Gegard Mousasi, former DREAM middleweight champion and 2008 grand prix tournament winner, reveals the breaking news via M-1 Global:
“I could not make [middleweight] anymore. I am a natural heavyweight; I always had to cut from 93 kilo’s to middleweight. It was just too hard for me to do…. Yes, there (rumors) are true and I will be fighting Vitor Belfort.”
Affliction 3 has been tentatively schedule for August 01, 2009 in Anaheim, Calif. It will take place at the same venue the first two shows have been at, the Honda Center.
It’s an intriguing match up, especially considering Mousasi recently left the 185-pound division and Belfort just made the decision to join it. There’s no official word yet on what the contracted weight Mousasi and Belfort will compete at. Perhaps at a catchweight of 195… an in between weight class being used Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva for their UFC 99 fight.
Mousasi is coming off a first round submission win over Mark Hunt at Dream 9 last night. The 24 year old phenom boats a 24-2-1 record and holds notable wins over Ronaldo Souza, Melvin Manhoef, and Dennis Kang. Only two of his wins have gone the distance, making Mousasi one of the most exciting young fighters in mixed martial arts.
As for Belfort, he was the young phenom best remembered for his T(KO) win over David “Tank” Abbot followed by his ground and pound loss to Randy Couture. Belfort went on to fight the best names in all MMA in Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture (two more times), Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem.
While Belfort has had an up and down career, he has rebounded as of late by winning his last four fights. Belfort most recently clocked Matt Lindland with a vicious KO punch at Affliction’s second show – Day of Reckoning.
Also rumored for the show are the following fights. Only the Daley vs. Hieron fight has been officially confirmed.
• Champ Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett (for WAMMA heavyweight title)
• Paul Buentello vs. Tim Sylvia
• Paul Daley vs. Jay Hieron
• Vitor Belfort vs. TBA
• Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Stay tuned to Inside Fights as the news around Affliction’s third show develops. If all the fights pan out, it should be a good third show for the organization.
