PRESS RELEASE:M-1 Global's Gegard Mousasi to take on Musashi on Dec. 31 in Japan at FEG's "Fields Dynamite!!"
Gegard Mousasi, an M-1 Global contracted fighter and the 2008 winner of DREAM's Middleweight World Grand Prix, has officially signed to return to DREAM for FEG's "Fields Dynamite!!" on Dec. 31 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
M-1 Global can reveal that the 23-year old will be taking on four-time K-1 Japan tournament champion, Musashi in a K-1 rules match.
The matching up of Mousasi vs. Musashi is intriguing outside of the fact that their last names are similar, as both are known as world-renowned strikers.
Before becoming the first-ever DREAM Middleweight Champion at DREAM 6 this past September, Mousasi was also a former Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion and a former amateur boxing champion. He has also served as a striking coach for current WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.
Musashi, a Japan native, is a former WAKO Heavyweight Muay Thai Champion and is also a two-time K-1 World Grand Prix finalist.
Born in Iran to Armenian parents during the Iran-Iraq war, Mousasi was raised in the Netherlands and began studying martial arts at a young age. Starting with both boxing and Judo, he would eventually become a standout kickboxer before achieving crossover success in mixed martial arts.
Mousasi won the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix after knocking out world-class grappler Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza with an upkick at 2:15 of round one on Sept. 23. He reached the final after winning in the semifinals, which were held the same night. Facing K-1 standout Melvin Manhoef, Mousasi utilized his improving ground skills to submit the striker at 1:28 of round one.
Prior to his semifinal and final victories, Mousasi had defeated current UFC fighter Denis Kang in the Grand Prix's first round at DREAM 2 in April and then Korean Dong Sik Yoon at DREAM 4 in June in round 2.
Mousasi is 24-2-1 in a pro MMA career that began in April of 2003. During his five-year career that includes fights for PRIDE, MFC, M-1, DEEP, and BodogFIGHT, Mousasi has recorded notable victories over Kang, Manhoef, Souza, Makoto Takimoto, Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, and Erik Oganov. He is currently the sixth-best middleweight in the world, according to the November rankings poll by the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts.
He is currently ranked as the No. 8 middleweight in the MMAWeekly.com World MMA Rankings.
