Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi is looking to switch things up in his fighting career.
Mousasi wants to get in the boxing ring and take on former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva under the Showtime banner, Bellator’s exclusive broadcasting partner.
Mousasi (48-7-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA), 36, is currently scheduled to defend his title against undefeated Austin Vanderford in the main event of Friday’s Bellator 275 in Dublin.
“We were aiming for Anderson Silva because Showtime boxing, and he was boxing,” Mousasi said Wednesday at the pre-fight media day. “I wanted to do something different, but I don’t know. I want to do it, so it’s up to them.”
Silva, 46, who’s mainly known for his dominant reign as UFC champion from 2006 to 2012, switched to boxing in 2021 following his departure from the UFC. The Brazilian is 2-0 after defeating former WBC champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last June and Tito Ortiz in September.
Mousasi said he’s only interested in fighting Silva in the ring and not the cage.
“No, (only) boxing because (for MMA) he’s a little bit too old,” Mousasi said. “(In) boxing, he’s doing well. He beat a former champion, I think. So yeah, it would be something different, or they give me another fight – a real boxing fight – but I think Anderson is the bigger name.”
Gegard Mousasi targets boxing bout vs. Anderson Silva: ‘I want to do it, so it’s up to them’
