Strikeforce
QUOTABLES: Gegard Mousasi knows he doesn't have much to gain and everything to lose against Keith Jardine on Saturday
Apr 5, 2011 - 11:06:58 AM QUOTABLES: Gegard Mousasi knows he doesn't have much to gain and everything to lose against Keith Jardine on Saturday

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"He's got nothing to lose and this is his way back to Zuffa or the UFC and he's a dangerous opponent. He beat Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin, both former UFC champions. He's not someone to take lightly. He can be dangerous in his awkward standup.

This kind of fight is where I have the most to lose because people expect me to win, especially since he's taking the fight on such short notice. This is the type of fight that I can't win a lot, because if I win they'll say that, 'well, you won over somebody that wasn’t prepared,' and if I lose, it's [to] somebody that got kicked out of the UFC. It's a difficult situation and there's not much I can gain.

Not to disrespect Jardine, but say I would fight Jon Jones; if I would lose people still would say, 'Jon Jones is the God and he won and he's the pound-for-pound [best].' If I would lose to Keith Jardine people would say '[Mousasi is] overrated.' There's more to lose, that's what I mean. It's not like I don't have respect for Keith Jardine.

If I don't win this fight, I don't know when the next fight is going to be, because I won't get a title shot and it's going to take even longer before I get back to action. So, it's important to win this fight."

-Gegard Mousasi talks to Bleacher Report about his fight with late replacement Keith Jardine this Saturday on Showtime at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley.

Penick's Analysis: Mousasi is very aware of the situation he's in. He needs to win this fight, and knows Jardine is a dangerous opponent for him despite his recent record. At the same time, he wants to fight and has been delayed multiple times because of Mike Kyle's injuries this year, so he doesn't want to get too rusty either. A win here keeps him on track, and he just needs to do what he has to do on Saturday night to get the job done.