Yousri Belgaroui credits difficult training camp for UFC Seattle win

Yousri
Belgaroui had already experienced every threat possible in his
training camp for
UFC Seattle. 

Belgaroui (10-3) faced a previously undefeated Mansur
Abdul-Malik (9-1-1) in a middleweight matchup at UFC Seattle.
Belgaroui battered Abdul-Malik’s lead leg from the onset, while
maintaining his distance with a clean jab. Even when Abdul-Malik
managed to take Belgaroui down, the 6’5” former kickboxer got back
to his feet in seconds. While Belgaroui nearly finished Abdul-Malik
in the second round, he was saved by the bell. Belgaroui maintained
composure and gradually broke Abdul-Malik down to get a stoppage in
the third round. 

While this was only Belgaroui’s second
UFC fight, “Baby Faced Assassin” has a ton of experience
competing in Glory Kickboxing. However, Belgaroui believes
Abdul-Malik didn’t lose to him due to a lack of experience.
Belgaroui credits his training camp for handing Abdul-Malik his
first career loss. The Turkish-Dutch prospect reveals that he put
himself in every possible threatening position during his training
camp, even coming back from nearly getting choked out in
submissions.

Train Hard, Fight Easy

“It has nothing to do with his experience,” Belgaroui said in a
post-fight interview with the UFC. “I think he’s very well-rounded.
It’s more like what I have been doing in camp. I put myself in the
most difficult places out there. I put myself against the fence, I
put myself on the ground, put myself in half-submissions, where
it’s almost time to stop. And then fight out of there, fight the
guy there, and make him pay. So that’s what I could do naturally
out there right now.”

Belgaroui came up short in his first Contender Series opportunity
in 2023. Belgaroui then rebounded with two wins on the regional
circuit to earn another Contender Series shot, where he scored a
knockout in 2024. The 33-year-old has since picked up back-to-back
knockout wins in the UFC.