A light heavyweight matchup between former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi and rising prospect Ovince St. Preux has been added to Strikeforce’s December 17 event, the promotion announced Tuesday.
Mousasi (31-3-2) is unbeaten since losing the 205-pound belt to “King” Mo Lawal in April 2010, including a draw against Keith Jardine in Strikeforce in April and first-round TKO of Hiroshi Izumi to defend his DREAM title in July.
St. Preux (11-4), who played football at the University of Tennessee, topped Abongo Humphry in January for his third unanimous decision win in less than two months, then returned to the cage in July with a 72-second stoppage of Joe Cason.
The Dec. 17 event is also expected to feature lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal, the return of Gina Carano, and UFC vet Keith Jardine.
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Pictured: Gegard Mousasi
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OSP would be smart to get this to the ground quickly . But I dont think he will be able to resist standing and will end up “Babalu’ed” by Mousasi .
18 months ago, maybe less, Gegard Mousasi seemed on the verge of North American MMA superstardom.
Now he looks like he can’t defend a decent takedown and seems a bit scrawny for the 205 weightclass in North America. Thats a pair of tough disadvantages to take into a cage fight with Ovince StPreux, who physically overwhelms opponents.
IMO when you consider GM’s [under]performance, he was fortunate to catch a draw against Keith Jardine and not a loss.
Ideally GM has improved his takedown defense and wrestling, as well as improved his strength training to keep opponents from hanging all over him and/or manhandling him in the cage.
GM has a LOT of talent, and I would hate to see him become one of those “he’s huge in Japan” type of fighters…
I’ve been watching Mousasi for a few years now, and I agree I thought he was destined for ufc/North American MMA superstardom. Super talented, but just as you say his TDD/wrestling must be improved if he’s to ever be a contender here. Maybe he should attempt a move to MW, where he would be average size as opposed to being an undersized LHW.
Currently, he’s trying to make the Dutch Olympic Boxing team. I doubt we’ll be seeing him in an MMA cage or ring for at least a year (if he makes it).