Tag: Slim Trabelsi

Slim Trabelsi says he’s ready for top-five opponent after emotional U.S. debut at Bellator 300

After he submitted Davion Franklin this past Saturday, Slim Trabelsi broke down in tears against the fence.

SAN DIEGO – After he submitted Davion Franklin this past Saturday, [autotag]Slim Trabelsi[/autotag] broke down in tears against the fence.

Trabelsi (6-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) went through more to get to his Bellator and U.S. debut than most fighters could even fathom. It’s almost as if Franklin (6-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) never had a chance if the MMA gods had destined Trabelsi to be rewarded for the trials and tribulations on the way to Bellator 300.

Trabelsi spoke to the media following his win over Franklin, which took place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

Watch Trabelsi’s full post-fight interview in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

Slim Trabelsi will reflect on his Bellator 300 journey later – for now, he has a job to do

Slim Trabelsi’s journey to Bellator no doubt was more trying than the path taken by the vast majority of his contemporaries.

SAN DIEGO – [autotag]Slim Trabelsi[/autotag]’s journey to Bellator no doubt was more trying than the path taken by the vast majority of his contemporaries.

Trabelsi, the first Bellator fighter from Tunisia, spent years, he said, struggling to legally cross European borders and with finances. Before he got to Bellator, he thought he was in the UFC – until a controversial clash between managers kept him out of the promotion. That was just another bump in a road filled with them. Now that he’s finally in Bellator, he intends to make his trials and tribulations worth their while.

Trabelsi talked about that and more at Thursday’s Bellator 300 media day in San Diego.

Check out the full interview in the video above. Bellator 300 takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The main card, which features three title fights, airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

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Three fighters off UFC 280 card in Abu Dhabi

UFC 280 faces an injury, a contractual issue, and a lack of heavyweight replacements.

The UFC 280 lineup is stacked from top to bottom, but it’s a little less lengthy than it was seven days ago.

Three fighters are off the card for different reasons, MMA Junkie has learned. All three combatants were expected to compete on the prelims of the Oct. 22 pay-per-view event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

UFC 280 is headlined by two title fights. In the main event, Charles Oliveira faces Islam Makhachev for the vacant UFC lightweight championship. In the co-main event, bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling defends his title against former champion T.J. Dillashaw.

Scroll below to see which fighters have recently dropped off the card.

With Hamdy Abdelwahab out, Slim Trabelsi steps in to face Parker Porter at UFC 280

Slim Trabelsi has signed with the UFC and will be making his debut next month.

[autotag]Slim Trabelsi[/autotag] has signed with the UFC and will make his debut next month.

[autotag]Hamdy Abdelwahab[/autotag] has been forced out of UFC 280 and Trabelsi (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will step in to face [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) on Oct. 22 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

A person with knowledge of his removal from the card told MMA Junkie his withdrawal is for a non-injury reason. ESPN was first to report the news of the booking.

Tunisia’s Trabelsi, a former amateur wrestler, has trained with the likes of UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and former interim champ Ciryl Gane at MMA Factory Paris. Just 10 days ago, Trabelsi remained unbeaten when he finished Azamat Nuftillaev in the second round to claim the vacant ARES FC heavyweight title.

Porter, 37, will look to bounce back from a first-round submission loss to Jailton Almeida in May. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak of victories over Josh Parisian, Chase Sheman and Alan Baudot.

With the change, the UFC 280 lineup includes:

  • Champion Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev – for lightweight title
  • Champion Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw
  • Sean O’Malley vs. Petr Yan
  • Sean Brady vs. Belal Muhammad
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot
  • Amanda Lemos vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Lucas Almeida vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
  • Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot
  • Caio Borralho vs. Makhmud Muradov
  • Malcolm Gordon vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Nikita Krylov vs. Volkan Oezdemir
  • Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev
  • A.J. Dobson vs. Armen Petrosyan
  • Lina Lansberg vs. Karol Rosa
  • Parker Porter vs. Slim Trabelsi