Alex Pereira’s teammate wants to revisit Israel Adesanya rivalry after UFC debut KO

Yousri Belgaroui claims Israel Adesanya trilogy would be ‘beautiful’

Finally making his way to the Octagon-proper over the weekend, Tunisian striker Yousri Belgaroui had previously competed on Dana White’s Contender Series.

And turning in an impressive third-round knockout of Azamat Bekoev at UFC Vancouver, Belgaroui improved to 9-3 in mixed martial arts.

A former three-time Glory Kickboxing middleweight champion, Belgaroui twice shared the ring with Adesanya, suffering defeat on both occasions.

But now under the same banner again, the Amsterdam-born star refused to play down another pairing with Adesanya — especially now that he trains alongside Pereira.

“He’s (Israel Adesanya) an exciting guy, he’s a great striker,” Belgaroui told assembled media after UFC Vancouver. “I’m sure it would be a beautiful fight. I think we can make a great fight for the fans.

“I don’t have personal issues with him,” Belgaroui explained. “I know he’s up there, like he’s done a lot for the sport, for himself. So it wouldn’t make sense to call him out right now, but down the line, if that fight makes sense, I’m sure it’s gonna be very, very cool to make that one.”

Yousri Belgaroui’s history with Alex Pereira

Yet to break his duck against Adesanya, Belgaroui does, in fact, hold a victory over common-foe Pereira — whom he now trains alongside.

Thrice sharing the ring with the former two-weight Glory Kickboxing champion, Belgaroui defeated Pereira in a unanimous decision win in their first matchup in 2017.

Rematching at the end of that year, Belgaroui suffered a cut which halted the bout in a TKO loss, before a stunning knockout win for Pereira in their rubber match the following year ended their in-ring rivalry.