Matches to Make After Bellator 296

Bellator MMA returned to Paris for one of their strongest offerings of 2023, headlined by legend Gegard Mousasi facing skilled, talented contender Fabian Edwards. Mousasi has carved out an amazing career in the sport, but at 37 years old and having been a pro for over 20 years, with 59 fights, has begun to look his age. In interviews before the event, he mentioned a neck injury that caused numbness in his hands and has made it difficult for him to train and even sleep. The drop-off hasn't been steep; Mousasi was 4-0, including a dominant 3-0 in Bellator middleweight championship fights, before being upset by undefeated phenom Johnny Eblen to lose his crown in 2022. Mousasi hoped for an impressive victory to get one more shot at current king Eblen.

Fabian Edwards has patterned much of his fighting style after older brother and Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight monarch Leon Edwards, attaining considerable success himself. Losing for the first time in a close split decision verdict against Costello van Steenis and then outwrestled by Austin Vanderford, Edwards bounced back with a first-round knockout of former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida before easily dominating Charlie Ward.

Edwards put on the fight of his life against Mousasi, showing large improvements in multiple areas, and doing a solid impression of his superb older brother. He was a little faster and more accurate in the striking, and while Mousasi outgrappled him in Rounds 2 and 4, in the final stanza it was Edwards getting the takedown and taking his foe's back with a body triangle. I had it 48-47 Edwards myself, and all three judges gave it to him by scores of 49-46.

In the co-main, former Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus faced surging local favorite Mansour Barnaoui in a Grand Prix contest. Both men are exceptional grapplers, with Barnaoui fighting for the first time in over 3 years last October, demolishing skilled Adam Picolotti with a first-round submission, and having last lost in early 2016 against Mateusz Gamrot. Primus, meanwhile, had been knocked out in his last outing against Alexander Shabily, already through to the Bellator Grand Prix semifinals, and was feeling his age at 38. Early on, it was Barnaoui who looked like he would have his way, dominating the first round. However, Primus was up to the challenge and what followed was a full-throated, ferocious war. Primus came back to win Round 2 strong, Barnaoui nearly finished him in Round 3, and then Primus almost submitted Barnaoi in Round 4. With the battle being tied two rounds apiece and the Paris faithful urging Barnaoui on, it was instead the much older man and +350 underdog who had more energy left, outgrappling the Frenchman. He took the decision nod 48-47 from all three judges.

In other significant action, former two-time Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima sought to snap a four-fight skid by moving up to middleweight to face top contender van Steenis, the same man who holds a win over Edwards. It looked like possibly another loss for Lima after the opening frame, where van Steenis pushed him up the cage and demonstrated a grappling advantage. However, Lima showed that his striking is still deadly over the next two rounds, clearly winning both to take the decision 29-28 across the board and snap his losing streak. Clearly, the Brazilian ex-champion remains a fearsome foe.

Here are several intriguing fights that Bellator can book later this year:

Fabian Edwards vs. Johnny Eblen

This is the match that Bellator has booked and it certainly makes the most sense. Edwards will likely be a large underdog against undefeated champion Eblen, given his grappling prowess, and hoping to pull off the same type of amazing upset that his older brother did against Kamaru Usman last year. Given the enormous improvement Edwards showed against Mousasi, one can't count him out, and he can present plenty of danger to Eblen with his left hand and kicks.

Brent Primus vs. Usman Nurmagomedov

This is the scheduled semifinals of the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix, but it certainly has some exciting storylines. Nurmagomedov isn't just the undefeated Bellator champion, but he may be as good as any lightweight on the planet, including good friend and training partner, UFC champion Islam Makhachev. And at 25 years old, he might only be getting better. He just decimated former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, sending the 39 year-old into retirement. Now he faces former Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus. However, the 38 year-old Primus appears to have a lot more left in the tank judging by his big upset triumph against Barnaoui, with far less mileage on his body. Nurmagomedov's grappling attack is among the very best in MMA, but Primus is also fantastic in that area, on top of being an enormous and muscular lightweight, so he may able to challenge the undefeated champion.

Douglas Lima vs. Lorenz Larkin

Lima just defeated No. 10 ranked middleweight van Steenis and proved he is still a supremely skilled striker. Why not match him up against another elite standup artist in Lorenz Larkin, currently ranked No. 7? Larkin authored one of the best knockouts of 2023 thus far with his murderous elbow finish of Mukhamed Berkhamov in just 101 seconds. The winner of this duel would become a serious contender for the middleweight crown, and the fight itself could be electric in terms of high-level skill and visceral excitement alike.