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Former Bellator middleweight world champion Gegard Mousasi will put up his gloves after making one final run at the Bellator world title this year, beginning with Fabian Edwards.
The UFC athlete notably signed with the promotion after quitting the UFC on a four-fight winning streak that includes victories over Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort, both world titles. And after a spectacular late-career run in which he has only lost twice, against Johnny Eblen and Rafael Lovato Jr., he is eager to leave on top.
On May 12, at the Accor Arena in Paris, Mousasi will face Edwards in an all-or-nothing match to begin his pursuit of the gold, after which he will push for a rematch with Eblen.
Morale will be high in his opponent's camp because the British fighter, who has spent the last year watching his brother Leon win and defend the UFC welterweight title, is within striking distance of winning gold for himself.
"At the start of this training camp I had those feelings," Mousasi said of possible retirement. "I would fall asleep and wake up every 30 minutes or an hour so I couldn't get any sleep because my hand would fall asleep and I'd have to wake up and shake my hand and all of that.
"I want one more try, Fabian if I beat him I'm going to fight for the belt and that's going to be it, probably. But I'm not looking too far ahead and nowadays I don't look much farther than one fight ahead because I don't know what tomorrow's going to bring, I could get a serious injury, I could lose and lose the desire.”