Who wants to watch two aggressive middleweights about 10 wins away
from a title shot throw down for personal glory, bragging rights
and purses around $12-$16K, depending on their managers? It’s time
for some of that. Defense will be at premium when Bekoev (20-3, 2-0
UFC)—with an even number of knockouts to submissions on his
resume—meets power puncher Belgaroui (8-3, 0-0 UFC). The classic
clash of Russia vs. the Netherlands will be officiated by referee
Sal Ram, and he observes a glove touch and clocks the fighters
in. It does not take more than a couple seconds for the two attackers
to engage. With a significant reach disadvantage, Bekoev rushes out
and starts swinging at the taller, longer man. He succeeds in
knocking the beanpole against the wire, but he has to back off when
Belgaroui hits him back hard. Bekoev continues to chase his man
around, just following him and not cutting off angles, and he
snatches a Belgaroui knee out of the air and holds it up to trip
him down to the floor. Belgaroui pulls on the fence to get to his
knee, and Bekoev remains pursuant of the single. Belgaroui smashes
him in the temple and forehead with surprisingly heavy hammerfists,
opening a gash on Bekoev’s hairline that starts leaking down his
face almost immediately. Bekoev does not flinch, instead hooking
his legs around Belgaroui’s to keep him stuck on his seat. Belgaroui explodes back to his feet, and Bekoev is a bloody mess
but still wants to smash “Baby Face Assassin” in the face. He does
just that, but Belgaroui meets him with a knee and backs him off.
Belgaroui deposits a flush knee to the torso that doubles over
Bekoev as Bekoev is shooting, and it disrupts the takedown enough
to allow Belgaroui to put his back to the wall and stay upright.
Belgaroui stands, and Bekoev is on him swinging for the fences.
Belgaroui slips him and busts him up with a straight right hand
down Broadway. Bekoev is met with a knee on the jaw when shooting,
and when the two hit the floor, the round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Belgaroui Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Belgaroui Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Belgaroui

Bekoev comes right out of his corner on the offense, and Belgaroui
uses his range to pick and potshot the Russian on the way in.
Belgaroui kicks the lead leg and flashes his jab several times,
dancing out of the way of looping shots from the shorter man. They
score at the same time, but it is Belgaroui who follows suit with a
kick. Belgaroui’s jabs allow him to measure Bekoev, who overswings
on a right hand and nearly falls over. Belgaroui lets him back up
so that he can keep probing him with distant strikes, and Bekoev
sits down on a clubbing right hand to get his attention. Two more
make Belgaroui retreat, and he chambers and fires one more to shake
Belgaroui up. Belgaroui immediately steels himself and returns fire
with a ferocious step-in knee, and Bekoev lets him off the hook
when eating jab after jab. Belgaroui keeps circling, and Bekoev’s
right hand is getting closer and closer. He lines it up, cracking
Belgaroui in the jaw and making him take a quick count of his
teeth. Bekoev uses the momentum to push Belgaroui to the fence, and
Belgaroui breaks off after a few seconds, seemingly with his wits
about him. Belgaroui chips at the front leg to trip up his foe, and his jabs
are beating Bekoev to the punch. The Russian throws everything he
has into his swings, while Belgaroui’s sharp jab has flattened his
nose. Bekoev lunges out with a long left hand to attack for a
takedown, and Belgaroui bowls him over and grabs the fence to
maintain position. With Bekoev attacking the leg for a single,
Belgaroui hacks at him with elbows. Belgaroui stands up, and he
drops back to his knee to defend another takedown effort. The
elbows from Belgaroui open the cut up again in Bekoev’s hair, and
Belgaroui is able to get to his feet. The two split up, and
Belgaroui lashes out with elbows that rock Bekoev. The Russian
throws back, but he walks face-first into a thudding knee.
Belgaroui clips Bekoev with a right hand, and he laces his arms
around the neck and looses them only to prevent a takedown as the
round concludes. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Belgaroui Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Belgaroui Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Belgaroui

Although some may be surprised the two middleweights reached the
third round, including Bekoev, they get there. Bekoev is gassed,
and Belgaroui starts right off with a veritable cornucopia of
effective jabs. The jabs and follow-up right hands crack Bekoev and put him on ice
skates, and Bekoev is only surviving by retreating. Belgaroui
smells blood, literally and figuratively, and he unleashes a final
salvo of fiery fists until Ram has to step in and save Bekoev from
his own toughness. The standing TKO may immediately
seem premature, only for the Russian to collapse to his seat
without offering a syllable of protest. “King Pin” had never been
knocked out…until now, with Belgaroui notching the biggest win of
his career by viciously eliminating the eight-fight win streak of
Bekoev.

Middleweights are up next, as Loder will look to defend Midwestern
honor against Bekoev, who is announced amid a shower of boos. Gary
Copeland draws his first referee assignment of the evening and at
his word, they engage. Loder is southpaw, Bekoev orthodox, and
Loder closes the distance, driving the Russian into the cage. He
drags Bekoev to his knees, but Bekoev pops right back up, and they
disengage as they move back into space. Loder enters again and is
caught with a big right hand. He staggers back into the fence,
where Bekoev swarms with hooks from both hands. Loder survives and
tries to reset, though he is clearly still compromised. Loder
staggers to his right along the fence, with Bekoev in pursuit,
landing a salvo of right hands. Loder manages to tie Bekoev up and
give himself a moment to recover, but Bekoev shoves him back to the
fence, where he braces him with a forearm to the chest before
opening up with punches once again. Loder tries to return fire and
lands a left hand, but Bekoev comes back with a half-dozen punches.
One of them, a flush right hand, is too much, felling Loder like a
tree against the fence. Loder covers up as Bekoev swarms with
standing-to-ground punches. Referee Copeland is looking on closely,
and after three or four more unanswered blows land with no movement
from the American, he steps in to stop the mauling. Relentless work
by Azamat Bekoev.

As recent as a week ago, Reese (8-1, 2-1 UFC) was planning on
facing Sedriques Dumas. Unfortunately for the latter, he was forced
to withdraw, and in steps a former LFA middleweight champion—but
not Eryk Anders, Markus Perez, Anthony Hernandez, Ian Heinisch,
Brendan Allen, Gregory Rodrigues, Josh Silveira, Osman Diaz or
Lucas Fernando. It is all about the self-proclaimed “Iron” Bekoev
(18-3, 0-0 UFC), a Russian in the American Top Team pipeline that
can end a fight any way he chooses. Referee Blake Grice draws the
charge for the 185ers, sealing the cage as the combatants come
together to gingerly touch their tips—of their gloves. Bekoev
pushes the pace immediately, and he walks straight into a head
kick. The Russian wears it well and then absorbs a right hand, and
he responds with a high kick that bangs into the pectoral. Reese
reaches out with a knee and swipes out with a left hook, and he
sways back to avoid a counter. Reese knees the body, and Bekoev
responds by attacking a single-leg takedown. When Reese connects
with an elbow, he falls to his back and almost instantly sets up an
armbar. Bekoev punches his way out of it but cannot quite establish
top control, holding on as he slides into the guard landing
strikes. Reese replies with sharp elbows off his back and an upkick
anywhere he can find the space to hit. Both fighters trade
surprisingly heavy blows, with Reese hacking with elbows while
Bekoev beats on him with his fists. Reese pushes off but cannot get
Bekoev off of him, so he resorts to spamming more elbows while
absorbing punishment from above. Reese rolls for an armbar, but
there is nothing to it as Bekoev starts to work Reese over with
punches. Bekoev continues to club Reese with vicious ground-and-pound, and
as his strikes land, Reese goes out. Grice rushes between them to
stop the fight, and he inadvertently tackles Reese to bang his head
off the back of the mat. Reese is totally unconscious,
and it takes a frightening amount of time for him to regain his
senses. He tries to sit up and then stand, but he does not have his
legs beneath him as medical professionals tend to him. He has
regained consciousness and is responsive to questions, but still
looks around the arena wide-eyed as if he has no idea what just
happened. Meanwhile, this is a statement introduction for Bekoev,
who completely flatlined Reese with ground-and-pound while in the
guard—a rare knockout indeed.

Azamat Bekoev

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

Key Insights

Striking Profile

Key Insights

Grappling Profile

Key Insights

Conclusions Summary