6ft 5in middleweight who beat Alex Pereira debuts with upset KO at UFC Vancouver

Yousri Belgaroui wins at UFC Vancouver

13 months later, the 6ft 5in middleweight made his debut at UFC Vancouver on Saturday night.

Yousri Belgaroui was considered an underdog heading into his fight with Azamat Bekoev.

The 29-year-old Russian was riding an eight-fight win streak into their clash at the Rogers Arena.

Since joining the UFC earlier this year, Bekoev has scored back-to-back first-round KO victories.

Belgaroui managed to open up a cut when his opponent relentlessly pursued an early takedown.

Bekoev was covered in blood when they returned to the striking distance, where the kickboxer proceeded to land big shots to seemingly take the first frame on the judges’ scorecards.

Belgaroui really upped the pace in round two. The Dutch fighter was eating lots of shots, but he was landing even more, and it was very clear that his opponent was pretty much spent after 10 minutes of fighting.

A barrage of strikes at the start of the third frame was enough for the referee to wave off the fight.

Yousri Belgaroui’s trilogy with Alex Pereira

Yousri Belgaroui’s 27-7 kickboxing record includes two names every MMA fan will know.

Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya beat him by unanimous decision twice in 2016.

The next year, Belgaroui fought UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira twice, with mixed results.

Belgaroui won a unanimous decision in their first fight, but lost by TKO when a cut spoiled his second scrap with ‘Poatan’.

Pereira settled their rivalry by scoring a massive first-round KO when they fought for the third time in 2018.

Belgaroui will be hoping to revisit his rivalries with Adesanya and Pereira. If his UFC Vancouver performance is the start of things to come, he could be a force to be reckoned with in 2026 and beyond.