Bellator 296 goes down tomorrow as the promotion makes it’s return to Paris and there’s a few big fights that highlight the main card. In the main event, we are going to see a potential middleweight title eliminator between former champion Gegard Mousasi (49-8-2) and Fabian Edwards (11-2).
For Mousasi, he knows that he’s nearing the end of his career. The former champion ideally wants to win tomorrow and move on to capturing the middleweight title once again before hanging up the gloves after a historic career. It’s been just over ten months since we saw Mousasi lose his title to Johnny Eblen.
That loss snapped a four-fight winning streak for Mousasi and was only his second loss in Bellator. He looks primed and ready to go for tomorrow. While being the big betting underdog, Fabian Edwards is ready to take on the challenge and punch his ticket to a title shot.
The brother of UFC champion Leon Edwards, Fabian has won back-to-back fights leading up to Bellator 296. One of those wins was a knockout over former UFC champion Lyoto Machida. Still, a win over Mousasi would be the biggest win of his career and would solidify his case for a title shot.
Bellator 296
The co-main event will feature a bout in the Lightweight Grand Prix and this particular bout will be a title eliminator because the winner will be scheduled to face champion Usman Nurmagomedov. France’s own Mansour Barnaoui (20-4) will take on former champion Brent Primus (11-3).
Barnaoui will enter the bout with a ton of momentum. Since the end of 2016, Barnaoui hasn’t lost. He’s won eight fights in a row and the first seven led him to Bellator. He made his debut with the promotion last October and scored a second round submission over Adam Piccolotti.
Originally, Primus wasn’t supposed to be in the Grand Prix. However, after Sidney Outlaw failed a drug test, Primus was brought in to face Barnaoui. Primus won the first eight bouts of his career including a win over Michael Chandler which made him the lightweight champion.
However, it’s been a little struggle since then. He’s gone just 3-3 in his last six bouts including 1-2 in his last three. Granted, the one win did come over former UFC champion Benson Henderson. He’s the underdog tomorrow and he’s looking to shock everyone in front of Barnaoui’s home country.
The second fight on the main card features former welterweight champion Douglas Lima (32-11) who is moving back up to middleweight to take on Costello van Steenis (14-2). This is a massive fight for Lima. At one point, Lima was looked at as one of the best fighters in the world regardless of weight class and promotion.
However, he’s lost four fights in a row leading up to Bellator 296. If he falls again tomorrow, it’s going to be hard to figure out what’s next for the former champion. A lot of good fights and interesting storylines that will unfold tomorrow from Paris.