MMA Knockout

Dana White Roasts Fighter & Denies UFC Contract for Bad Performance

Dana White was far from pleased with Yousri Belgaroui's DWCS performance.

Mathew Riddle

Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

UFC CEO Dana White was far from impressed with Yousri Belgaroui's performance on week 5 of the Contender Series.

Belgaroui was offered a rare second chance at fighting for a UFC contract after losing his Contender Series debut in August 2023. The former GLORY kickboxer fought Israel Adesanya and defeated Alex Pereira in kickboxing, which made for an exciting narrative coming into his fight. However, this soon dissolved as he struggled to defeat his opponent as the biggest favourite on the card.

Dana White was far from pleased with Yousri Belgaroui's DWCS performance.
Belgaroui went 1-2 against Pereira in GLORY / GLORY Kickboxing

Sitting as a -1100 favorite, Belgaroui was expected to run through Japan's Taiga Iwasaki, but it was the complete opposite. Iwasaki fought well and gave Belgaroui a tough fight through two rounds, which wasn't helped by a Belgaroui point deduction due to repeated eye pokes in the second. Belgaroui managed to TKO his opponent with a well-timed knee and a barrage of strikes against the cage late in the third round, but the damage was already done.

"Yousri, he was an eleven-to-one favorite," White remarked in the post-fight announcements. "Against a guy who took the fight on short notice. He's a six-foot-five middleweight. Instead of closing his hands and using them to keep him off him or to finish him, he poked him in the eyes five or six times... He did not impress me tonight. I'm not interested."

It's safe to say Belgaroui won't be getting a third opportunity in the Contender Series, but one can never be sure when a fighter might be signed for a short-notice fight in the future.

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Mathew Riddle
MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with over five years of experience in digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMAKO in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on The Fight Fanatic, Heavy on UFC, Fansided, and Sportskeeda. Reach him at mr@thefightfanatic.com.

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