Yousri Belgaroui 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 Taiga Iwasaki (9-2) by TKO due to a barrage of strikes at 2:34 of Round 3.
WHAT A FINISH 😮💨
Yousri Belgaroui gets the third round TKO!
[ #DWCS LIVE NOW on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/voSJ53RtDR
— UFC (@ufc) September 11, 2024
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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