“I’m not f—g leaving. You’ll never stop me. I might get beaten, but I’ll always remain undefeated,” Israel Adesanya said after suffering his fourth loss in a row against Joe Pyfer at UFC Seattle. With that statement, the former middleweight champion made it clear he still has a couple of scraps left in him. And seeing the opportunity, one of his former Glory opponents has now called him out for a fight.

At the violent night of UFC Seattle, ex-Glory kickboxer Yousri Belgaroui defeated Mansur Abdul-Malik via a vicious knee and earned a $25,000 bonus. Following his stellar victory, the Tunisian-Dutch striker closely watched his former adversary suffer another loss and took the chance to call out Adesanya for a rematch when it makes sense.

“I think it is. Back in the day, we fought each other,” Belgaroui told Fullsend. “We were kids, you know, there was a lot of animosity when we fought each other back then. I mean, we’ve grown so much as human beings. What he did in the UFC was incredible. I saw him yesterday as well, we shook each other’s hands and gave each other respect.

We’re in the same weight class, so you know what’s gonna happen. It’s never gonna be personal, but it’s gonna be very cool because I know we can build that fight once it’s there, once it makes sense,” he added.

For the unversed, Belgaroui and Adesanya fought twice in kickboxing back in 2016, where the 33-year-old lost both bouts. After those two clashes, the fighters never shared the same stage again. However, after the Amsterdam native defeated Taiga Iwasaki at Contender Series in 2024 at middleweight, fans began to believe a rematch could become possible in the future if the stars align.

After securing a UFC contract, the former Glory kickboxer made a statement at UFC Vancouver last year by knocking out Azamat Bekoev in just 55 seconds and immediately showed interest in facing Adesanya again. So, after getting the 2nd UFC victory in Seattle, he still wants to settle the trilogy with ‘The Last Stylebender.’

Beyond their history, Belgaroui is also a teammate of Alex Pereira, another factor that could make this fight an interesting next step for the former 185 lbs king. However, the Tunisian-Dutch fighter realizes that he just won two fights in the UFC, and getting a shot at a legend like Adesanya will require a bit more work.

Now, as Adesanya’s former Glory opponent eyes a rematch down the line, Belgaroui has also revealed his immediate plan, and it involves potentially facing his teammate Pereira next.

Yousri Belgaroui wants to help Alex Pereira prepare for his UFC heavyweight fight vs Ciryl Gane

After beating Mansur Abdul-Malik, Yousri Belgaroui kept his post-fight speech reserved for his star teammate Alex Pereira, who is set to face Ciryl Gane at UFC White House on June 14. The bout will take place in the heavyweight division, with ‘Poatan’ competing for the interim 265 lbs title. As part of Pereira’s campaign, the Tunisian-Dutch striker is fully committed to helping the Brazilian in his next venture, and that appears to be his primary focus for now.

“My next very tough challenge is gonna be sparring this m— f— [Pereira] at heavyweight, and then, as I get fit doing that, I’d like to fight as soon as possible. Give it up to that guy!” Belgaroui said in the post-fight interview.

Those who don’t know, Belgaroui has also faced Pereira during his kickboxing career. While he won their first meeting, ‘Poatan’ came back to win the next two, closing out the trilogy in his favor. Later, when Pereira was preparing to face Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 for the middleweight title, he brought Belgaroui into camp, and the Tunisian-Dutch fighter has been part of his team ever since.

That said, with Pereira now moving up to heavyweight, there is clearly no chance of him facing Belgaroui again inside the cage. However, could a showdown with Adesanya be next instead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.