Gegard Mousasi has one fight remaining on his UFC contract, and he's eager to book it.
Mousasi (41-6-2) says he has been asking the UFC to book him a fight for weeks. He said the promotion was interested in pairing him with former champion Chris Weidman, but the bout hasn't come together. The two even went back and forth on social media about it last month.
"UFC offered you the fight days ago," Mousasi wrote to Weidman, via Twitter. "Suddenly you have disappeared. Accept the fight already. I am waiting, pal."
Weidman responded, "Easy, pal. You were just one of a few names given by the UFC, and I'm still healing up. Glad you're finally speaking, though!"
According to Mousasi, he and his management team are still requesting to fight Weidman (13-2), but at this point he'll take anyone ranked in the top 15.
"We've been trying to make the Chris Weidman fight, but he's stalling the fight," Mousasi said. "I don't know how much he is injured. Of course, it's not a good fight for him. He is coming off two losses. I'm on a four-fight win streak. I get it. Maybe he wants a better matchup for him.
"We've been trying to make the Chris Weidman fight, but he's stalling the fight. I don't know how much he is injured. Of course, it's not a good fight for him. He is coming off two losses. I'm on a four-fight win streak. I get it. Maybe he wants a better matchup for him." Gegard Mousasi
"We are looking for a fight. It's a slow process. I'm willing to fight anyone [ranked] No. 1 through No. 15. It has to make sense, but all the fights we wanted are gone. Anderson Silva is booked, Luke Rockhold is injured, Weidman won't fight. Robert Whittaker says is on holiday. Those are the fights I've been looking for."
Mousasi, 31, said the UFC engaged him in negotiations regarding a contract extension, but the two sides could not come to terms and he's committed to fighting out his contract and testing the open market.
That decision means his next fight will be important, as it stands to have an impact on his leverage in future negotiations. That said, Mousasi, who fights out of the Netherlands, has confidence he can beat anyone in the UFC's middleweight division -- and in the value already in his name.
"I'm looking for a fight because I feel the momentum is right to get the belt," Mousasi said. "Of course, the UFC is the biggest organization and I would like to stay in the UFC at the end of the day, but I hear what other fighters make and I need to get paid. It's as simple as that.
"I hear about fighters who I have beaten, making more money than me. I'm 31. I have a long way to go. They're going to need me at middleweight and light heavyweight. I can fight anywhere: Japan, United States, Russia, Europe. I think I'm important to them. We'll see if they offer me a good deal after this fight."
Mousasi said he doesn't want to "badmouth" Weidman, but he's hopeful that talking about the matchup will help get a fight against the New Yorker.
"You have to talk, otherwise you don't get fights," Mousasi said. "If I don't say anything about Chris Weidman, he doesn't feel any pressure to take the fight. It is what it is. Michael Bisping is a great fighter, but because he's so vocal, he's gotten chances that other fighters haven't.
"All I want to say is that I'm going to beat whoever I fight and I'm looking for a fight. Someone show up."