Tag: Mansour Barnaoui

Video: Bellator lightweight grand prix fighters face off for first time

Take a look as the participants for the Bellator lightweight grand prix came face to fight for the first time.

LOS ANGELES โ€“ Bellator is hosting a lightweight grand prix this year, and for the first time Friday, the promotion brought all eight participants together for a news conference, followed by faceoffs.

The tournament kicks off March 10 at Bellator 292 in San Jose, Calif., where champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) defends the title against [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-11MMA, 7-6 BMMA) in a quarterfinal. Also that night, [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).

On May 12 at Bellator Paris, [autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in a quarterfinal. The remaining quarterfinal between [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (20-1MMA, 20-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) has yet to be booked for an event date and location.

In the video above, you can watch all the opponents come face to face.

[lawrence-related id=2610339]

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 9-15)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, itโ€™s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, weโ€™ve got your back.

Each week, weโ€™ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Jan. 9-15.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Fabian Edwards, lightweight grand prix quarterfinal headline Bellator Paris in May

Bellator returns to Paris in May with a middleweight main event and lightweight grand prix quarterfinal.

Bellator will return to Paris in May, topped by two fights with a lot at stake.

The card, scheduled for May 12 at Accor Arena, will be headlined by a middleweight title eliminator between former champion [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] and [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag], promotion officials announced Thursday morning.

Mousasi (49-8-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) will look to rebound from his title loss to Johnny Eblen at Bellator 282, whereas Edwards (11-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) aims to keep rolling after back-to-back wins over Lyoto Machida and Charlie Ward.

In the co-main event, Paris’ own [autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) in a lightweight grand prix quarterfinal. Barnaoui made his successful promotional debut this past October when he submitted Adam Piccolotti at Bellator 287. After picking up two straight wins over Piccolotti and Myles Jury, Outlaw was stopped by Tofiq Musayev in the first round at Bellator 283.

The booking of Barnaoui and Outlaw means that A.J. McKee and Patricky Freire will be paired against each other in the fourth quarterfinal bout.

The current Bellator Paris lineup includes:

  • Fabian Edwards vs. Gegard Mousasi
  • Mansour Barnaoui vs. Sidney Outlaw โ€“ lightweight grand prix quarterfinals
  • Davy Gallon vs. Saul Rogers
  • Thibault Gouti vs. Kane Mousah

[listicle id=2608887]

Bellator announces 8 participants for lightweight grand prix; tournament starts March 10 in San Jose

Eight lightweights will fight for the end rewards of a Bellator lightweight title and a $1 million bonus, beginning in March.

The Bellator lightweight grand prix is official, and so are its eight participants.

While some matchups are still being worked out, the tournament is slated to begin at Bellator 292 on March 10 from SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Bellator president Scott Coker announced the news Wednesday on “The MMA Hour.”

After a report Wednesday by OC Register, MMA Junkie confirmed with promotion officials the first two quarterfinal matchups at Bellator 290: champion Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson, and Tofiq Musayev vs. Alexander Shabliy.

This leaves Mansour Barnaoui, Sidney Outlaw, A.J. McKee, Patricky Freire, and Sidney Outlaw left to be matched up.

The lightweight grand prix is the fifth tournament during the Coker era of Bellator, but the first at lightweight. Heavyweight, featherweight, light heavyweight, and bantamweight previously have been featured.

Coker did not rule out the tournament could end by the end of 2023, depending on how the fights and scheduling plays out.

Scroll below to find out more about the eight fighters who earned a shot to compete in the Bellator lightweight grand prix.

Bellator 287 predictions: Three unanimous nods and one blowout in Milan

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 287 main card in Milan, Italy.

Piccolotti
vs.
Barnaoui		 Edwards
vs.
Ward		 Rogers
vs.
Wilde		 Fisher
vs.
Gonzales
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
167-100		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui
(58%)		 edwards2022
Edwards
(73%)		 rogers2022
Rogers
(76%)		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
(84%)
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
179-93
trophy copy 2018 Champion		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
172-100		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
170-102		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
169-103		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
169-103
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
166-106		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
165-107		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
159-113
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Nolan King
@mma_kings
159-113		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
152-120		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
133-138		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales

Bellator is back in Italy this week with a lightweight matchup at the top of the lineup.

Bellator 287 takes place Saturday at Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Adam Piccolotti[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) takes on promotional newcomer [autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at lightweight. Barnaoui is a slight betting favorite around -150, and our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have him as a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.

In the co-main event [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) is one of our three unanimous picks on the main card in his middleweight fight against [autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA). Edwards is the brother of new UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards; Ward is a teammate of Conor McGregor. Edwards is as much as a 6-1 favorite and an 11-0 pick from our staff members.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) is a 4-1 favorite in his lightweight bout against [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] (14-4-1 MMA, 2-1-1 BMMA). Rogers is our second unanimous pick on the main card.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) is nearly a 3-1 favorite in his featherweight bout against [autotag]Andrew Fisher[/autotag] (19-8-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA). Gonzales is our third 11-0 pick

Inย the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Barnaoui (58 percent), Edwards (73 percent), Rogers (76 percent)ย andย Gonzales (84 percent)ย are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 287.

[vertical-gallery id=2592011]

All over the map: Mansour Barnaoui details international journey to Bellator signing, a decision based on respect

Meet Bellator 287 headliner Mansour Barnaoui, a top lightweight finisher gunning to get your approval through nasty finishes.

[autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] chose to sign with Bellator for the same reasons he chose to fight in Asia for much of his career.

“I had a lot of power and energy inside the cage (when competing in Asia),” Barnaoui recently told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “I loved the respect they had for their fighters. I felt a lot of power and respect. This was also the reason why I chose Bellator, because there is respect for the fighters.”

Geographically, Barnaoui’s life journey is all over the map. Born in Tunisia, he moved to France at two weeks old. A neighbor introduced him to MMA and before long he entered professional competition. He competed in France, before he entered the United Kingdom scene for Cage Warriors.

Stops in Canada, Russia, and Poland followed before Barnaoui settled into a more permanent scene in South Korea, where he went 6-0 and won the Road FC lightweight championship.

In June, Bellator announced Barnaoui (19-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) signed an exclusive multifight deal. He will make his promotional debut Saturday when he headlines Bellator 287 vs. Adam Piccolotti (13-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) in Milan, Italy.

“I’m very happy to fight with Bellator. I chose Bellator because Bellator cares about the fighters,” Barnaoui said. “I’m sure it was a good choice because my first fight is a main event. I can’t ask more from Bellator. I made the right choice.”

[lawrence-related id=2591430,2591380]

Barnaoui, 30, enters his Bellator debut on a seven-fight winning streak. Piccolotti is 4-2 in his most recent six and comes off a win over Georgi Karakhanyan from February.

The Bellator lightweight division is at the end of a rebuild phase with champion Patricky Freire and emerging contenders like Usman Nurmagomedov, Tofiq Musayev, and Alexander Shabliy.

It’s yet to be seen where he fits, but Barnaoui is focused on the title.

“Fans will be very surprised because I will win by KO or submissions every time,” Barnaoui said. “They will be very surprised. … I don’t care (where I fit in now). I just want to be a champion. I want to win at Bellator 287 and I want to win the lightweight grand prix. I’m here for that, the championship and the tournament.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 287.

[listicle id=2578870]