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Contender Series Week 5: Navajo Stirling vs. Phil Latu continues with a fight between Yousri Belgaroui and Taiga Iwasaki in the middleweight division. Belgaroui has now won back-to-back fights after suffering a loss in his first appearance on the Contender Series meanwhile, Iwasaki comes into this short-notice appearance off a unanimous decision victory in his last fight. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Belgaroui-Iwasaki prediction and pick.
Yousri Belgaroui (7-3) tried his shot on the Contender Series last season but ultimately lost a hard-fought decision to now-UFC middleweight Marco Tulio. After that setback, he went back to the regional scene and got two wins securing his spot on this season of the Contender Series. Belgaroui will make the most of his second chance when he takes on Japan's Taiga Iwasaki this Tuesday night.
Taiga Iwasaki (9-1) will be stepping in on relatively short notice for Anvarbek Daniyalbekov who withdrew from the bout. Iwasaki is coming off a unanimous decision victory in his last fight and has 9 wins in his 10 fights. He will be looking to get the biggest win of his career and secure his UFC contract when he takes on Yousri Belgaroui on this week's episode of the Contender Series.
Here are the Contender Series UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC Contender Series Odds: Yousri Belgaroui-Taiga Iwasaki Odds
Yousri Belgaroui: -720
Taiga Iwasaki: +450
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Why Yousri Belgaroui Will Win
Yousri Belgaroui got his shot on the Contender Series last season but ultimately fell short in a tough fight against Marco Tulio who got signed off Week 3 this season. He was getting ready to face off against Anvarbek Daniyalbekov but he had to withdraw from the fight and now will be taking on Japan's Taiga Iwasaki this Tuesday in his shot of redemption to secure his UFC contract.
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Belgaroui is a former kickboxer who has fought the likes of Israel Adesanya and has a win over Alex Pereira. After switching to MMA, Belgaroui has started to train with former foe and current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and former light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. Since his last loss on the Contender Series, Belgaroui rattled off back-to-back wins earning him a second opportunity to make a good first impression in front of Dana White and the matchmakers.
In this matchup against Taiga, Belgaroui is going to have a massive size advantage in this matchup and he utilizes his length well at range. He throws a ton of long range attacks like calf kicks, front kicks, and head kicks along with his straight punches like jabs and straight rights to keep the opposition at the end of his strikes. If Belgaroui can just keep Iwasaki on the outside of his strikes he should have no problem picking him apart at range potentially getting the finish and securing the UFC contract.
Why Taiga Iwasaki Will Win
Taiga Iwasaki has the daunting task of taking on former kickboxer Yousri Belgaroui on short notice this week. He is 9-1 as a professional with 6 of those 9 wins coming by finish. Iwasaki is coming off a dominant decision victory his last time out and is hoping to keep that momentum going when he steps inside the Octagon this Tuesday night for a chance at securing a UFC contract.
Iwasaki is a striker by trade much like Belgaroui but he has the ability to mix in the grappling which is where he is going to have some success in this fight. Iwasaki will need to navigate the length of Belgaroui to get on the inside to land his strikes and get to the clinch. From there he is going to need to drag him down and keep him there. While on the canvas, Iwasaki will have the leg up with submissions and ground and pound, as long as he can just mix in the takedowns and make Belgaroui work he can potentially get a late finish and the UFC contract.
Final Yousri Belgaroui-Taiga Iwasaki Prediction & Pick
This is a fantastic fight in the middleweight division between Yousri Belgaroui and Taiga Iwasaki. Both of these fighters will be battling it out for a chance to be the next UFC middleweight fighter. Ultimately, this is a very tough fight for someone like Iwasaki to take on short notice as he's going to have a ton of trouble navigating the size of Belgaroui as Belgaroui uses that length to punish Iwasaki as he comes within range eventually landing the kill shot putting him out and getting the win and securing his UFC contract.
Final Yousri Belgaroui-Taiga Iwasaki Prediction & Pick: Yousri Belgaroui (-720)
