Douglas Lima Not Sold on Permanent Move to 185 Pounds, Still Hopes to Defend Two Titles

Douglas Lima would be near the top, if not at the top, of virtually any list when it comes to the greatest welterweights in Bellator MMA history.

Despite that success, the promotion’s reigning 170-pound champion has been plotting a move to middleweight for quite some time. Coming off a run through the Bellator welterweight grand prix that saw him best Andrey Koreshkov, Michael Page and Rory MacDonald, “The Phenom” has cleared out most of the division for the time being.

“I’ve always thought about this move [to middleweight],” Lima told sherdog.com. “Ever since the first time I got the belt. It wasn’t the right time. I think right now is perfect time for me. I’ve got the belt for the third time, got the tournament belt. Pretty much all the top fighters in Bellator, I’ve beat all of them. Everything right now for me is looking like it’s gonna be a rematch as far as defending, so why not?

“Let the division sort it out to really find out who’s the next contender at welterweight. I just asked [Bellator president Scott Coker], please give me a middleweight title shot. It’s the perfect time for me, especially after the tournament.”

Lima was supposed to face Gegard Mousasi for the vacant 185-pound strap at Bellator 242 on May 9, but the event was canceled due to ongoing concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic. The California-based promotion has postponed all events through June but is considering holding closed-door events in July at locations owned by Paramount or CBS. For now, everything is tentative at best.

“I know they want to make the shows happen, but they’re looking out for the fighters,” said Lima, who hopes the schedule resumes in time for him to fight twice in 2020. “Of course I wanted to fight… It’s a serious thing and there’s a lot of people that are sick and a lot of people losing family members, so we’ve definitely got to be safe first.”

Lima expects to be rebooked against Mousasi when Bellator gets back to holding fight cards on a regular basis. If he is able to defeat the former champ, he plans on doing his best to defend titles in both weight classes.

“I’ll do that as much as I could. That would give me a chance to stay even more busy. Because middleweight, I don’t think I’ll have to worry so much about time because I don’t have to cut much weight,” he said. “The weight cut will be a lot easier.

“… Going back to welterweight is going to be a little harder because I’ll have to really concentrate on the diet to lose all the weight again. Not impossible, but it’s going to take a little bit more time. I think middleweight is going to be the easiest to fight at. Cutting weight, training and stuff like that will be a lot easier for sure.”

The 32-year-old Lima says he currently walks around in the vicinity of 198 to 200 pounds, but in his younger days he would get as high as 207 pounds. He also believes extra time off will allow him to put on more muscle before being rescheduled against Mousasi.

While Lima has contemplated a move to middleweight for quite some time and is looking forward to a less strenuous weight cut, a permanent transition later in his career isn’t necessarily a given. First, he has to see how he fares against a larger opponent.

“Maybe, maybe not. I will make a decision after the fight because I really want to see how I feel against a big middleweight,” Lima said. “Mousasi is one of those guys. [He] fought at 205 before, he’s a big boy … I want to feel that fight night. He’ll probably come back at 204, 200 pounds. I really want to see how it feels at middleweight. I’ve got a pretty good feeling that I’ll feel pretty good because I’ve trained with big guys before — 200, 220 pounds. Certain positions are definitely a lot more challenging.

“I don’t know, I’ve got a good feeling about this middleweight move. I feel good in training. I’m looking forward to fight night.”