Dana White Signs Kickboxer Who Handed Alex Pereira His Last Defeat at Glory

Alex Pereira’s past is making waves again as Dana White recently signed a new fighter at his request! During the latest episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, Pereira urged White to bring in Artem Vakhitov, a familiar face from his kickboxing days. The two have an interesting history, having faced each other twice—with Vakhitov winning the last of those encounters. 

With some unfinished business between them, this storyline is drawing parallels to Pereira’s rivalry with Israel Adesanya before he joined the UFC. Fans are buzzing with excitement to see how this rivalry unfolds and whether it can become as heated as the one between Pereira and Adesanya.

Right now, it’s shaping up to be an intriguing matchup that could add even more drama to the light heavyweight division. At the end of the recent episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, White explained how Pereira asked for Vakhitov to be signed to the UFC. 

“You obviously got the job done, got the finish. I actually called Alex (Pereira) back with me to talk about this fight and your win and what he thought. And Alex said you absolutely positively deserve a shot in the UFC. So thank you Alex Pereira, and get over here Artem.”

Dana White said that Alex Pereira told him to sign Artem Vakhitov after his knockout win on #DWCS pic.twitter.com/ByV4mdcJIS

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 9, 2024

Vakhitov has since secured a first-round finish on Dana White’s contender series against Islem Masraf to punch his way into the UFC. The Russian fighter is only 3-1 as a professional mixed martial artist and still has a long way to go.

However, his experience and pedigree in kickboxing will help him in the long run just like it has with Alex Pereira. Vakhitov aims to extend his win streak over Pereira in the UFC as well now. 

Vakhitov feels Pereira is worried about him 

Before stepping into the octagon, Vakhitovhad already caught the attention of light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, with whom he shares a heated rivalry. The two have fought twice in GLORY, with Vakhitov holding the last victory, so there’s plenty of history there. 

Vakhitov believes he’s a strong contender to shake things up in the light heavyweight division, noting that not many strikers can match Pereira’s level. He even said, “He already knows he lost to me two times. It’s worrying him a little bit.” 

Vakhitov doesn’t feel like he had lost the first fight to Pereira at Glory 77 either.

Training hard at Kill Cliff FC in Florida, the Russian kickboxer feels confident about transitioning from kickboxing to MMA.

“I’m not feeling any pressure,” he said. Now that he’s signed with the UFC, Vakhitov is looking forward to possibly facing Pereira again, rooting for him to keep winning.

“He just has to wait for me.”

Besides, the Russian fighter has previously gone on record to discredit Poatan’s striking prowess claiming that he has only one shot and a true striker would have a variety of combos in his arsenal.