California’s Adam Piccolotti gets top billing at Bellator 287 this Saturday in Milan, Italy, with the card seeing the lightweight competing outside the U.S. for the first time.
Which makes for exciting times, with Piccolotti (13-4) headlining his first ever Bellator event.
“Oh man, I’m just excited, you know? Not only is it a main event, I’m out here in Milan, Italy,” Piccolotti told Cageside Press during Wednesday’s Bellator 287 media day. “I’m just excited. It feels great.”
Piccolotti’s opponent, Mansour Barnaoui, is a ROAD FC tournament winner and former lightweight champion with the South Korean promotion. He hasn’t fought since 2019, however, spending over three years on the sidelines.
That time away hasn’t posed any problems for Piccolotti’s preparation though. In terms of preparing for an opponent off for so long, you go about it “the same way you prep for somebody that has fought in three years,” explained Piccolotti. “You study his tape, you get in shape, you kind of look at his tendencies and create a game plan, and just put that into effect every day in the training room.”
Being paired up against an incoming killer to the promotion is something Piccolotti enjoys. He was similarly booked against newcomer Tofiq Musayev earlier this year, though the bout ultimately fell through.
“I love it,” Piccolotti exclaimed. “Some people— I don’t know, I like it. It shows that they have some confidence in me, that I can represent Bellator’s name proudly and show that the level of competition is high here.”
While Piccolotti has been trading wins and losses of late, those losses have come in close split decisions, against Benson Henderson and Sidney Outlaw, two top names at 155lbs. Entering Bellator 287 off a win, getting a second consecutive victory is important, Piccolotti agreed.
“Those splits were B.S., everyone knows it, but yeah it’s very important. Every fight is really important. I’m gonna go out there, do my damn thing and get my hand raised.”
Watch the full Bellator 287 media day appearance by Adam Piccolotti above. The event takes place this Saturday, October 29, 2022 at the Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy.
