Up until Friday, everything was going great for Gegard Mousasi's career.
Long the toast of the Japanese MMA circuit, Mousasi joined the UFC in 2013. After two up-and-down years with the company, he hit his stride in 2016 and has since rattled off four strong wins in a row. Set to face former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in April, he was poised to break his way into UFC title contention for the first time in his career.
Unfortunately, his dreams of holding UFC gold may have been shelved, and possibly dashed, by President Donald Trump's 90-day ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. The fighter discussed how he may not be able to enter the United States for his UFC 210 bout in an interview with Dutch outlet Telesport.
"I don’t know," Mousasi said when asked if he will be able to compete (h/t MMA Fighting's Marc Raimondi). "The UFC is working on it. The lawyers and guys that take care of the visas. I just have to wait. They’re gonna change some things probably in a couple weeks, because there’s a lot of protests [about] the change. I just have to wait and see."
Despite living in the Netherlands since age four, Mousasi was born in Iran, whose citizens are currently unable to enter the United States alongside people from Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and Yemen. The ban has been met with worldwide criticism and has soured the new administration to many Americans due to the lack of nuance for who it keeps out. Mousasi, naturally, feels the ban goes too far.
"The rule is even if you're born in Iran, you’re a threat," he said. "It's gonna ruin the relationship between countries. I think the U.S. is on the wrong path."
The UFC acknowledged that it is aware of the ban and that it will affect numerous fighters on the UFC roster. It issued the following statement (per MMA Fighting):
"We are aware of the federal travel ban. There are numerous variables including a judicial injunction. We are monitoring and will be affirmatively engaged to ensure that our fighters and employees are able to go where they need to compete and do their jobs."
In addition to Mousasi, the travel ban could affect other UFC fighters such as Randa Markos (who is Iraqi-Canadian), Reza Madadi (Iranian-Swedish) and Makwan Amirkhani (Iranian-Finnish). All three are currently booked for fights, but none of them are attached to cards in the United States at this time. That said, they may be unable to compete on the majority of UFC cards due to the ban until things change.
There is still a chance Mousasi will be able to compete at UFC 210, which is set for April 8 in Buffalo, New York. Unfortunately, like many others, he will have to sit back and wait to learn what his future holds.
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