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Yousri Belgaroui dominated the favored Azamat Bekoev on Saturday night. | Getty/UFC
Alex Pereira didn’t miss the opportunity to mock Azamat Bekoev after UFC Vancouver.
Pereira’s former foe and now teammate, Yousri Belgaroui, made his UFC debut against Bekoev in Vancouver on Saturday. Belgaroui was a massive underdog going into his UFC debut. However, “Baby Face Assassin” dominated Bekoev from the very onset and finished him early in the third round.
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Pereira subsequently celebrated his teammate’s win by mocking Bekoev for his previous comments. While speaking of Belgaroui, Bekoev said that the Dutchman was being pushed into the UFC by Pereira.
“I think Pereira wants to push this guy to the UFC,” Bekoev said. “He is striker and he couldn’t get any finish on the Contender Series.”
Pereira responded by taking a page out of his rivalry against Magomed Ankalaev. Pereira avenged his first loss against Ankalaev and reclaimed the light heavyweight title with a first-round finish over the Dagestani at UFC 320 earlier this month. Ankalaev’s teammate subsequently claimed that he had a rib injury heading into the fight. Pereira mocked Bekoev by wondering aloud if the Russian would come up with the same excuse as Ankalaev.
“What’s going to be this guy’s excuse now? His ribs?” Pereira wrote on Instagram.
Pereira, Belgaroui Had History Before Becoming Teammates
Belgaroui and Pereira have fought three times in kickboxing under the Glory banner. While Belgaroui earned a unanimous decision win in their first meeting, Pereira won the next two via stoppage.
Meanwhile, Bekoev was riding an eight-fight winning streak with two finishes in the UFC before losing to Belgaroui. Belgaroui came up short in his first Contender Series opportunity in 2023, but rebounded with two wins on the regional circuit to earn another shot, where he knocked out Taiga Iwasaki last year.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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