“The Dreamcatcher” is taking his former promotions to court.
Earlier this week, Bellator’s former Middleweight champion, Gegard Mousasi, filed an 81-page civil suit in New Jersey against his former promotion, Bellator MMA, and the promotion’s new owners at Professional Fighters League (PFL), which includes company co-founder Donn Davis, CEO Peter Murray and matchmaker Mike Kogan (who was also the matchmaker in Bellator).
PFL purchased Bellator back in 2023. The former champion basically believes because of his high contract, which was $800,000, PFL held him out of competition and prevented him from competing to make a living.
According to the lawsuit, Mousasi signed an eight-fight extension with Bellator in 2020 that would pay him $150,000 per fight. After the four fights, his contract jumped to $200,000 with a guaranteed $600,000 “promotional fee” for each fight, which made his purse $800,000. He would also receive a “finish bonus of $50,000 for any bouts won by knockout or submission,” which he claims he did not receive.
Mousasi accepted a fight with Fabian Edwards after sitting out one year “despite carrying an injury that effectively forced him to fight Edwards with one arm.” He chose not to pull out of the fight for fear of being sat on the sidelines indefinitely, ultimately dropping the bout via decision (watch highlights).
Mousasi was released from PFL/Bellator earlier this year in May — one year after his loss to Edwards. “Dreamcatcher” has not competed since his release.
Checkout more of the lawsuit below, courtesy of journalist John Nash:
pic.twitter.com/l8TbfAUqyB
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) October 17, 2024
MMAmania.com for all the updates on this case and much more right here.
