Bamma Strike Gold with Mansour Barnaoui
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts
At Bamma 13 Mansour Barnaoui entered the cage a relatively unknown prospect to UK fans. 3 months later, not only has Barnaoui earned and defended the Bamma lightweight title knocking off 2 of the best British lightweights around, he has established himself as one of the most exciting fighters under the BAMMA banner, and a promise product on the international scene.
With so many MMA events around the world, UK fans can be forgiven for not knowing much about Barnaoui as the majority of his fights to date have been in France where the Tunisian now resides. Yet at just 21 years old and a pro for just over 2 years, Barnaoui has shown he has everything it takes to hang on the international circuit… and he’s only getting better.
In just two fights with BAMMA, Barnaoui has shown he's got the skill set to not only be a fan favourite but to continue to grow to be a world class fighter one day.
In wins over Curt Warburton and Colin Fletcher, Barnaoui has shown the trademarks of a fan favourite: he is an aggressive, durable fighter with bags of heart, that can also mix it up with the best: he can strike, is great in the clinch, and can submit opponents. Which Ultimately led Barnaoui to finish 2 opponents who have had 5 UFC fights between them.
The Tunisians only career losses have come to American, Kevin Lee, a fighter who has just signed for The UFC and Islam Makhachev, an undefeated Ukrainian prospect who at 9-0 is probably not too far off a UFC contract himself.
Not only is Barnaoui an asset to BAMMA as a skilled fighter, being French may also provide BAMMA with a pantomime villain like character, which adds tension to a fight, makes it more interesting and ultimately sells more tickets.
Barnaoui is by no means the finished product yet though, as he does have the penchant for dropping his hands in the thick of it for some stand and bang, but to his credit his chin hasn't let him down having never been finished in his MMA career. Bamma however is the perfect learning ground for Barnaoui. With 6 fight cards planned for 2014, Bamma can not only provide Barnaoui with the type of fights he needs to grow, they can provide him with the exposure he deserves thanks to several well established TV deal across the globe.
With the departure of BAMMA stars such as Tom Watson, and Jimi Manuwa to the UFC, BAMMA have been waiting for their next star who can go on to international fame the way both Watson and Manuwa have, and Barnaoui can be just that.
At just 21 years old and a pro of just 2 years, Barnaoui is just scratching the surface when it comes to his potential, yet to defeat 2 experience pros in Warburton and Fletcher, who worked their whole career to get to the level Baraoui is now just 2 years in, shows the natural talent Barnaoui is. A talent who is going to keep getting better, smarter, stronger and more disciplined.
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