Rookie Report Card: Grading all Octagon newcomers UFC Vancouver post-mortem

You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!

Two athletes debuted in “City of Glass” last night (Sat., Oct. 18, 2025) at UFC Vancouver inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Both walked away with statement-making finishes

Now that the dust has settled, let’s grade their respective performances below:

Despite scoring a finish on Season 8 of Contender Series, Yousri Belgaroui didn’t receive a UFC contract (details). But when the promotion needed a short-notice replacement to face knockout artist Azamat Bekoev, Belgaroui finally got the call. The fight didn’t go down in August as planned, but when it finally happened in Vancouver, the 33-year-old made it count.

The “Baby Face Assassin” looked sharp and composed. He broke Bekoev down over three rounds with brutal body knees, calf kicks, and a piston-like jab. From the start, Bekoev charged forward aggressively, but Belgaroui — an elite former kickboxer who holds a win over Alex Pereira (now his teammate) — calmly countered and took control.

While he was taken down several times, he was never in danger, and even sliced Bekoev open with a nasty elbow from the bottom. His constant get-ups wore the Russian down, and his striking eventually overwhelmed him. Once Belgaroui smelled blood, he poured on the pressure and finished the fight in emphatic fashion.

Standing 6’6” in the Middleweight division, Belgaroui is going to be a problem for a lot of opponents. A great next matchup? Zachary Reese feels like a fun second outing.

Over the past month, two women rookies have reinvigorated the Bantamweight division — and now, Canada’s Melissa Croden might be the third. She made a strong first impression in her debut, rallying from a slowish start to stop Tainara Lisboa in the third round (watch highlights).

Croden started cautiously in Round 1 but still rocked Lisboa with a clean straight right. In the second round, she found her rhythm, landing heavy combinations, knees in the clinch, and eventually dropping the Brazilian late in the frame.

Sensing the finish, Croden came out firing in the third. Lisboa, battered and exhausted, couldn’t keep up as Croden unleashed another flurry to seal the deal.

At 34 years old, it’s unclear if Croden can make a run toward the Top 15, but she showed real power, a solid all-around skill set, and composure under pressure. A logical next step? A fight against Ravena Oliveira, who lost earlier that same night.