Adam Piccolotti vs. Mansour Barnaoui headlines Bellator 287 in Milan, Italy
Bellator will return to Italy this fall with a streaking newcomer at the top of the card.
Mansour Barnaoui (19-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will make his promotional debut against Adam Piccolotti (13-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) in a lightweight main event at Bellator 287, the promotion announced Wednesday. The full current lineup for the event, featuring 12 fights, was released, as well.
Bellator 287 is set for Oct. 29 at Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The card will be Bellator’s fifth in Milan and 11th overall in Italy. In 2020, the promotion had three events at Allianz Cloud Arena in the span of one week.
The Bellator 287 main card also includes a middleweight co-main event between Fabian Edwards (10-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) and Charlie Ward (10-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA), Saul Rogers (15-4 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) vs. Tim Wilde (14-4-1 MMA, 2-1-1 BMMA) at lightweight, and Justin Gonzales (13-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) vs. Andrew Fisher (19-8-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) at featherweight.
Barnaoui, born in Tunisia, but based in Paris, will make his Bellator debut on the strength of seven straight wins, all of which have come by stoppage. Five of those finishes have been rear-naked chokes.
Barnaoui’s resume includes titles in BAMMA, M-1 Challenge and, most recently, Road FC. The 29-year-old has finishes in 18 of his 19. But he has not fought since May 2019.
Against Piccolotti, Barnaoui will take on a Brazilian jit-jitsu black belt from American Kickboxing Academy who has wins in four of his past six fights. In February, he took a unanimous decision from Georgi Karakhanyan to get back in the win column after a lengthy hiatus following a split decision loss to Sidney Outlaw in August 2020.
The Bellator 287 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 3 p.m. ET)
- Adam Piccolotti vs. Mansour Barnaoui
- Fabian Edwards vs. Charlie Ward
- Saul Rogers vs. Tim Wilde
- Andrew Fisher vs. Justin Gonzales
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 11:30 a.m. ET)
Adam Piccolotti vs. Mansour Barnaoui headlines Bellator 287 in Milan, Italy