A Perfect UFC Start, Built in Teixeira’s Connecticut Gym
Glover Teixeira won the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 267 on October 30, 2021, submitting Jan Blachowicz by rear-naked choke, and lost it to Jiri Prochazka by the same method on June 11, 2022, closing out an Octagon run in which he went 16-7 against a murderers’ row that included Jon Jones, Rashad Evans and Ryan Bader. These days the Brazilian-American, who became a U.S. citizen in 2020, coaches out of Teixeira MMA and Fitness in Bethel, Connecticut, where one of his standout students is set for the biggest test of his career. Yousri Belgaroui, a 34-year-old Dutch-Tunisian middleweight nicknamed “The Boogeyman,” meets Brazil’s Caio Borralho on November 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York, on the UFC 334 card. Teixeira, who is also set to release a memoir titled “Breaking the Rules” in December, has coached Belgaroui since 2021.
Belgaroui has won all three of his UFC fights by TKO since debuting on October 18, 2025 with a third-round finish of Azamat Bekoev. He stopped Mansur Abdul-Malik in the third round on March 28, 2026, then finished Djorden Santos, a late replacement for Kelvin Gastelum, in the first round on September 12, 2026. The run came after Dana White’s Contender Series passed on signing him in 2024 despite a win on the show. He earned his UFC contract the following year. At 6-foot-5 (196 cm) with a 79-inch (201 cm) reach, he carries an 11-3 professional MMA record, with nine of his wins coming by knockout or TKO and all three losses coming by decision.
A Kickboxing Pedigree Before the Octagon
Before switching to MMA, Belgaroui built a 27-7 kickboxing record, winning the 2017 Glory welterweight-contender tournament before losing twice to Alex Pereira for the Glory light heavyweight title and once more to Donovan Wisse for the vacant belt in 2021. He also held the IRO European light heavyweight title and cracked Combat Press’ global top 10 from November 2021 to March 2022, peaking at number two. He made his MMA debut in January 2021 at UAE Warriors and won the LFL light heavyweight title in February 2024. He holds a public governance degree from the University of Amsterdam and works as a commentator for Dutch broadcaster Veronica TV.
Borralho’s Only Recent Loss Came Against a Frenchman
Borralho brings an 8-1 UFC record and far more Octagon experience into the fight. He beat Reinier de Ridder by unanimous decision at UFC 326 in March, snapping a two-fight skid that began in September 2025 when Nassourdine Imavov handed him a decision loss, ending a 14-fight winning streak. Borralho’s resume also includes a decision over Jared Cannonier in August 2024, a knockout of Paul Craig at UFC 301 that May, and a rear-naked-choke finish of Michal Oleksiejczuk back in April 2023. Teixeira called him “without a doubt one of the biggest challenges” in the middleweight division, framing the fight as Belgaroui’s toughest test since joining the UFC.
The Coach’s Read on Belgaroui’s Ground Game
Teixeira credited his fighter’s extra mat time for the recent jump in his grappling. “Sometimes we finish training, everyone is tired, and he grabs someone doing wrestling or jiu-jitsu and rolls for another 20 minutes,” Teixeira told Sherdog. He pointed to better distance control and growing comfort on the ground as signs Belgaroui is turning into, in his words, “a complete MMA fighter.”
Part of the UFC’s Return to Madison Square Garden
The Belgaroui-Borralho bout sits on a UFC 334 card billed as the promotion’s return to Madison Square Garden, headlined by heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane‘s title defense against unbeaten Josh Hokit, with Amanda Nunes returning to face Kayla Harrison in the co-main event.
A win would push Belgaroui to 4-0 in the UFC and put him in line for a ranked opponent in a stacked middleweight division. A loss would send him back to the drawing board after an otherwise perfect run under Teixeira’s guidance, against an opponent whose only defeat in his last 15 fights came against Nassourdine Imavov, who remains one of the division’s top contenders. For American fans, the fight offers an early look at how far one of Teixeira’s Connecticut products has come since arriving in the UFC a year ago, on a card already drawing attention for Gane’s title defense and Nunes’ return against Harrison.
