Gegard Mousasi believes he will nullify the strengths of Rafael Lovato Jr. to successfully retain his Bellator middleweight title.

Mousasi vs. Lovato Jr. will headline Bellator London inside The SSE Arena in London, England this Saturday (June 22). The action will air on Paramount Network and DAZN. This will be Mousasi’s second Bellator middleweight title defense.

Mousasi said he feels he can prevent Lovato Jr. from executing his game plan:

“I see myself being too fast for him and too technical for him. I see myself not putting myself in bad situations with him. But even if I do, I can handle it. I can get up, or I can make sure he cannot do anything to me on the ground. There are three things he has to do to win. He has to take me down, he has to keep me down, then he has to submit me. We are planning to stop him at stage one with my takedown defense. And I know I will be fine.”

Lovato Jr. is renowned for his ground game and it has helped him nab six submissions in his professional mixed martial arts career. The title challenger, who has a record of 9-0, doesn’t match Mousasi’s mixed martial arts experience as “The Dreamcatcher” has 53 bouts to his credit. Still, many believe Lovato Jr. is a threat to anyone in the 185-pound division including Bellator’s middleweight king.