Gegard Mousasi made the short trip to UFC Fight 93 in Hamburg, Germany this past weekend and took the opportunity to talk to the media about his next upcoming fight at UFC 204.
 
Mousasi takes on the Brazilian legend, Vitor Belfort, in a fight that is currently scheduled to co-main event the fight card headlined by Michael Bisping versus Dan Henderson.
 
Mousasi and Belfort have been linked many times down the years for a showdown, but it's taken until 2016 for it to finally materialize. Given Belfort's well-documented previous use of Testosterone Replacement Therapy, the Dutch Armenian believes now is the right time to take on the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
 
"Now it's an even playing field," Mousasi said. "Now he doesn't have the doctor's advantage I will beat him. It makes sense now. He was going for the title and he lost and then he lost to Jacare. I'm number seven he's number five--it just makes sense right now. There were no other fighters. Anderson didn't want to fight him so I got the fight.
 
"Of course he's not afraid--he's fought the best guys," he added. "That's nothing to do with it. Sometimes you must take the fight that makes most sense to you and at this moment it's not like he has a lot of choices. For me it always made sense."
 
Mousasi believes a win over Belfort will leave him needing just one more high profile will to insert himself into the UFC middleweight title talk. He's well aware however, that there are several other contenders lining up for their shot at the champion.
 
"He's number five now and if I beat him I should be number five then," Mousasi said. "I might need another fight, but I don't know what the matchmakers or what the matches are, but maybe Chris Weidman or Luke Rockhold or someone like that. Then I will go for the title."
 
Shortly after Jon Jones had been removed from the UFC 200 main event against Daniel Cormier, there was talk that Mousasi would be the man to fill his shoes and take a title shot at the UFC light heavyweight champion on just 48 hours notice. Of course, Anderson Silva was the man who eventually got the nod, but Mousasi just how close it all came.
 
"First I got the fight and then they said yes, but then they just came back with Anderson who had just had surgery, who was on his couch, who somehow got his medical in one day, and he fought," Mousasi said. "I don't know--I got the fight first but then Anderson did. People liked that fight better because he's got a bigger name."
 
Mousasi went on to detail his disappointment about being overlooked for Anderson.
 
"My disappointment was pretty big because I was pretty excited," he said. "A shot a the title--yeah I was pretty pumped up. Now we have to take the long road so we will see how it goes."
 
Having had two potential big fights snatched away from him by Anderson Silva now, Mousasi said he would be interested in a fight with the Brazilian himself, but that he didn't expect that to happen.
 
"I don't know if the fight makes sense, but I would love to have that fight," Mousasi said. "He's not going to take that fight because he's looking for a different caliber name-wise because he's going to make more money probably."
 
With his eyes fixed firmly on Belfort for the minute, Mousasi believes he has a good idea what his opponent will bring to the table for him at UFC 204 and he is expecting to have to survive an early onslaught.
 
"He is explosive and dangerous in the first two minutes, but I've seen him in the last two fights and he fades out very fast," Mousasi said. "After one or two minutes if he does his thing and it doesn't work, then he's mine."