Mansour Barnaoui

Mansour Barnaoui (born September 20, 1992) is a Tunisian-French mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of PFL.

Background Residing nowadays in Malakoff, Hauts-de-Seine, Mansour was born in Tunis, Tunisia, 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 staying around his home with friends, after they were unable to afford to register at the nearby wrestling room in Vanves. 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 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.

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, Mansour's father died. However, he decided to still fight and lost a hard fought bout via unanimous decision. 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 by the way of first-round rear-naked choke, earning a spot in the Road Fighting Championship'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 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 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 on February 23, 2019, Barnaoui faced Khabib's cousin, Shamil Zavurov, knocking him out with a highlight flying knee in the third round.

On May 18, 2019, at Road FC 053. 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 Bellator MMA.

Barnaoui made his promotional debut headlining Bellator 287 on October 29, 2022, against Adam Piccolotti. He won the bout in a very dominant fashion, finishing Piccolotti in the second round via rear-naked choke.

Bellator Lightweight World 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 on May 12, 2023, at Bellator 296. However at the end of February, Outlaw tested positive for banned substances and was suspended, resulting in him being replaced by the alternate, Brent Primus. Barnaoui lost the back-and-forth bout by unanimous decision.

Post Grand Prix Barnaoui faced Jay-Jay Wilson on September 23, 2023, at Bellator 299. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Barnaoui faced Yusuke Yachi on May 17, 2024 at Bellator Champions Series 2. He won the fight by a brado choke submission in the first round.

Barnaoui faced Alfie Davis on November 29, 2024, at PFL 10. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round.

Barnaoui was scheduled to face Archie Colgan in the main event on May 23, 2025, at PFL Europe Paris. However in early May, the organization announced that the event was cancelled. The bout was re-scheduled and took place as a title eliminator on June 20, 2025, at PFL 6. Barnaoui lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments Road Fighting Championship Road FC Lightweight Championship (One time) Road FC $1 Million Dollar Lightweight Tournament 'Road To A-Sol' M-1 Global M-1 Lightweight Championship (One time) BAMMA BAMMA World Lightweight Championship (One time) One successful title defense 100% Fight 100% Fight Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Archie Colgan Decision (unanimous) PFL 6 (2025)

Wichita, Kansas, United States Win

Alfie Davis Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL 10 (2024)

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Win

Yusuke Yachi Submission (brabo choke) Bellator Champions Series 2

Paris, France Loss

Jay Jay Wilson Decision (unanimous) Bellator 299

Dublin, Ireland Loss

Brent Primus Decision (unanimous) Bellator 296

Paris, France Win

Adam Piccolotti Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 287

Milan, Italy Win

Kwon A-sol Submission (rear-naked choke) Road FC 053

Jeju, South Korea Win

Shamil Zavurov KO (flying knee) Road FC 052

Seoul, South Korea Win

Kota Shimoishi Submission (rear-naked choke) Road FC 046

Seoul, South Korea Win

Nandin-Erdene Munguntsooj Submission (rear-naked choke) Road FC 044

Shijiazhuang, China Win

Kim Chang-hyun Submission (rear-naked choke) Road FC 040

Seoul, South Korea Win

Ki Won-bin Submission (rear-naked choke) Road FC 038

Seoul, South Korea Win

Łukasz Chlewicki TKO (doctor stoppage) KSW 37

Kraków, Poland Loss

Mateusz Gamrot Decision (unanimous) KSW 35

Gdańsk/Sopot, Poland Loss

Ivan Buchinger Decision (unanimous) M-1 Challenge 62

Sochi, Russia Win

Maxim Divnich TKO (knee and punches) M-1 Challenge 57

Orenburg, Russia Win

Colin Fletcher Submission (rear-naked choke) BAMMA 14

Birmingham, England Win

Curt Warburton TKO (punches) BAMMA 13

Birmingham, England Win

Zulfikar Usmanov Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 Challenge 41

Saint Petersburg, Russia Loss

Islam Makhachev Decision (unanimous) M-1 Challenge 38

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Ivan Musardo TKO (punches) SHC 7

Geneva, Switzerland Loss

Kevin Lee Decision (unanimous) Instinct MMA: Instinct Fighting 4

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Win

Brad Wheeler Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Warriors: Fight Night 4

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Win

Araik Margarian Submission (rear-naked choke) 100% Fight 7

Aubervilliers, France Win

Yves Landu Decision (split)

Win

Julien Boussuge TKO (knees)

Win

Chabane Chaibeddra Submission (north-south choke)

Win

Gregoire Lambert Submission (north-south choke)

Win

Gaetan Hurtel Submission (rear-naked choke)