Gegard Mousasi discusses how the loss to Hall affected him, Rousey's suicide comments & motivation

Tomorrow afternoon in London, England, Gegard Mousasi will have the chance to redeem himself after his devastating loss to Uriah Hall last year, when he faces Thales Leites on the main card of UFC Fight Night 84. Now, you may be saying to yourself, ‘Self, Gegard was dominating his last fight before he got caught, and that could happen to anyone,' and you would be correct. However, Mousasi's redemption is more for his own peace of mind than it is for the fans.

In a recent interview with the Three Amigos Podcast, Gegard discussed a variety of topics that included his take on the loss to Uriah Hall, how much the loss has affected him, how he felt about Ronda Rousey's suicide comments, his take on fights that are matched strictly for entertainment value, his chief motivation after over a decade in the sport and much more. Here's a smattering of quotes from this excellent interview:

Thoughts on loss to Uriah Hall

After the Jacare fight, I changed up some things in my camp. I was doing well against Hall; I was dominating him. I didn't do anything wrong in that fight, obviously. If you keep fighting long enough, there's going to be a punch or a kick you won't see. I didn't underestimate him at all. I was well-prepared for him and it was just one of those things that happens. Going into this fight, I'm very confident, also.

Ronda Rousey's suicide comments

I've had losses before where I've gotten depressed afterwards. Even this last loss to Hall has been difficult to accept, you know, but not suicidal. It's nothing to laugh about, but that was a little bit too much. Life is not just about fighting. It's just sports, nothing more.

Fights matched strictly for entertainment value

Why not? Even the UFC is about entertainment. It's not about who's the better guy, well, it is about who's the better guy, but sometimes the popular fighter gets a title shot and he's coming off a loss. Those things happen, but Japan is a little bit more extreme about it.

Motivation after more than a decade in the sport

Money [laughs]. Obviously I have my goals and my goal was to get the championship, and I was getting back to the title contendership, but that setback from the last fight...it broke me a little bit. So, I'm not thinking about that anymore. I'm just thinking get the win in the next fight and then go from fight to fight. The goal is always the belt, but I'm far away now, and that's a little bit difficult for me. Maybe after a few wins, I'll feel better.

Other topics discussed:

-If the UFC could benefit from a staff psychologist
-Reebok
-Free agency
-Rizin
-Fave foods and his love of junk food
-Judging issues

There were many more topics discussed, and you can check those out here (Gegard's interview starts at the 1:08:05 mark of the audio), or via the embedded player below. Remember, if you're looking for us on SoundCloud or iTunes, we're under the MMA Nation name. Follow our Twitter accounts: Stephie Haynes, Three Amigos Podcast, Iain Kidd and Mookie Alexander or our Facebook fan page, Three Amigos Podcast.