Mansour Barnaoui (born September 20, 1992) is a French

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

. As of February 28, 2023, he is #10 in the Bellator Lightweight Rankings.

Background

Residing nowadays in

Malakoff, Hauts-de-Seine Malakoff () is a suburban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department southwest of Paris, France. Located from the centre of the city, it had a population of 30,286 in 2016. The European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) is based ...

, Mansour was born in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, immigrating to France as an infant, where he lived in difficult circumstances and sharing a small apartment with his three brothers and his mother. Faradji, friend and manager of Mansour, met Barnaoui when he lived in the same building as him and saw him squatting in the hall with friends, after they were unable to afford to register at the nearby wrestling room in

Vanves Vanves () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris w ...

. Faradji went to the town hall of Malakoff to ask for slots in a municipal hall, and after he was granted access, a few weeks later, the small band of Malakoff could finally train at the municipal gymnasium and the Magnum club was born. Aziz Mahi, Barnaoui's trainer in France, welcomed him to his gymnasium in the suburbs of Paris when he was only 14 years old. He quickly understood that he had the makings of a champion and went from grappling, to boxing, to pankration and then to train MMA When he was younger, Barnaoui would skateboard and emulate

Yamakasi The Yamakasi ( ln, ya makási) are the original group of '' l'art du deplacement'' (parkour) practitioners from Lisses, France. The nine original members were David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Châu Belle Dinh, Williams Belle, Yann Hnautra, Laure ...

parkour, earning the nickname Tarzan from the neighborhood grown-ups''.'' Likewise, due to his immigration status, Mansour is not a French citizen due to the nature of his arrival to France. This means that all of his MMA contracts need to be signed outside of the country.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

A longtime product of Team Magnum MMA in Paris, France, the ‘Afro-Samurai’ got his start in the hybrid-MMA promotion 100% Fight, back before full-rules mixed martial arts had been legalized in the country. A 6-0 run early in his pro career was halted by a loss to future UFC top contender

Kevin Lee Kevin Jesse Lee Jr. (born September 4, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight and Super Lightweight divisions of Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC). He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Ch ...

during Instinct MMA 4 in Canada. After rebounding with a first round TKO stoppage at SHC 7, Cage Warriors approached Barnaoui and offered him a fight against

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor ( ga, Conchúr Antóin Mac Gréagóir; born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight double-champion. He is the first ...

. The organizers were offering the fight between the two on the condition that Mansour signed a two-year contract with them. However, Mansour chose to instead sign with

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with othe ...

as the promotion was offering 10,000 and 15,000 euros per fight compared to the 2000 to 3000 euros at the

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage Warrio ...

. A few days before his first fight for M-1 on April 9, 2013 at M-1 Challenge 38, against future UFC champion

Islam Makhachev Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (russian: Исла́м Рамаза́нович Маха́чев; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former Sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in ...

, Mansour's father died. However, he decided to still fight and lost a hard fought bout via unanimous decision. Rebounding against Zulfikar Usmanov at M-1 Challenge 41, he submitted Usmanov via rear-naked choke in the third round. The Tunisian continued his momentum by winning a belt in another European organization,

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and Ire ...

, winning the BAMMA World Lightweight Championship and defending it against UFC vets

Curt Warburton Curt Warburton (born 1981) is an English mixed martial artist from Coundon, County Durham. He formerly trained at Wolfslair MMA Academy in Liverpool, England. Mixed martial arts career Early career Warburton's most notable achievement in the do ...

and

Colin Fletcher Colin Fletcher (14 March 1922 – 12 June 2007) was a pioneering backpacker and writer. In 1963, Fletcher walked the length of that portion of Grand Canyon contained within the 1963 boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. Although hi ...

. Returning to M-1, Barnaoui won the M-1 Lightweight Championship against Maxim Divnich at M-1 Challenge 57, defeating Divnich via TKO stoppage after dropping him with a knee at the end of the first round and finishing him with ground and pound. Dropping down to Featherweight for the first and only time in his career for a chance for the M-1 Featherweight Championship against Ivan Buchinger at M-1 Challenge 62, Mansour lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

On May 27, 2016 at KSW 35, he fought for the vacant KSW Lightweight Championship belt against future UFC fighter

Mateusz Gamrot Mateusz Gamrot (born December 11, 1990) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gamrot is a former KSW Featherweight Champion and KSW Lightwei ...

. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. In his next bout for the promotion, Barnaoui faced Łukasz Chlewicki on December 3, 2016 at KSW 37. He won the bout via doctor stoppage in the first round.

Road FC

In the International Trials, he defeated Won Bin Ki at

Road FC 038 The year 2017 was the 8th year in the history of the Road Fighting Championship, a mma promotion based in South Korea. 2017 started with Road FC 036 and ended with Road FC 045 XX. List of events Road FC 045 XX Xiaomi ''Road FC 045 XX'' wa ...

by the way of first-round rear-naked choke, earning a spot in the

Road Fighting Championship Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is ...

's 16-man Road FC $1 Million Dollar Lightweight Tournament. In the opening round, Barnaoui faced Chang Hyun Kim at Road FC 040 on July 15, 2017, winning by the way of first round rear-naked choke. In the quarterfinals, he faced Nandin-Erdene Munguntsooj at

Road FC 044 The year 2017 was the 8th year in the history of the Road Fighting Championship, a mma promotion based in South Korea. 2017 started with Road FC 036 and ended with Road FC 045 XX. List of events Road FC 045 XX Xiaomi ''Road FC 045 XX'' wa ...

on November 11, 2017, where earned another submission victory via rear-naked choke, this time in the second round. In the semifinals, Barnanoui faced Kota Shimoishi at

Road FC 046 The year 2018 is the 9th year in the history of the Road Fighting Championship, a mma promotion based in South Korea. 2018 started with Road FC 046 and ended with Road FC 051 XX. List of events Road FC 051 XX Xiaomi ''Road FC 051 XX'' ...

on March 10, 2018, where he submitted Shimoishi with a rear-naked choke in the third round to earn his way into the tournament final. In the final at

Road FC 052 The year 2019 is the 10th year in the history of the Road Fighting Championship, a mma promotion based in South Korea. 2019 starts with Road FC 052. Road FC $1 Million Dollar Lightweight Tournament 'Road To A-Sol' Bracket List of events ...

on February 23, 2019, Barnaoui faced

Khabib Khabib is an alternate spelling of Habib, an Arabic surname. It may refer to: *Khabib Nurmagomedov, (born 1988) Russian mixed martial artist *Khabib Allakhverdiev, (born 1982) Russian boxer *Khabib Ilyaletdinov, (born 1965) Russian footballer *Kha ...

's cousin,

Shamil Zavurov Shamil Magomedovich Zavurov (russian: Шамиль Магомедович Завуров; born July 4, 1984) is a retired Russian mixed martial artist of Avar descent, who competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions. A professional M ...

, knocking him out with a highlight flying knee in the third round. On May 18, 2019 at

Road FC 053 The year 2019 is the 10th year in the history of the Road Fighting Championship, a mma promotion based in South Korea. 2019 starts with Road FC 052. Road FC $1 Million Dollar Lightweight Tournament 'Road To A-Sol' Bracket List of events ...

. Barnaoui won the $1 million dollar prize and the Road FC Lightweight Championship against A Sol Kwon, submitting Kwon in the first round via rear-naked choke. During the next three years in the pandemic, the snowboarding enthusiast escaped to the mountains whenever he could and due to the pandemic restrictions shutting down his base camp at the Jacques-Duclos gymnasium in Malakoff, he went to train in Dubai, one of the few accessible places with open rooms. He also trained in Thailand and spent six months in Las Vegas, at the 10th Planet and Xtreme Couture, where he was able to train against many talented fighters from the top promotions.

Bellator MMA

In June 2022, Barnaoui signed an exclusive multi-fight deal with

. Barnaoui made his promotional debut headlining

Bellator 287 ''Bellator 287: Piccolotti vs. Barnaoui'' (also known as ''Bellator Milan'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, that took place on October 29, 2022, at the Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy. Background Bellator will re ...

on October 29, 2022 against

Adam Piccolotti Adam Piccolotti (born August 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Lightweight division. Background Born and raised in Half Moon Bay, California, Piccolotti competed in wrestling, baseball, and track a ...

. He won the bout in a very dominant fashion, finishing Piccolotti in the second round via rear-naked choke.

Lightweight Grand Prix

On January 11, 2023, Barnaoui was announced as one of the 8 participants in the $1 million Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix. Barnaoui was scheduled to face

Sidney Outlaw Sidney Outlaw (born April 11, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Bellator MMA. As of November 22, 2022, he is #5 in the Bellator Lightweight Rankings. Background Born and raised in North ...

on May 12, 2023, at

Bellator 296 ''Bellator 296: Mousasi vs. Edwards'' (also known as ''Bellator Paris'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that will take place on May 12, 2023, at Accor Arena in Paris, France. Background A middleweight title el ...

. However at the end of February, Outlaw tested postive for banned substances and was suspended, resulting in him being replaced by the alternate,

Brent Primus Brent Primus (born April 12, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing for Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator Lightweight World Champion. As of November 1, 2022, he is #6 in the Bellator Lightweight Rankings. Bac ...

Championships and accomplishments

** Road FC Lightweight Championship (One time) ** Road FC $1 Million Dollar Lightweight Tournament 'Road To A-Sol' *

** M-1 Lightweight Championship (One time) *

** BAMMA World Lightweight Championship (One time) *** One successful title defense * 100% Fight ** 100% Fight Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 20–4 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:51 ,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4 , A Sol Kwon , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:44 ,

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4 ,

, KO (flying knee) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:30 ,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 , Kota Shimoishi , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:47 ,

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Nandin-Erdene Munguntsooj , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Chang Hyun Kim , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Road FC 040 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:28 ,

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Won Bin Ki , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:46 ,

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Łukasz Chlewicki , TKO (doctor stoppage) , KSW 37 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:09 ,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , KSW 35 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 , Ivan Buchinger , Decision (unanimous) , M-1 Challenge 62 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Maxim Divnich , TKO (knee and punches) , M-1 Challenge 57 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Colin Fletcher , Submission (rear-naked choke) , BAMMA 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 ,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , BAMMA 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:08 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Zulfikar Usmanov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , M-1 Challenge 41 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:19 ,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , M-1 Challenge 38 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Ivan Musardo , TKO (punches) , SHC 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, Switzerland , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Instinct MMA: Instinct Fighting 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Brad Wheeler , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Warriors: Fight Night 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:26 ,

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Araik Margarian , Submission (rear-naked choke) , 100% Fight 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:03 ,

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Albertivillariens'' or ''Albertivillariennes''. Geography Localisati ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Yves Landu , Decision (split) , rowspan=2, 100% Fight 5 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=2,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Julien Boussuge , TKO (knees) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:51 , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Chabane Chaibeddra , Submission (north-south choke) , rowspan=3, 100% Fight: Contenders 10 , rowspan=3, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:07 , rowspan=3,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Gregoire Lambert , Submission (north-south choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:25 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Gaetan Hurtel , Submission (rear-naked choke) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:00 ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnaoui, Mansour 1992 births Living people Tunisian male mixed martial artists French male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Bellator male fighters