Bellator 296: Fabian Edwards Beats Gegard Mousasi In A Unanimous Decision
Fabian Edwards defeated Gegard Mousasi in a unanimous decision at Bellator 296 in order to earn a shot at the middleweight title.
Edwards outperformed Mousasi during the first three rounds. Although Mousasi briefly gained the upper hand in the fourth round by taking Edwards down in a mount, the latter regained his composure in the fifth and re-established his dominance.
As a result, all three scorecards had Edwards as the winner: 49-46, 49-46, and 49-46. The results leave both fighters with contrasting fortunes.
Back and forth in the takedown department, this time it is @fabianedwards24.#Bellator296 | 🇺🇸 @SHOsports | 🇫🇷 @RMCSport pic.twitter.com/hH48IG4kyT
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) May 12, 2023
Edwards has won three on the bounce as he readies himself for a title shot. Meanwhile, this is Mousasi’s second defeat consecutively, and it is clear that the MMA star needs to go back to the drawing board.
Once the result had been given, Edwards and the middleweight champion, Johnny Eblen, had an altercation as it was confirmed that the pair would face off on September 23rd, 2023, in Dublin.
Edwards: “I’m going to get that gold belt and join my brother and make some f—ing history.
Eblen: “[I am a] much, much tougher opponent than Gegard — you’re gonna see that when we fight.”
Edwards: “That belt is mine.”
Co-Main Event
Brent Primus emerged victorious against Mansour Barnaoui with a unanimous decision: 48-47, 48-47, 48-47. And in the process, he proceeds to the World Grand Prix semifinals, where he will face lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.
Main Card
Douglas Lima def. Costello van Steenis in a unanimous decision: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Thibault Gouti def. Kane Mousah via a second-round KOÂ
Preliminary Card
Jose Augusto def. Simon Biyong in a unanimous decision: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
Romain Debienne def. Bourama Camara via a second-round TKOÂ
Asael Adjoudj def. Georges Sasu in a unanimous decision: 29-28, 29-28, 29-27
Fabacary Diatta def. Keir Harvie in a unanimous decision: 30-27, 30-27, 30-26
Tim Wilde def. Chris Gonzalez in a unanimous decision: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
Sarvarjon Khamidov def. Kevin Petshi via a third-round submissionÂ
Yves Landu def. Piotr Niedzielski in a unanimous decision: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Saul Rogers def. Davy Gallon via a first-round submission, but the fight was overturned to a no contest following a review. Â
Luca Poclit def. Oliver Enkamp in a unanimous decision: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Denise Kielholtz def. Paula Cristina in a unanimous decision: 29-28, 30-27, 30-27