Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) will face Denis Kang (Pictures) Tuesday in what promises to be one of the most competitive and action-packed middleweight fights of the year so far.

The battle, which is set for the Dream middleweight grand prix, picks up the thread of 2006's Bushido tournament in which both fighters competed. Kang reached the finals before losing to Kazuo Misaki (Pictures), and Akihiro Gono (Pictures) eliminated Mousasi in the quarterfinals.

Twenty months have passed since then. Mousasi has progressed tremendously as a fighter, winning all seven of his fights and finishing six. Now the well-rounded 22-year-old from Armenia is hovering around the top 10 in the middleweight rankings.

"While I wasn't ready to fight at such a high level two years ago, I consider myself a fighter that has a chance against anybody in the middleweight division now," Mousasi said. "Of course I have to beat top-ranked guys like Denis Kang (Pictures) to be considered a top-10 fighter myself, but those rankings are not without flaws. Sometimes a guy that isn't even in the top 50 can beat a top-10 caliber opponent. It's all about the style of a particular fighter working well against certain opposition and less successfully against others."

While the "Young Vagabond" intends to win the whole Dream tournament, he has nothing but respect for his first-round opponent.

"I think Denis Kang (Pictures) is well rounded and has a lot of experience," Mousasi said. "His strength is that he doesn't have a lot of weaknesses, but if I had to single out one, I'd say his standup is the weakest link. Personally, I know him from the Bushido GP, and he has always been very friendly when we met."

Kang started out as a jiu-jitsu player, but he has picked up boxing. Mousasi, on the other hand, is a kickboxer who has also mastered the ground game. So where does he want the fight to take place and how does he see it ending?

"I have a very good game plan and, quite frankly, I don't care if the fight is going to the ground or not," Mousasi said. "My ground game has improved by leaps and bounds in the past months, especially from the occasional training with Fedor (Emelianenko). I'd say my ground work is now up to par with my striking. In the end, I don't care how I win as long as I win."

A victory over Kang would likely propel Mousasi into the middleweight top 10. A subsequent win over a Japanese legend like Sakuraba or Funaki, both of whom are in the tournament, could make him an instant star in Japan. Mousasi remains humble, though, and isn't looking too far forward.

"First I need to beat Kang, which is hard enough," he said. "Should I make it past him, I don't have any preferences. The only fighter I don't want to face is [Ikuhisa] Minowa. We have been training together in the past, and I consider him a good friend."

Mousasi's original plans for 2008 were quite different than what's playing out. Before he was invited to the Dream tournament, he intended to move up to light heavyweight with a bout against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) looming on the horizon. Those plans are only postponed for the time being.

"Next year," he said, "I will definitely move up a division to fight the guys at 205 pounds."

Mousasi also wants a future matchup with Dutch fighter Melvin Manhoef (Pictures).

"I really want to fight Manhoef because everybody in Holland is saying how good he is, that he is a beast," he explained. "They don't say those things about me, so I want to prove that I can beat him."

Mousasi might just get what he is wishing for. Manhoef has just confirmed that he will be fighting both at Dream 3 on May 11 and also at Dream 4, which is tentatively scheduled for June 15. Provided that Manhoef doesn't get the chance to advance in the middleweight tournament like Aoki and Calvancante have in the lightweight grand prix and if Mousasi is eliminated in the first round, the duo could meet this summer.

With both men under contract to Dream promoter Fighting & Entertainment Group, it is almost certain that they will cross paths sometime in the future.