Gegard Mousasi will be looking forward to defending the Bellator middleweight title when he faces Rafael Lovato Jr. this weekend.

A victory for the Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer in the main event of Bellator 223 will see him seek a second title in another Bellator division.

The 33-year old has expressed his interest in competing at the light heavyweight division to battle and dethrone reigning champ Ryan Bader. However, the Iran-born has now come out to say he looks to step back to welterweight.

This potential self-demotion will only take place if Douglas Lima is able to win and take the welterweight title from current holder Rory MacDonald who Mousasi has already decisively beaten.

 “Welterweight, only if Douglas Lima wins (the Grand Prix final),” Mousasi told MMA Junkie. “That’s going to be more appealing if he wins because a rematch of me vs. Rory (MacDonald) is not that interesting now.”

Another condition will be that should Mousasi drop down to welterweight and displace Lima who he expects to win, then he will expect a pay rise from Bellator.

Not only that, Mousasi also believes that a potential light heavyweight title win over Bader should also yield more money. However, if Bellator is unwilling for an pay increase, then Mousasi insists he will have to remain with middleweight division.

“Like I’ve always said, they should pay me more,” he said. “If they don’t pay more, fine, I have a contract. I’m worth more against Ryan Bader, and I’m worth more if I fight Douglas Lima for the belt. That’s the way I feel. My value goes up because the opponent is better, and more people would like to see that. I guess if they don’t want to pay, I’m fine. I’ll fight my own middleweight fights.”