The last fighter to beat current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in kickboxing, Artem Vakhitov, has had his say on the Brazilian’s current star-making run, as he pursues a potential trilogy fight with ‘Poatan’ in the UFC.
Since Alex Pereira‘s emergence in the UFC in 2021, the 36-year-old has looked virtually unstoppable as he has laid out everyone in his way.
The last man to beat him in kickboxing competition, Artem Vakhitov, hasn’t been as impressed as the mainstream has, though, as he has his say on the Brazilian’s run so far in the premier promotion.
Alex Pereira’s and Artem Vakhitov’s history
Pereira and Vakhitov first met back in 2021 at Glory 77, when ‘Poatan’ picked up a split decision win against the Russian, winning the light heavyweight title.
Just eight months later, the two strikers rematched at Glory 78, with the 33-year-old exacting revenge and winning a majority decision to reclaim the title.
Since then, the Russian has made his transition into MMA where he currently holds a 2-1 record, with his most recent win coming in February this year.
Following Pereira’s recent emphatic title defense against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, Vakhitov has admitted that a lot of his motivation to make it to the UFC stems from wanting a trilogy fight with ‘Poatan’.
“MMA was always interesting for me anyway, but obviously I am very motivated by the prospect of getting that trilogy match with Pereira,” Vakhitov told MMAFighting.
“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,” the Russian continued.
Artem Vakhitov blames the UFC light heavyweights for fear of Pereira
Pereira has only lost once during his nine-fight UFC tenure suffering a brutal knockout loss against Israel Adesanya in their anticipated MMA rematch.
Vakhitov believes Pereira seriously lacks in striking defense, which was showcased in his fight against ‘The Last Stylebender’.
“His biggest weakness is that he’s all attack, he has no defense. 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’re doing,” Vakhitov continued.
Ahead of Pereira’s rematch against Prochazka on June 29, the Czech striker claimed that ‘Poatan’ can’t win a fight without using Shamanic magic, which instantly sparked concern for the former champion.
Vakhitov believes that the UFC light heavyweights that have fought Pereira up to this point, have been beaten before they’ve even stepped in there with him because they fear him.
“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,” Vakhitov claimed.
The 33-year-old is confident that if he gets the chance to face the star in the UFC, he will beat him again.
“But I have beaten him before in pure striking competition, and I’m sure I’ll do it again if we can get our trilogy match in the UFC.”