Dana White’s Contender Series began back in 2017. Since then, the Contender Series has produced some big-name upcoming stars like Dan Ige, Sean O’Malley, Geoff Neal, Maycee Barber, and Edmen Shahbazyan. In short, it has been a huge success for finding talent.
A Contender Series fight is one that has stakes like none other, where fighters must showcase their skills to impress the UFC president enough for a contract with the promotional giant. Holding the Contender Series with a smaller cage inside the UFC Apex venue makes for a tense atmosphere, and with only close friends and family of the competing fighters in attendance as spectators. Emotions always run high, as a limited number of contracts can be given out on any given night, and many fighters can potentially have their dreams snubbed out solely because of bad luck.
In rare cases, however, a fighter gets a second look. This series will examine those.
Yousri “Baby Face Assassin” Belgaroui (7-3 MMA)
Age: 32 years old
Height: 6’5″ / Reach: 79″
Weight Class: Middleweight (185lbs.)
First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2023 (Week 4)
Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Marco Tulio (12-1 MMA)
Second DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2024 (Week 5)
New Opponent: Taiga Iwasaki (9-1 MMA)
First Contender Series Fight
Yousri Belgaroui was on the Contender Series for the first time on Week 4 of last year’s season. Belgaroui had an extensive kickboxing career under the Glory promotion. He also fought former UFC middleweight champions Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira two times each.
Leading up to his berth on the Contender Series Yousri obtained a 4-2 record with the UAE Warriors promotion. Yousri stopped four of the five opponents that he faced ahead of his first Contender Series fight.
Unfortunately, Belgaroui was soundly defeated in a three round unanimous decision in his first showing on the Contender Series.
First Contender Series Opponent
In his first fight on the Contender Series, Yousri faced Marco Tulio. Marco entered the fight with a 9-1 record and did not receive a contract as a result of his unanimous decision victory.
Tulio has since finished his opponent at LFA 175 in early 2024. Marco stopped his 6-4 foe in the second round of their bout.
Most recently Tulio got a shot at redemption of his own as he was also invited back to DWCS on Week 3 a couple of weeks ago. Marco made good on his second chance stopping his opponent, Matthieu Duclos with a spinning back kick and punches in the second round of their bout.
The Road Back
In the year since Belgaroui was on the Contender Series he has competed twice. Both times Yousri has competed under the Levels Fight League promotional banner based out of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Yousri fought 10-4 opponent, Giorgi Kvelidze, and stopped him with one second to go in the opening round of the bout. That fight was in October of 2023.
Earlier this year in February the former Glory kickboxer defeated 11-3, Ahmed Sami, via unanimous decision. The results have seemingly produced Belgaroui’s second appearance on the Contender Series.
Gameplan/ New Opponent
For Yousri’s shot at redemption on the Contender Series he will be facing Taiga Iwasaki. Yousri was originally supposed to be facing Anvarbek Daniyalbekov, but the bout was cancelled when Anvarbek withdrew from the fight.
Iwasaki’s sole loss is a round one arm lock loss to the very dangerous, Rafael Lovato Jr., at the end of 2022. That fight was Taiga’s only loss in his pro career and one of just two fighters that he’s fought with a winning record. The combined record of Iwasaki’s opponents at the time he fought them was: 25-30 (Keep in mind Lovato Jr. was 10-0 when they fought.)
Taiga has slowed his pace in comparison to the first part of his career having only competed twice in the last two years. The Japanese fighter started his career at a blistering pace running thru inexperienced competition and has now attracted the attention of the UFC in the past couple of years.
