Mousasi out from DREAM card..

Strikeforce champ Gegard Mousasi scratched from DREAM's "Super Hulk" tourney

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Sep 08, 2009 at 6:00 pm ET

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Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi (26-2-1) will not be competing in the final stage of DREAM's "Super Hulk" tournament.

An undisclosed injury has forced the 24-year-old to withdraw from the Oct. 6 event, though an official announcement has yet to be made.

MMAWeekly.com was the first to report the change, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has since confirmed the news with multiple sources close to the event.

The nature of the injury is currently unknown, and M-1 officials declined to comment on the status of their fighter.

Mousasi last saw official action in an Aug. 15 dispatching of former Strikeforce champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral. "The Dreamcatcher" appeared unscathed following the 60-second dismantling of Sobral.

MMAWeekly.com speculates that the injury could have occurred during an Aug. 28 sparring match with teammate Fedor Emelianenko at "M-1 Global presents Breakthrough" in Kansas City, Kan. Unfortunately, with Mousasi's management unwilling to discuss the status of their fighter, it's unknown what led to his withdrawal.

After defeating super heavyweight Mark Hunt in May's opening round of the "Super Hulk" tourney, Mousasi had been expected to face Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in the semifinals of the eight-man bracket.

DREAM is reportedly currently searching for a replacement.

DREAM and Strikeforce recently announced a formal partnership between the two companies, and DREAM event producer Keiichi Sasahara said his company was happy to send Mousasi to the U.S. for his August win.

With Strikeforce officials yet to announce the details for the promotion's next arena series show, it's unknown if there were any plans to use Mousasi this fall.





Oh well card blows now apart from Hansen Aoki. Wonder who Sokodjou will fight now..