UFC Star Alex Pereira's Former Rival Set for Dana White’s Contender Series

The decorated striker has a chance to join his former opponent and current teammate Pereira in the UFC.

Former kickboxer Yousri Belgaroui, who fought Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira multiple times in GLORY, has been booked to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series.

“Baby Face Assassin” competed at middleweight during his kickboxing career and met Adesanya twice in his first three bouts for GLORY, with both of those fights ending in decision wins for the current UFC champion.

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Belgaroui won a decision over Pereira in 2017 before being finished the next two times they met, but the impression both men left on each other eventually led to the Dutchman joining his rival at Glover Teixeira’s gym in Connecticut to embark on an MMA career.

Belgaroui and Pereira now train together after fighting three times in kickboxing.  :: (James Law/Glory Sports International)

The 31-year-old made his MMA debut for UAE Warriors in 2021 and collected two wins before ending the year with one final kickboxing bout, but since then he’s focused his efforts entirely on MMA. A pair of stoppage wins last February brought his overall record to 5-2, which led to him getting this chance to join the ranks of the UFC.

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Belgaroui will compete on Dana White’s Contender Series on August 29 against Marco Tulio Silva, who some fans might recognize as the fighter Val Woodburn was scheduled to face before stepping up on short notice to make his UFC debut against Bo Nickal at last weekend’s UFC 290.

The Dutchman will meet Silva in a middleweight bout after Belgaroui’s last two fights were contested at light heavyweight, which is the division that his training partner Pereira is moving up to for a matchup with former champion Jan Błachowicz at UFC 291.

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