Gegard Mousasi (32-3-2 MMA, 3-1-1 SF) is still his biggest critic.
Following a decision over up-and-comer Ovince St. Preux (11-5 MMA, 4-1 SF) at "Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal" earlier this month, he is blunt about his shortcomings during the fight.
Or rather, the end of the fight.
"In the first round, I had him in a crucifix, and if I had more time, I could have finished him," Mousasi told MMAjunkie.com Radio (
MMAjunkie.com Radio | MMAjunkie.com). "But I wasn't pleased with the third round. I think a lot of it has to do with conditioning."
While he got sick a few weeks before the fight and had a tough weight cut, Mousasi doesn't want to make excuses. By now, he knows that will help little in getting to his ultimate goal.
What's that, you say?
First, it's a shot at the light-heavyweight belt he lost. That he expects to get somewhere around the two-year anniversary of that setback.
"There was talk to fight on the New Year's Eve (DREAM) show in Japan, but it didn't go through," Mousasi said. "The thing now is that I'm going to wait until April and get a title shot against the winner of (Muhammed) 'King Mo' (Lawal vs. Lorenz Larkin). That's what I heard."
Next, it's a contract with the UFC. He has one fight remaining on his Strikeforce deal, as well as a contract with DREAM, the Japanese promotion that nearly booked him for New Year's Eve. But like any fighter, he wants to go where the best fights are.
"I want to fight the big names, and the big names are in the UFC," Mousasi said.
And if the UFC felt so inclined to give him a shot at middleweight champ Anderson Silva, he wouldn't mind that either.
"You don't get those chances a lot, so fighting a big name like him, that's a big opportunity," Mousasi said. "I would definitely want to do that if they gave me the chance."
But first, he has to win the Strikeforce belt. That means a possible rematch with Lawal, who outpointed him in April 2010 at "Strikeforce: Nashville." It was a one-sided smothering, and the former collegiate-wrestling standout Lawal held the blanket.
The loss taught Mousasi about how the wrong mindset can sink you in a fight, and if he meets Lawal again, he's determined to walk into the cage with a different one.
"I'm going to go in with the mindset of getting up as quickly as he takes me down," Mousasi said. "I'm going to get up and focus on takedown defense. I'm going to work on wrestling even more. I think wrestling is not going to be a factor this time.
"He cannot knock me out. People can say whatever they want to say, but I can defend myself in the standup, and with the ground and pound, I can always protect myself. The only chance he has is to win my decision, and I feel I have a lot more ways to win. So I just have to work on my defense, and I can win the fight."
Now, Lawal just has to win his fight against Larkin, an undefeated Strikeforce Challengers veteran.
If he doesn't, however, Mousasi's plan remains the same. He has yet to fight that perfect fight, but his discontent keeps him moving.
"I just need to win impressively so people would like to see me in the UFC," he said. "The UFC is definitely the place I want to end up."
