NEW YORK – Douglas Lima is chasing greatness.
Bellator welterweight champ Lima (32-7 MMA, 14-3 BMMA) will move up a division to face Gegard Mousasi (46-7-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) for the promotion’s vacant middleweight title at May’s Bellator 242, looking to become one of the few fighters in the organization’s history to hold two titles simultaneously.
The middleweight title was vacated after former Bellator 185-pound champ Rafael Lovato Jr. was forced to relinquish his belt due to ongoing medical issues.
It’s potentially a massive moment for Lima, who admits that facing an established name like Mousasi makes this fight that much bigger for his legacy.
“Everything man, it’s like pound-for-pound,” Mousasi told MMA Junkie. “I want on that pound-for-pound list, and I really think a win over Mousasi would get me there. This will erase all that talk, ‘Oh, he doesn’t beat anybody, he’s not in the UFC, he doesn’t belong in the top.’ Listen man, Mousasi beat top guys in the UFC and middleweight. He left as a top guy, right? Four straight wins, he was killing everybody, so that’s why I wanted this fight. That’s why I like this fight better than Lovato.”
“Mousasi’s the man. I go over there and beat him, what are people going to say now? Especially at a higher weight class.”
Lima’s resume has been nothing short of impressive. Most recently, he was able to avenge his loss decision loss to Rory MacDonald and reclaim the title from the former UFC welterweight title challenger at this past October’s Bellator 232.
Lima says he cuts around 30 pounds to make the 170-pound limit, making a permanent move up to middleweight tempting, but he assures that he has every intention of defending both titles should he win. And because he’s cleared out the majority of Bellator’s top-ranked fighters at welterweight, Lima sees the May 9 event as the perfect timing to chase a new challenge.
“It was always on my mind; it was even before all this champ-champ talk started because I thought about middleweight a long time ago,” Lima said. “I think timing wasn’t right at the time that I wanted to move up. This is the right time. Like I sit there, I’ve beaten all of the top six guys in Bellator at welterweight. I don’t have an opponent right now at welterweight if it’s not a rematch, so why not go for bigger things? Go for another belt, a bigger name.”
Bellator 242 takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The night’s main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN.
Douglas Lima: Win over Gegard Mousasi will erase any doubt that I belong on pound-for-pound list