[autotag]Yousri Belgaroui [/autotag] fought both Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira in kickboxing and now he may very well join them in the UFC.
At Dana White’s Contender Series 71 on Tuesday, Belgaroui (8-3) finished [autotag]Taiga Iwasaki[/autotag] (9-2) by TKO due to a barrage of strikes at 2:34 of Round 3.
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1833680632062660797
Belgaroui, 32, is a former Glory Kickboxing middleweight title challenger with a 27-7 kickboxing record. He is one of four men to compete against both Adesanya and Pereira in kickboxing. He went 0-2 against both.
In 2021, he pivoted to MMA. He worked his way to 5-2 before a shot on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023. He lost his first appearance to Marco Tulio by unanimous decision and later said he was battling a bad infection. Back-to-back wins in Levels Fight League earned him the second DWCS opportunity Tuesday.
Iwasaki, 27, has now lost two of his most recent three outings after an 8-0 start to his pro MMA career. His other defeat came against former Bellator champion Rafael Lovato Jr.
The up-to-the-minute DWCS 71 results include:
- Yousri Belgaroui def. Taiga Iwasaki via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:34
- Josias Musasa def. Otari Tanzilovi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Nicole Caliari def. Corinne LaFramboise via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:45
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