Not many combat sports fighters boast the striking prowess of Alex Pereira, the current light heavyweight champion. The Brazilian is one of only three fighters in the GLORY Kickboxing Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, his last fight with GLORY ended in a majority decision loss to Artem Vakhitov.
Pereira rose to notoriety due to his two-fight series with Israel Adesanya, who later became the arguable GOAT of the UFC’s middleweight division. With ‘Poatan’ on course to a Hall of Fame UFC career, Vakhitov looks to make a similar impact in MMA.
Pereira Alleges GLORY Favored Vakhitov
In an exclusive interview, the Russian recently spoke with MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz, revealing his ambitions to fight Alex Pereira on the grandest stage. The 33-year-old is 1-1 against ‘Poatan’ and wants to settle the rivalry with a trilogy fight, presumably inside 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,” Artem Vakhitov said, revealing why he wants the trilogy.
Vakhitov critiqued Pereira’s striking, labeling it all attack and no defense. With the example of Israel Adesanya at UFC 287, the Russian proved that the Brazilian leaves a lot of opinions, which a high-level striker can take advantage of. Moreover, he stated that the inferior striking of Pereira’s opponents was the reason for Poatan’s success in the UFC.
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Rumors speculate that Pereira has made remarks regarding his fight with Vakhitov at GLORY 78 in Rotterdam. The Brazilian alleged that the promotion gifted his opponent the majority decision victory as it was his final fight. He cited that the promotion didn’t want him to leave with the belt.
Nonetheless, the two fights between the GLORY 77 and GLORY 78 duo were high-level and exciting. The Brazilian won the first fight via split decision, becoming the first simultaneous two-division GLORY kickboxing champion.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, GLORY released Vakhitov from their contract. He now pursues an MMA career, training at Kill Cliff FC in Florida. After losing his first MMA fight due to injury, Vakhitov has won two in a row. Will he fight Pereira in the UFC? Chances are low.
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