COMPLETE FIGHT NIGHT PHOTOS – Please Credit: Lucas Noonan/BELLATOR MMA
POST-FIGHT VIDEO INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE ON THE BELLATOR PR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
BELLATOR 287: PICCOLOTTI VS. BARNAOUI MAIN CARD RESULTS AND QUOTES:
Mansour Barnaoui (20-4) defeated Adam Piccolotti (13-5) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:51 of round two
“I did exactly what I wanted to do, and I won.”
“I was coming to BELLATOR to make the tournament and win the belt.”
“I really would like to make the tournament and fight versus Usman [Nurmagomedov] or [Patricky] Pitbull.”
“Things are incredible for me. First, many family and friends came here to watch me. Plane the player, [AC Milan’s Ismaël] Bennacer. I was very happy to meet him. It gave me a lot of energy.
“He tried to put me immediately on the ground but I was worldly-wise to stop him. I do what I once think about. But it’s working, considering my training was exactly on this considering we knew he wanted to put me on the ground.”
“I just want to say thank you for coming and supporting me and protract to follow me considering the show is not finished here.”
“I really don’t superintendency who will win or who has the belt. I’m ready to fight the winner, to write-up him, and to take home the belt.”
“I’m very happy. I would really like to be in Paris at the next show, and I would like to fight in Paris for the belt.”
#2-Fabian Edwards (11-2) defeated Charlie Ward (10-5) via unanimous visualization (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
“He was just saying how much he respects me, and I was saying the same thing to him. I’ve trained with a few of his coaches. So yeah, just sharing our respect for one another.”
“[Leon Edwards] He’s so proud. Obviously he put a lot of nonflexible work in so it’s been a good successful year for the team. We’ve had some tough performances but we’ve come out on top in the end so it’s been a good-good solid year for Renegade team so yeah he’s over the moon.”
“It’s only right. We’ve got a lot of guys from Birmingham; a lot of talent, a lot of skill. So, let’s hope they bring it back.”
“I’d requite it like a five [out of ten]. What would you requite it? It was alright. Like I said, the thing that Charlie had was that he was tough and was gritty. There’s not a lot of guys in the semester that would have ate that throne kick and kept their wits well-nigh them. So pearly play to Charlie. He gave me a good test tonight and I fathom that test.”
“It wasn’t unbearable in my opinion, but we’ll see what they say. I’m here. My brother says ‘Let’s alimony on racking up the wins and they can’t deny you.”. Not every single performance can be an elbow to a ground and pound finish or a flying knee or an upkick. Sometimes you have to go in there and do what you have to do to secure the win and I learned that tonight.”
“I reckon executive the loftiness a bit more. If I didn’t rush in and was busier with my kicks, it would’ve been a perfect performance. I’ve been in this game for a while, but not as long as some of these other guys. I’m learning.”
“Anybody who’s overly write-up me in anything, of undertow I’d like to get it back. That’s plane a fight I did ask for. But we’ll see what BELLATOR wants to make. I’d love to entertain that fight again.” [On potential rematch with Costello van Steenis]
Tim Wilde (14-5-1) defeated Saul Rogers (15-5) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
“Thank you. I agree; I felt like he slowed lanugo considerably without the first round. I was worldly-wise to time his shots. Not only his takedowns, but his striking. He definitely was weaker in the second and third rounds, but he’s certainly the strongest opponent I’ve fought. I definitely thought I won the second and third rounds.”
“Leon is a very good friend. He’s a teammate, he’s a role model, he’s a mentor, he’s a coach. He’s ‘Mr. I Can Do It All,’ that’s his nickname at the gym. He’s such a nice guy. I’m very fortunate. He doesn’t do it for everyone but I’m very fortunate that he will invest a tiny bit of his time into me and I think considering my results have spoken for that over these last few fights and I’m very grateful to him. It’s an honor to have him in my corner and he makes me dig deeper and fight hard.”
“It would midpoint the world. There’s so many talented fighters in the whole of the U.K. With Leon stuff a world champion, vision are on Birmingham and Birmingham MMA. And I just had flipside Fight of the Night. I think they should transpiration my nickname to Tim ‘Fight of the Night’ Wilde. I would love for BELLATOR to come when to Birmingham.
“Yes certainly I would love to get on BELLATOR Dublin. I unchangingly go into my fights looking to finish my opponent if they requite me an opportunity and you know I think people would be surprised that I didn’t put Saul yonder with some of the shots I landed. His nose was badly, immensely broken. He was cut unshut to bits. I have to requite him massive credit and respect. He’s tough. I was looking for the finish. I wanted to make a statement tonight. I wanted to get on the microphone and tell John McCarthy that I wanted Scott Coker to consider me for the lightweight tournament next year. I believe that vibration Saul should prove I am the number one lightweight in the UK.”
“I’ll hit you with everything that I can, legally. I’ll throw backhands, I’ll throw spinning things, I’ll karate chop you. I’m flashy, I’m exciting. Saul’s a high-level grappler, but I ain’t scared to wrestle with these guys. I’m working with Leon Edwards every week; I’m doing the work Leon’s doing, and it’s paying off.
“Mate he has a squeeze on him, but I was safe. There wasn’t any gargling. There was no panic. Listen, he likes to jump on the neck. We’ve drilled everywhere; Peruvians, d’arce, rear nakeds. Man, I’m sick of defending chokes. Listen he obviously felt he could get them, he went for them, but I wasn’t in danger.”
“Not so much the power — I know he unprotected me a couple of times. But like, he was strong and got a big squeeze on him. He had a big presence. I’d be curious what he weighed in there. He had a very big feel, but I grapple with a lot of grapplers that are tighter and have increasingly pinch than he had.”
“Leon, he’s an wondrous MMA fighter, he’s a champion, he’s a unconfined teammate. He’s going to be a unconfined mentor one day. He’s so wifely in the backstage and fight week. The wits he has and has learned over the 15-16 years of fighting and training he shares that with you. He feels you with conviction and puts you at ease. When you go into war with Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards in your corner you finger pretty good.”
#8-Justin Gonzales (14-1) defeated Andrew Fisher (19-9-1) via unanimous visualization (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
“This has been fun. This place is a trappy place, these are trappy people. I’d definitely like to come when and show the world what’s up.
“I felt some of those shots and you can tell at the end of the fight that he kind of wanted out of there but he’s a tough son of a bitch. He’s gritty. I knew he was going to be tough and nonflexible to put yonder so much respect to him. I tagged him with some nonflexible ones and he kept fighting.”
“We put in the work. We worked on a lot of variegated things. I felt this was the weightier my hands, my striking looked in a long time, maybe ever. My cardio felt great. And squint at the results. If I had flipside 10-15 seconds, I think I do get that stoppage.”
“That’s a tough question considering there’s so much movement in this division. There’s a lot of people. I want to make my way to the belt. I think I still got to earn it so shit man requite me [Pedro] Carvalho, requite me [Daniel] Weichel, requite me [Mads] Burnell. I don’t care, I’ll take all of them. They can all get it.”
“It was a long flight. Longer than I’d like, but it’s just part of the game. I got to come to Italy. If you want to travel, you have to be worldly-wise to recover. Thanks BELLATOR for getting me out here. I finger like I recovered very well considering of the unconfined zany I had; I think this is one of the weightier weight classes I’ve overly had.”
“Just alimony growing. I think if I can alimony with my performance like this. There’s a couple things I saw and I didn’t do but if you go to a job and you don’t need to unload the whole truck, you just need to unload one tool and that’s all you got to use, then so be it. If that’s all you got to do to get the job done. I took him down, I could have taken him lanugo increasingly but I honestly didn’t have to so I’m happy with that. I’m going to take a little break, spend some time with my family and my friends and just kind of rest. Let my soul heal and I’m when to the gym man, when to the drawing board. If you’re not growing in this sport, you’re getting passed so we’re continuously growing, continuously subtracting things to our arsenal. We’ll see what’s next.”
“He was just kind of smiling at me. I don’t think it was any disrespect. I felt those shots tagging him. I was just letting him know, ‘That was a good one!’ He tried to shake it off, but we both knew. That was a good one.”
“Right now I don’t have anything on the books, but I just saw the BELLATOR vs. RIZIN vellum is getting put into effect. I’d like to go show the world what’s up, let them know what J-Train is all well-nigh so I don’t know if Coker wants to put me on that or not.”
“I don’t see how they could. I think Kai Kamaka was a tough opponent; I put him down. Andrew Fisher was on a six-fight win streak; I derailed him. I don’t think they can deny me a ranked opponent, expressly without a performance like that.”
BELLATOR 287: PICCOLOTTI VS. BARNAOUI PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS:
Daniele Scatizzi (12-6) defeated Davy Gallon (21-8-2) via unanimous visualization (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Costello van Steenis (14-2) defeated Kamil Oniszczuk (9-1) via submission (D’arce choke) at 3:02 of round two
Alfie Davis (15-4-1) defeated Thibault Gouti (16-6) via unanimous visualization (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Chiara Penco (8-3) defeated Manuela Marconetto (3-2) via split visualization (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Yves Landu (19-9) defeated Walter Cogliandro (11-4-1) via unanimous visualization (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Simon Biyong (9-2) defeated Dragos Zubco (3-2) via T.K.O. (strikes) at 3:36 of round two
Nicolò Solli (4-1, 1 NC) defeated Bourama Camara (5-2) via split visualization (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Luke Trainer (6-1) defeated Lucas Alsina (11-4) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:53 of round one
Steven Hill (6-0) defeated Andrea Fusi (8-7) via unanimous visualization (30-27, 29-27, 30-26)
Sarvarjon Hamidov (14-0) defeated Jose Maria Tome (40-10, 3 NC) via T.K.O. (kick to body) at 1:01 of round one
