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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson

Bellator 296 predictions: Mousasi or Edwards, Barnaoui or Primus in Paris?

Mousasi
vs.
Edwards
Barnaoui
vs.
Primus
Lima
vs.
Van Steenis
Gouti
vs.
Mousah
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
66-49

Mousasi
(77%)

Barnaoui
(56%)

Lima
(60%)

Gouti
(67%)
Matt Erickson
@MattE
75-40

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Lima

Mousah
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
73-42

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Van Steenis

Mousah
Nolan King
@mma_kings
71-44

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Van Steenis

Mousah
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
70-45

Mousasi

Primus

Lima

Mousah
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
70-45

Mousasi

Primus

Van Steenis

Mousah
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
68-47
2014 Champion

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Lima

Mousah
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
-65-50
2018, 2022 Champion

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Lima

Gouti
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
65-50

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Van Steenis

Mousah
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
63-52

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Van Steenis

Gouti
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
62-53

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Lima

Mousah
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
62-53
2017 Champion

Mousasi

Barnaoui

Lima

Mousah

Bellator is back in the “City of Light” for the third time with a key tournament fight and an ex-champ at the top of the bill.

Bellator 296 takes place Friday at Accor Arena in Paris. 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, former middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi (49-8-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) will fight for the first time since he lost his title when he takes on Fabian Edwards (11-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA), the brother of UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards.

Mousasi is a -260 favorite in the fight, and he’s a near-unanimous pick from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers. They have it as a blowout for the former champ, Mousasi, at 10-1.

In the co-feature, Mansour Barnaoui (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) takes on former lightweight champ Brent Primus (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) in a quarterfinal fight in Bellator’s lightweight grand prix. Barnaoui is a moderate favorite at -360 and has a big 9-2 lead in the picks.

Also on the main card, former welterweight champion Douglas Lima (32-11 MMA, 14-7 BMMA) takes on Costello van Steenis (14-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) in a middleweight bout. Van Steenis is a slight favorite at -160, but it’s Lima with a narrow 6-5 edge in the picks.

And to open the main card, Thibault Gouti (16-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) meets Kane Mousah (14-4 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) at lightweight. Gouti is a slight favorite at -140, but it’s Mousah in a blowout at 9-2.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Mousasi (77 percent), Barnaoui (56 percent), Lima (60 percent) and Gouti (67 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 296.

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