Gegard Mousasi has said he is involved in fighting not because he loves fun or just like to ranting about but because he gets paid.

The 33-year-old will be in a face-off against Rafael Lovato Jr in what looks like a fight to finish on Saturday afternoon in the main event of Bellator London.

The Tehran-born Dutchman will be making his 53rd appearance as a professional fighter since he began in 2003. Despite the long period that he’s engaged in the sport, Mousasi insists his interest is the pay he gets not really the love of the sport.   

“I’m fighting to get paid,” Gegard Mousasi said to MMAFighting. “I’m not doing this because I love the sport so much, I’m not a crazy person. The motivation if I beat these guys, if I keep winning, my paycheck will go up eventually after my contract is done. That’s the motivation for me. It’s my job.

“The better you do, the more you make. It’s the same for a doctor or lawyer. If you’re a better lawyer, you’re going to make more money. That’s what I’m trying to do. I want to be the best fighter that I can be to beat these guys and then I get a better contract. That’s the whole thing that keeps me going. Fighting is not my life.”

He admits that getting a good pay is what makes fighting interesting for him and not just for the fun of it. The mixed martial artist defeated Rory MacDonald as he went on to defend his middleweight title.

He was thought to take on some other contenders but Mousasi says he wants to see more money on the table as he is fighting for the love of money and not for th game.

 “They wanted to make the Ryan Bader fight before [Rafael] Lovato and I said fine, pay me more. I’ve said to them, I will go to welterweight, pay me more,” Mousasi said. “If they don’t want to pay me more, I’m fine. I don’t need to do crazy stuff. If I go down [to welterweight], it’s going to take a lot of crazy stuff, a lot of energy out of me. If I go up, I’m going to be facing a bigger, stronger wrestler guy that’s not particularly a good style matchup for me but I’m willing to fight anybody.

“Like I said, I’m not doing it for fun. I’m doing it because I get paid. If they wanted to have a big super fight, that’s fine, pay me more. If not, I’m fine. I’ll stay at middleweight and I’ll do my thing.”