Glory kickboxer Artem Vakhitov is the last and one of the few to ever defeat the tenacious MMA fighter and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. The fighter has faced Pereira twice in the Glory promotion, first suffering defeat via unanimous decision, while Pereira emerged as the undisputed GLORY champion in 2021. However, Vakhitov redeemed himself and won their next bout before Pereira withdrew from the sport and joined the UFC.
Vakhitov remained in the promotion for a while before transitioning to MMA. Although his debut was quite a disaster, with an elbow in the jury in the opening round, the fighter recovered quickly and since then scored back-to-back wins. Despite being new to MMA, Vakhitov has insight into why Pereira has remained a fearsome opponent to rivals. The former kickboxer believes UFC light heavyweights aren’t confident enough when getting into the cage with Pereira. In an interview with MMA Fighting, the Russian fighter hopes to join the UFC and face Pereira in the octagon.
“MMA was always interesting for me anyway, but obviously, I am very motivated by the prospect of getting that trilogy match with Pereira. He’s a superstar now, and I am happy for him, but when I hear people saying he’s the best striker in the world … well, I think it’s time for MMA fans to learn about me and my team, put it that way.
“His biggest weakness is that he is all attack. He has no defense.” Vakhitov continued. “Because of his lack of defense, he is open to taking a lot of punches to the head if he’s facing a skilled striker. You saw that in his second fight with Adesanya. He got caught because he leaves a lot of openings for people who know what they are doing.
“These other guys haven’t done well against Alex because their striking isn’t high enough level. They aren’t confident against him, and they think he’s unbeatable. So, in their heart, they are already defeated before the fight starts. But I have beaten him before in pure striking competition. And I am sure I’ll do it again if we can get a trilogy match in the UFC. …”
“We are 1-1 against each other, so that the next fight will be the trilogy fight. And I think that will be a big fight for fans all over the world. We are both top-level strikers. We are throwing punches, knees, and kicks constantly. Watch our two fights in GLORY Kickboxing, and then imagine we are in the UFC octagon with small gloves on. And I’ll be very confident for that fight. Alex will be completely analyzed by Vitaly Miller and Kuzbass team. We will have all his mistakes identified, and I will be fully prepared to take advantage when I step in there.
“Alex and I know each other well,” Vakhitov added. “His team and my team are in good relations, and we message each other sometimes. So, I am always wishing victory for him when he fights. But when it is my turn to share the octagon with him. It will be time to demonstrate finally who is the best striker. All questions will be answered on that day.”
Alex Pereira did not take the comments lightly. ‘Paotan’ released a statement firing back at the GLORY champion.
“Hey brother, be careful with the people that are giving you this idea. The same person that is advising you has tried the same to me, and I didn’t do it because I’m not stupid. Everyone knows that when they gave you the win, it’s because GLORY knew that was my last light in the organization. And they didn’t want me to leave with the belt. For you to expose yourself like this, it seems that you’re a bit lost and almost certainly don’t have a manager.
“That’s what I think. You should send a message to Joinha (Jorge Guimaraes) but because I think he can help you. Chama”
After his latest win against rival Jiri Prochazka, Pereira is set to defend his title against Magomed Ankalaev later this year. It is still unknown if Vakhitov will get a chance to face Pereira. However, fans are looking forward to this challenge.
