Manager: Shlemenko to appeal decision loss to Mousasi at Bellator 185

Alexander Shlemenko aims to appeal the unanimous verdict he dropped to Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 185 in Connecticut last Friday, his manager, Alexey Zhernakov, told MMAjunkie's Steven Marrocco on Monday.

The former middleweight champ believes he did enough to spoil Mousasi's promotional debut and aims to get the result reversed to a W or overturned to a no-contest. Shlemenko is also reportedly open to running it back with the former UFC contender.

All three judges anointed Mousasi the winner of the closely contested bout with scores of 29-28. The 32-year-old dominated the first round on the mat, although an early overhand left from Shlemenko broke his right orbital bone and soon halved his vision, allowing the Russian to pull back into the fight and make it a nail-biter thanks to some stellar body work. All three judges scored the pivotal second round for Mousasi, although Zhernakov maintains Shlemenko accounted for the bulk of its damage.

While Shlemenko aims to see justice served, the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations does not follow any protocol to appeal official decisions, director Mike Mazzulli told Marrocco.

The bout had been billed as a title eliminator prior to reigning middleweight champ Rafael Carvalho's December defense of the crown against Alessio Sakara. Mousasi presumably earned his shot with the razor-close decision, although it remains to be seen how long the broken bone he sustained will sideline him.