5 Things You Might Not Know About Mansour Barnaoui

Wonder and uncertainty surround Mansour Barnaoui’s arrival in Bellator MMA.

The Tunisia-born Frenchman will make his hotly anticipated promotional debut opposite Adam Piccolotti in the Bellator 287 main event on Saturday at Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy. Barnaoui enters the cage on the strength of a seven-fight winning streak, hence the wonder. However, he has not fought since he submitted A-Sol Kwon with a first-round rear-naked choke to claim the Road Fighting Championship lightweight crown on May 18, 2019, hence the uncertainty.

As Barnaoui approaches his showdown with Piccolotti at 155 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He maximized his youthful ambition.

Barnaoui made his professional debut at the age of 19 when he submitted Chabane Chaibeddra with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their confrontation under the 100% Fight banner in February 2011. He went on to compile a 5-0 record as a teenager, establishing himself as one of Europe’s top prospects.

2. Scaling mountains has not been an issue.

“The Afro-Samurai” has captured titles in the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts, M-1 Global and Road Fighting Championship organizations. Barnaoui won the first of his three championships at BAMMA 13, where he put away Curt Warburton with punches in the first round of their Sept. 14, 2013 co-feature. Other titles followed in 2015 and 2019.

3. He tends to render judges irrelevant.

Always a potent and proficient offensive force, Barnaoui has secured 18 of his 19 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission—a remarkable finish rate of 95%. A split verdict over Yves Landu at 100% Fight 5 in 2011 remains the only instance in which he had his hand raised without prompting a stoppage.

4. Durability has never been a concern.

Barnaoui has never been stopped in his 23-fight career. All four of his defeats resulted in decision: to Kevin Lee at Instinct MMA 4 on June 29, 2012, to Islam Makhachev at M-1 Challenge 38 on April 9, 2013, to Ivan Buchinger at M-1 Challenge 62 on Oct. 10, 2015 and to Mateusz Gamrot at KSW 35 on May 27, 2016.

5. He does not shy away from challenges.

The seven opponents Barnaoui has defeated during his current tear have 142 victories between them. He finished all seven of them, five of them inside one round.