Mousasi’s Impossible Dream

Easy money is easy money whether it’s in yen or not, and Gegard Mousasi knows it. What other explanation could there be for Mousasi announcing participation in a light heavyweight Dream Grand Prix featuring at least two fighters he’s already swatted?

Dream will begin a tournament over the course of two or three shows on May 30, just weeks after Mousasi defends his Strikeforce title against Muhammad Lawal. The admission assumes he gets through Lawal without injury. In MMA, win or lose, that’s not often the case.

Aside from more money, there’s not much upside to attempting a compressed schedule. All Mousasi will accomplish is wearing his body down and taking either lateral or backpedaled steps in his career: two other rumored fighters in the tournament, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Renato Sobral, are already on Mousasi’s resume; Christian M'Pumbu, a possible addition according to MMAJunkie.com, is inexperienced at the top level. Even if the field were populated with top talent, fighting twice in a night is a constant asterisk to the result. Why fight for a prize when the prize isn’t all that great?