Kickboxing legend Yousri Belgaroui set to make his mark with DWCS debut after helping Alex Pereira upset Israel Adesanya at UFC 281

There is plenty of anticipation for this week's episode of the Contender Series as Yousri Belgaroui is set to compete with hopes of earning a UFC contract.

The kickboxing legend is scheduled to fight Marco Silva in a middleweight bout. He looks to follow in the footsteps of past foes Alex Pereira and reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

According to MMA Junkie's Nolan King, the 31-year-old played a role in their MMA rivalry as he helped train 'Poatan' when he picked up an upset over 'Izzy' at UFC 281 despite having fought both in the past:

"During preparations for #UFC281, Alex Pereira brought Yousri Belgaroui in to prepare for Israel Adesanya. Since then, Belgaroui has been training at Glover Teixeira's gym in Connecticut."

Baby Face Assassin' is currently training at Glover Teixeira's gym, so it will be interesting to see how training with the former light heavyweight champion will influence his fighting style. He made his MMA debut in 2021 and has since earned a 5-2 record, with 4 wins coming via KO/TKO.

It will be interesting to see whether Yousri Belgaroui will be the latest Glory kickboxer to earn a UFC contract and have success in MMA.

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How many times did Yousri Belgaroui fight Alex Pereira in kickboxing?

Yousri Belgaroui and Alex Pereira had quite a rivalry when they competed in Glory Kickboxing. They first competed in 2017 at Glory 40, when they fought in the finals of the Middleweight Contender Tournament.

It was a one-night tournament that saw 'Baby Faced Assassin' earn a unanimous decision win over the eventual two-division Glory Kickboxing champion. They fought again later that year at Glory 49, and this time, it was 'Poatan' who picked up the win as he earned a third-round TKO due to a cut.

After splitting wins in 2017, Belgaroui and Pereira competed in a trilogy bout at Glory 55 to settle the score. This time, 'Poatan' picked up a much more decisive win as he knocked out 'Baby Face Assassin' with a right hook at 2:16 of the first round to retain his Glory middleweight championship.