PFL Europe to Bring Pair of Lightweight Showcase Matches to Paris Card in May

The Professional Fighters League has officially started populating its return to France this May.

At PFL Europe 2, which will take place at the Accor Arena in Paris on May 24, the organization has announced a pair of non-tournament tilts to take place on the billing. The bout order is still in flux, given that this event will also contain the league’s bantamweight bracket of four fights plus an alternate match at least. A key encounter on the billing sees Paris native Mansour Barnaoui (22-6) take on Archie Colgan (11-0) in a lightweight matchup outside of tournament parameters.

The well-traveled “Afro-Samurai” drifted through organizations over the years until he amassed a seven-fight stoppage streak, which put him on the radar of Bellator MMA. When signed to that major org in 2022, he introduced himself by tapping Adam Piccolotti. While a pair of decisions against Brent Primus and Jay-Jay Wilson did not go his way, Barnaoui had to rebound by throttling Yusuke Yachi with a brabo choke. He crossed over into the PFL side of the company following the merger, and prevailed in his PFL debut by hitting a rear-naked choke on Alfie Davis.

Like Barnaoui, Colgan cut his teeth on the Bellator circuit, other than a pair of appearances with Legacy Fighting Alliance and a brief stop off at Eagle FC’s one-off card in Miami in 2022. The unbeaten 29-year-old presents quite a different style than his opponent, as Barnaoui celebrates the lion’s share of his wins by submission—15 of 22—while Colgan has earned just one pro win by tapout. While he started out as a pro with six stoppages in his first seven victories, “King” has heard the final bell in four straight fights to conclude his time with Bellator.

Additionally, the organization stated that it picked up local athlete Taylor Lapilus, a free agency that departed the Ultimate Fighting Championship last year after completing his contract. His opponent has not yet been determined. The other fight PFL has put together also comes at 155 pounds, as a pair of Belgians in Patrick Habirora (6-0) and Nicolas Di Franco (10-4-1) tangle for superiority.

The undefeated Habirora has tested the waters in PFL Europe on two separate occasions in 2024, matching up against Claudio Pacella and Catalin Safta in non-tournament engagements. This fight will also be a showcase match for the 24-year-old, who posts the majority of his wins via strikes. Standing in his way will be European Beatdown veteran Di Franco, who has not yet competed for a major organization and will be coming off a loss. Di Franco most recently saw his three-fight win streak come to a halt in December courtesy of elbows from Noah Gugnon.

This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com

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