Rafael Carvalho doesn’t sound too eager to face Gegard Mousasi just yet.
The reigning Bellator middleweight champion is set to defend his gold against Alessio Sakara on Dec. 9. The bout is scheduled to headline Bellator 190.
Mousasi is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Shlemenko. It wasn’t an easy victory and some disagreed with the decision. Carvalho is one of those people.
Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Carvalho said he feels the judges gifted Mousasi a win over Shlemenko:
“I think he realized the Russian is not an easy opponent. Shlemenko is well-rounded, experienced, a tough fighter, so that eye injury was a big issue for him. I think they (the judges) favored Mousasi because he’s one of the biggest signings in Bellator recent history. The result was unfair.”
He then went on to say he believes Mousasi should take another fight before getting a title opportunity.
“I think he should do another fight first. But I believe this is not the company’s plans. I think they will give him a title shot right away, but I believe he should fight one more time.”
