Bellator 296: Fabian Edwards dominates Gegard Mousasi, earns title shot (Video)

Fabian Edwards earns middleweight title shot against Johnny Eblen in September after defeating Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 296

Fabian Edwards will now have the opportunity to join his brother Leon as an MMA champion of a professional organization, following his victory over Gegard Mousasi in the main event of Bellator 296.

As a result of his victory, Edwards will now earn a title shot against undefeated Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen. The fight was confirmed during an in-ring confrontation between Eblen and Edwards, with the two scheduled to square off in Dublin, Ireland, on September 23.

Meanwhile, Mousasi, the former two-time Bellator champion, now drops consecutive fights for the first time in his professional MMA career.

The two spent quite some time feeling each other out in the first round, with both throwing plenty of low kicks. A quiet round saw Edwards try to use his jab and found comfort with his striking range.

Bellator 296: Fabian Edwards defeats Johnny Eblen, confronts middleweight champion Johnny Eblen

Edwards landed a takedown in the second round, though Mousasi had more activity on the ground with strikes and trying to keep Edwards in his guard. Mousasi was able to reverse position and get on top, but the fight briefly came to a halt controversially due to an illegal knee to the head on the ground (though the knee seemed to not have much damage). The fight continued standing with some success for Edwards, including Mousasi attempting unsuccessfully to pull guard.

Mousasi was landing his fair share of shots in the third round, but he seemed to struggle with Edwards's distance throughout and chose not to take this fight down. Edwards continued to trouble Mousasi in the fourth by landing the crisper, quicker and more powerful shots in the fourth.

At the halfway mark of the fourth round, however, Mousasi finally scored a takedown and looked to keep a hold of him. About a minute of struggle later, however, Edwards was finally able to break free from his grasp. Mousasi landed several body kicks before going in for another takedown attempt that was reversed into a clinch by Edwards. Edwards landed a takedown of his own in the closing seconds.

Mousasi's efforts to get back into the fight in the fifth round were all for not, especially when Edwards managed to take Mousasi down once more and ride his back.

All three judges awarded the fight to Edwards with 49-46 scorecards.

Bellator 296: Gegard Mousasi vs. Fabian Edwards takes place on Friday, May 12, 2023, live from the Accor Arena in Paris, France. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your news and highlights.