Yousri Belgaroui has a lengthy list of kickboxing accomplishments, but his MMA list continues to grow, too.
Saturday at UFC Fight Night 262, Belgaroui (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) made his promotional debut and finished Azamat Bekoev with punches at 4:32 of Round 3. The middleweight bout took place on the prelims at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The fight was violent from beginning to end. Bekoev found some success with his grappling, but Belgaroui sliced him badly with an elbow. As the fight progressed, Belgaroui took over. His advanced striking arsenal sucked the life out of Bekoev, who struggled to get off the stool before the third round.
Bekoev went out for Round 3, but struggled to keep his hands up. He essentially became a sitting duck in Belgaroui’s shooting range. Belgaroui hit him over and over again. While Bekoev refused to go down, referee Sal Ram intervened with the fighters standing and likely saved Bekoev some brain cells in the process.
The Netherlands’ Belgaroui, 33, has been all-in on MMA since 2021. He had ups and downs on the regional scene as he worked to round out his craft, including two appearances on Dana White’s Contender Series, in which he went 1-1. He’s trained mainly in Connecticut under Glover Teixiera, becoming one of the main training partners for former kickboxing opponent Alex Pereira.
