| Bellator 296: Mousasi vs. Edwards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for Bellator 296: Mousasi vs. Edwards | ||||
| Promotion | Bellator MMA | |||
| Date | May 12, 2023 | |||
| Venue | Accor Arena | |||
| City | Paris, France | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bellator 296: Mousasi vs. Edwards (also known as Bellator Paris) was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on May 12, 2023, at Accor Arena in Paris, France. [1] [2] [3]
The event marked the promotion's third visit to Paris and first since Bellator 280 in May 2022. [4]
A middleweight title eliminator bout between former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi and Fabian Edwards headlined the event. [1]
A Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal bout between Mansour Barnaoui and Sidney Outlaw was scheduled to serve as the co-main event. [2] However at the end of February, Outlaw tested positive for banned substances and was suspended, and was replaced by former Bellator Lightweight Champion Brent Primus. [5]
A bantamweight bout between Brett Johns and Marcirley Alves Da Silva, as well a middleweight bout between Gregory Babene and Kyle Stewart were scheduled for this event. [6] However, the week of the event, Johns pulled out due to staph infection and Stewart was not approved by the commission due to his partial myopia. [7] [8]
At weigh-ins, Steven Hill weighed in at 174.8 pounds for his fight against Nicolo Solli – 3.8 pounds over the welterweight non-title bout limit, leading to Solli to refusing to accept the bout. Romain Debienne weighed in at 172.4 lbs, 1.4 pounds over the limit, and was fined a percentage of his purse which went to his opponent. [9] [10]
| Main card (Showtime) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Fabian Edwards | def. | Gegard Mousasi | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Lightweight | Brent Primus | def. | Mansour Barnaoui | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Middleweight | Douglas Lima | def. | Costello van Steenis | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Thibault Gouti | def. | Kane Mousah | KO (punch) | 2 | 3:58 | |
| Preliminary card (Youtube/Pluto TV) | |||||||
| Women's Flyweight | Denise Kielholtz | def. | Paula Cristina | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Luca Poclit | def. | Oliver Enkamp | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Saul Rogers | vs. | Davy Gallon | No Contest (overturned) | 1 | 2:12 | [c] |
| Featherweight | Yves Landu | def. | Piotr Niedzielski | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (141 lb) | Sarvarjon Khamidov | def. | Kevin Petshi | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 1:33 | |
| Lightweight | Tim Wilde | def. | Chris Gonzalez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Fabacary Diatta | def. | Keir Harvie | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (150 lb) | Asaël Adjoudj | def. | Georges Sasu | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Romain Debienne | def. | Bourama Camara | KO (punches) | 2 | 1:04 | [d] |
| Light Heavyweight | José Augusto Azevedo | def. | Simon Biyong | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
