For the third time, Bellator will touch down this week in one of the most famous cities in the world.
Here’s how to watch Bellator 296 in Paris, with a complete lineup and look at the top fights.
Broadcast and streaming info
Bellator 296 takes place Friday at Accor Arena in Paris. Bellator first went to Paris during the pandemic in 2020, then returned in May 2022.
The prelims stream on MMA Junkie (in the U.S.) and Bellator’s YouTube channel at noon ET. The main card airs on Showtime at 4 p.m. ET.
Main event
Former middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi (49-8-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) will fight for the first time since he lost the title to Johnny Eblen at Bellator 282 in June 2022. Mousasi will take on Fabian Edwards (11-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA), the brother of UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Prior to his loss to Eblen, Mousasi won the title for a second time when he beat Douglas Lima. Then he defended it with knockouts of John Salter and Austin Vanderford. After a two-fight skid, Edwards has back-to-back wins over former UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida and Charlie Ward.
Co-main event
The co-feature is part of Bellator’s ongoing lightweight grand prix. Mansour Barnaoui (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take on former interim champion Brent Primus (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) in one of the tournament’s quarterfinal bouts. Barnaoui was set to fight Sidney Outlaw until Outlaw failed a drug test and was replaced by Primus. Although he was born in Tunisia, Barnaoui has long called Paris home. He won his Bellator debut this past October with a submission of Adam Piccolotti to run his winning streak to eight. Before he came to Bellator, he was Road FC’s $1 million lightweight tournament winner – and now he has the same opportunity with a different promotion.
Key return
Former welterweight champion Douglas Lima (32-11 MMA, 14-7 BMMA) will try to bust out of the worst slump of his career when he takes on Costello van Steenis (14-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) at middleweight. Lima made his debut at 185 pounds in October 2020 when he still was welterweight champ. He moved up to challenge then-champ Gegard Mousasi, but lost a decision. Then he lost the 170-pound title to Yaroslav Amosov and dropped a split call to Michael Page. For a fight against Jason Jackson in July 2022, Lima missed weight, then lost a decision for his fourth straight setback, all on points.
Full fight card
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)
- Gegard Mousasi vs. Fabian Edwards
- Mansour Barnaoui vs. Brent Primus
- Douglas Lima vs. Costello van Steenis
- Thibault Gouti vs. Kane Mousah
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, noon ET)
- Steven Hill vs. Nicolo Solli
- Jose Augusto vs. Simon Biyong
- Bourama Camara vs. Romain Debienne
- Asael Adjoudj vs. Georges Sasu
- Fabacary Diatta vs. Keir Harvie
- Chris Gonzalez vs. Tim Wilde
- Sarvarjon Hamidov vs. Kevin Petshi
- Yves Landu vs. Piotr Niedzielski
- Gregory Babene vs. Kyle Stewart
- Oliver Enkamp vs. Luca Poclit
- Davy Gallon vs. Saul Rogers
- Paula Cristina vs. Denise Kielholtz
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 296.
