The Netherlands’ Yousri Belgaroui had a long journey to the UFC. But after he finally arrived, former light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira stole the show. Belgaroui, who failed to secure a contract with the UFC after losing to Marco Tulio in August 2023, found his break after beating Taiga Iwasaki in Dana White’s Contender Series in September last year. More than a year later, he was making his debut at UFC Seattle on Saturday night. 

His opponent? Mansur Abdul-Malik. Belgaroui controlled the fight with long-range striking and damaging leg kicks, dominating early rounds. Abdul-Malik had brief success with takedowns but struggled to maintain control. Yousri Belgaroui hurt him badly in round two and finished him in round three with a brutal knee, earning a TKO victory. But when the spotlight was his to soak up, Alex Pereira showed up.

“CHAMA 🗿 A loud ovation for @AlexPereiraUFC at #UFCSeattle,” UFC on Paramount+ highlighted the moment on X. 

Belgaroui himself doesn’t appear to be bothered by it, as he hyped up the moment during the post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. Pereira had previously fought the middleweight from the Netherlands a total of three times at Glory Kickboxing. While Belgaroui managed to beat ‘Poatan’ the first time in April 2017, the Brazilian secured two wins in the following matches in December of the same year and July of 2018.

Since coming to the UFC, Belgaroui and Pereira have been training together at the same gym, Teixeira MMA & Fitness. The former light heavyweight champion is set to make his heavyweight debut on July 14 at the South Lawn of the White House against Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title. A potential win could help him create history, as he would become the promotion’s first three-division champion. 

This comes after Alex Pereira recently revealed his walkaround weight.

Alex Pereira weighed the same as Ciryl Gane in his last fight

‘Poatan’ isn’t messing around with his heavyweight debut. Ahead of his expected clash at the UFC Freedom 250, the Brazilian kickboxer revealed he’s now the same weight as Ciryl Gane was in his last fight. 

“247 pounds. Chama,” wrote Pereira in the caption of an Instagram video.

In the video, Belgaroui can be seen in the weight-cutting process, while Pereira stepped on the scale. Regardless, the weight shouldn’t really be a surprise for fans. Between his light heavyweight bouts with Magomed Ankalaev, Pereira was reportedly near 244 pounds.

That detail underlines how naturally big Pereira has always been, even while cutting to 185 and 205. Now, without extreme weight cuts, he enters heavyweight already comparable in size to elite contenders like Gane.

Pereira looks ready to face Ciryl Gane in June. UFC Seattle just gave a sneak peek into what the Brazilian would look like in the fight. What did you think of his appearance on Saturday?