Born: Aug. 1, 1985 (Age: 37) in Tehran, Iran
Division: Middleweight
Height: 6’2”
Reach: 76”
Record: 49-8-2 (7-2 Bellator MMA)
Association: Kops Gym
Stage of Career: Post-Prime
Summary: Mousasi, an all-time great middleweight, remains
extraordinarily difficult to beat despite being past his prime. He
possesses one of the greatest jabs in the sport’s history—a laser
shot that is powerful on its own and sets up many other damaging
shots. His uppercuts and hooks are excellent from either side, but
his right cross is especially deadly and he puts it together with
the jab in a seamless, powerful one-two. Mousasi is also
exceptionally hard to hit, possessing outstanding defense despite
limited movement on the feet. Mousasi is outstanding in the clinch
thanks to powerful knees, elbows and dirty boxing. He has defeated
as many opponents with his grappling as he has with his striking
due to some of the most brutal ground-and-pound in the sport’s
history. Mousasi pairs solid takedowns and top control with an
amazing ability to sweep and turn into opponents off his back. He
has proven difficult to take and keep down, though some premier
grapplers have managed to do so. Mousasi is not as proficient as
getting back to his feet as he was in his prime, and his hand speed
and cardio have diminished over the years. With that said, he
remains extraordinarily smart and almost impossible to hurt.
STRIKING
• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Noticeably above average.
• Jab: One of the best in MMA history. A gorgeous, consistent
weapon that is fast, sudden, deadly accurate and very hard, doing
damage by itself while also setting up bigger blows.
• Cross: Fast, sudden, accurate and powerful. He has hurt and
knocked out countless opponents with it.
• Left Hook: Thrown with a very tight arc and great rotation, it is
powerful and sudden. He can rip it to the body and the head.
• Right Hook: Similar properties to the left.
• Overhand Right: Rarely throws it, preferring to utilize the right
cross or right hook.
• Uppercuts: Hard, sudden, accurate, and fast, with the right being
especially surgical.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Starts off with single jabs,
but off of them, he can throw beautiful combinations and punches in
bunches if there opening presents itself.
• Favorite Combination(s): The one-two, with each punch being
dangerous and without a pause between them.
• Leg Kicks: Sudden, fast and fairly hard.
• Body Kicks: Throws them more rarely, but he has a technical and
accurate front kick to the midsection.
• Head Kicks: Shows nice flexibility, technique and power, but he
would rather go after openings with his hands.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.
Mousasi was one of the greatest strikers of all-time in his
prime, and while his hand speed has declined over the years, he
remains outstanding in the standup department. It all starts with
perhaps the best jab in MMA history—an instant, fast, powerful and
deadly accurate blow that not only does significant damage by
itself but also serves as the perfect setup for his other strikes.
His tremendously powerful right cross makes for a fabulous one-two.
Mousasi’s other punches are all excellent, as well, with a fine
left hook he digs to the body and head, along with fantastic
uppercuts that have hurt many opponents. He does not use his kicks
as much but they are all effective, whether he aims them to the
legs body or head. Mousasi’s stellar defense is as important as any
of his offensive tools. Despite a lack of lateral mobility and his
tendence to push forward to attack, he takes surprisingly little
damage thanks to his defensive instincts, efficient head movement
and masterful sense of distance.
CLINCH
• Physical Strength: Powerful for a middleweight, but he has been
exploited by some of the larger grapplers in the division,
including
Ronaldo
Souza,
Rafael
Lovato Jr. and
Johnny
Eblen.
• Technique: Excellent. Features fantastic balance, strong legs and
nice judo-based form.
• Knees: Throws hard, accurate shots at a high rate of fire.
• Elbows: Stout, especially against an opponent draped around his
hips grinding for a takedown.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Rarely provides space or an opening
to throw them effectively.
Mousasi is difficult to deal with in the clinch, as he can
brutalize a wide swath of opponents with outstanding knees, elbows
and dirty boxing. He rarely gets taken down in the clinch thanks to
his strength and technique, and he can even take down lesser
grapplers there.
GRAPPLING
• Wrestling from a Shot: Utilizes solid double- and single-legs, as
well as trips. He took down
Alexander
Shlemenko and
Douglas
Lima down at will, and he also executed a beautiful takedown
against
Rafael
Carvalho.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: He can hit some trips and suck out hips
for double-legs against lesser grapplers.
• Takedown Defense: Manages to stay upright against nearly anyone,
including outstanding grapplers, though Souza, Lovato Jr. and Eblen
exploited some weaknesses. • Ability to Return to Feet: Fantastic
at using butterfly hooks to gain separation, but he cannot hip
escape quite as quickly could when he was at the peak of his
powers. Remains one of the best ever at wall walking.
• Submissions: Shows good variety, and he is incredibly fluid at
improving position, reversing, passing guard into mount and taking
the opponent’s back.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Possesses an amazing
ability to avoid damage and submissions, along with hitting
sweeps.
• Top Control: Leans on heavy top pressure and manages the hips
well, often staying on the opponent like glue.
• Ground-and-Pound: Utilizes unbelievably accurate, powerful
punches that split the opponent’s guard, all of them thrown quickly
one after another. Mousasi has gone this route in a number of
finishes.
Mousasi’s grappling is simultaneously the area of his greatest
strength and greatest weakness. Offensively, he sports solid
takedowns with which he can ground lesser grapplers with ease. Once
in top position, he features some of the best ground-and-pound in
the sport, with accurate, powerful punches. Mousasi has excellent
takedown defense and remains proficient at getting back to his
feet, even as Father Time continues to encroach upon him. He has
excelled at minimizing damage, defending submissions and hitting
sweeps off his back. Even so, Mousasi can be taken down and kept
there by the truly elite grapplers. While he does not usually get
finished, it has cost him some decisions.
INTANGIBLES
• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Not as dynamic as he was
in his prime, and he struggles at times to overpower the bigger
grapplers in the division.
• Cardio: Paces himself well and can fight at a decent pace for all
five rounds without stopping if a pure kickboxing match unfolds,
but grappling takes more out of him. He looked winded in the second
round against Lovato Jr. and appeared to gas completely in Round
4.
• Chin: He can walk through a lot of hard punches. Mousasi has
rarely been hurt in any of his fights, and he has been knocked out
exactly once—by a perfect Hail Mary spinning back kick.
• Recuperative Powers: In the rare times he has been hurt, he has
recovered almost immediately.
• Intelligence: Always keys in on opponent weaknesses and exploits
them. Flashes exceptional defense and has shown constant
improvement and changes to his game over the years. Fights in a
calm, intelligent manner, all while making consistently good
tactical decisions.