Fabian Edwards Respects Gegard Mousasi but Points out, ‘He’s Just a Man’

Though Fabian Edwards respects Gegard Mousasi's 20-year career in the industry, he believes his opponent is beatable.

Bellator MMA 185-pounder Edwards (11-2, 7-2 Bellator) is calm and confident but mainly happy to fight former divisional kingpin Mousasi and to feel the level of competition he is at in the Bellator 296 headliner. While fighting a veteran like Mousasi is a significant opportunity for “The Assassin,” Edwards views his foe as just another human and fellow competitor, and pointed that out clearly during the pre-fight press conference. The younger brother of current Ultimate Fighting Championship 170-pound titleholder Leon Edwards is determined to catch “The Dreamcatcher” off guard, given the matchup’s stakes: Whoever emerges victorious on May 12 will receive a shot at the middleweight title held by Johnny Eblen.

“I respect it. I would definitely respect it ‘cause you've been in it for 20 years, right? He's fought in all of the big promotions, so you can't not respect it. At the same time, he is just a man, you know what I mean? He's flesh and bones, right? He is the same as me. When I go in that cage, I'm not gonna treat him like some mystical creature that can't be defeated, or I can't defeat. I'm gonna go in there and treat my command, and that's it. I don’t know if people took it disrespectfully. If they did, they did. It is what it is, but I know what I meant by that.”

(00:00) Intro
(00:14) Eating sweets
(00:37) Enjoying Paris
(01:32) Being close to a title shot
(02:17) Praising Mousasi’s 20-year career
(02:49) Stating Mousasi is ‘just a man’
(03:55) Commenting on Mousasi’s defeat at the hands of Johnny Eblen
(05:04) His interaction with Eblen
(05:32) Aiming to put on a show for the fans in Paris
(06:09) Having some supporters coming from Birmingham
(06:27) Hoping to fight again in Birmingham soon
(07:06) The good results of Team Renegade
(07:40) Becoming a champion without training overseas
(08:38) Watching his brother, Leon Edwards, defending the title
(09:46) His plans to celebrate the victory
(10:24) Outro