powerful and sudden. He can rip it to the body and the head.
• Right Hook: Similar properties to the left.
• Overhand Right: Rarely throws it, preferring to utilize the right cross or right hook.
• Uppercuts: Hard, sudden, accurate, and fast, with the right being especially surgical.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Starts off with single jabs, but off of them, he can throw beautiful combinations and punches in bunches if there opening presents itself.
• Favorite Combination(s): The one-two, with each punch being dangerous and without a pause between them.
• Leg Kicks: Sudden, fast and fairly hard.
• Body Kicks: Throws them more rarely, but he has a technical and accurate front kick to the midsection.
• Head Kicks: Shows nice flexibility, technique and power, but he would rather go after openings with his hands.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

Mousasi was one of the greatest strikers of all-time in his prime, and while his hand speed has declined over the years, he remains outstanding in the standup department. It all starts with perhaps the best jab in MMA history—an instant, fast, powerful and deadly accurate blow that not only does significant damage by itself but also serves as the perfect setup for his other strikes. His tremendously powerful right cross makes for a fabulous one-two. Mousasi’s other punches are all excellent, as well, with a fine left hook he digs to the body and head, along with fantastic uppercuts that have hurt many opponents. He does not use his kicks as much but they are all effective, whether he aims them to the legs body or head. Mousasi’s stellar defense is as important as any of his offensive tools. Despite a lack of lateral mobility and his tendence to push forward to attack, he takes surprisingly little damage thanks to his defensive instincts, efficient head movement and masterful sense of distance.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Powerful for a middleweight, but he has been exploited by some of the larger grapplers in the division, including Ronaldo Souza, Rafael Lovato Jr. and Johnny Eblen.
• Technique: Excellent. Features fantastic balance, strong legs and nice judo-based form.
• Knees: Throws hard, accurate shots at a high rate of fire.
• Elbows: Stout, especially against an opponent draped around his hips grinding for a takedown.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Rarely provides space or an opening to throw them effectively.

Mousasi is difficult to deal with in the clinch, as he can brutalize a wide swath of opponents with outstanding knees, elbows and dirty boxing. He rarely gets taken down in the clinch thanks to his strength and technique, and he can even take down lesser grapplers there.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Utilizes solid double- and single-legs, as well as trips. He took down Alexander Shlemenko and Douglas Lima down at will, and he also executed a beautiful takedown against Rafael Carvalho.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: He can hit some trips and suck out hips for double-legs against lesser grapplers.
• Takedown Defense: Manages to stay upright against nearly anyone, including outstanding grapplers, though Souza, Lovato Jr. and Eblen exploited some weaknesses. • Ability to Return to Feet: Fantastic at using butterfly hooks to gain separation, but he cannot hip escape quite as quickly could when he was at the peak of his powers. Remains one of the best ever at wall walking.
• Submissions: Shows good variety, and he is incredibly fluid at improving position, reversing, passing guard into mount and taking the opponent’s back.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Possesses an amazing ability to avoid damage and submissions, along with hitting sweeps.
• Top Control: Leans on heavy top pressure and manages the hips well, often staying on the opponent like glue.
• Ground-and-Pound: Utilizes unbelievably accurate, powerful punches that split the opponent’s guard, all of them thrown quickly one after another. Mousasi has gone this route in a number of finishes.

Mousasi’s grappling is simultaneously the area of his greatest strength and greatest weakness. Offensively, he sports solid takedowns with which he can ground lesser grapplers with ease. Once in top position, he features some of the best ground-and-pound in the sport, with accurate, powerful punches. Mousasi has excellent takedown defense and remains proficient at getting back to his feet, even as Father Time continues to encroach upon him. He has excelled at minimizing damage, defending submissions and hitting sweeps off his back. Even so, Mousasi can be taken down and kept there by the truly elite grapplers. While he does not usually get finished, it has cost him some decisions.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Not as dynamic as he was in his prime, and he struggles at times to overpower the bigger grapplers in the division.
• Cardio: Paces himself well and can fight at a decent pace for all five rounds without stopping if a pure kickboxing match unfolds, but grappling takes more out of him. He looked winded in the second round against Lovato Jr. and appeared to gas completely in Round 4.
• Chin: He can walk through a lot of hard punches. Mousasi has rarely been hurt in any of his fights, and he has been knocked out exactly once—by a perfect Hail Mary spinning back kick.
• Recuperative Powers: In the rare times he has been hurt, he has recovered almost immediately.
• Intelligence: Always keys in on opponent weaknesses and exploits them. Flashes exceptional defense and has shown constant improvement and changes to his game over the years. Fights in a calm, intelligent manner, all while making consistently good tactical decisions.