After calls earlier this week for an eventual move to the UFC in pursuit of a trilogy rubber match against current light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereiraformer GLORY Kickboxing star, Artem Vakhitov has been urged to “be careful” what he wishes for by the Brazilian star.
Pereira, a former two-weight champion in both the UFC and GLORY Kickboxing, twice fought Russian star, Vakhitov in the London-based promotion – suffering his final defeat inside the squared circle against the former in their title fight three years ago via majority decision.
Prior to that, Sao Paulo knockout artist, Pereira would defeat Vakhitov with his own split decision win in Rotterdam, however, since the latter’s move to mixed martial arts, the two have been linked with a trilogy decider in a future clash under the banner of the UFC.
Earlier this week, Vakhitov claimed it was time for fans of combat sports to learn about his own striking prowess, in the form of a trilogy rubber match against Brazilian phenom, Pereira.
Alex Pereira hits back at Artem Vakhitov’s call for third fight
“MMA was always interesting for me, anyway, but obviously I am very motivated by the prospect of getting that trilogy fight with (Alex) Pereira,” Artem Vakhitov said. “He’s a superstar right now, and I’m 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.”
“These [UFC] guys haven’t done well against Alex because their striking isn’t at a high enough level,” Artem Vakhitov continued. “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 our trilogy match in the UFC.”
Responding to Vakhitov’s comments, Pereira rekindled the pair’s rivalry, urging the Russian striking sensation to “be careful” with talks of a third clash.
“Hey brother, be careful with the people that are giving you this idea,” Alex Pereira replied to Artem Vakhitov on Instagram. “The same person that is advising you that 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 would be my last fight 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,” Alex Pereira wrote.
Would you like to see Alex Pereira settle his rivalry with Artem Vakhitov in the UFC?