Alex Pereira and Artem Vakhitov share warm exchange after latter earns UFC contract with DWCS victory: "Nothing but respect"
Artem Vakhitov, the last man to defeat Alex Pereira in kickboxing, secured a UFC contract with a knockout victory over Islem Masraf on 'Dana White’s Contender Series'. The Russian fighter delivered a powerful overhand right late in the first round, dropping Islem Masraf before finishing him with ground-and-pound.
Following his victory, Vakhitov had a backstage conversation with Pereira, where mutual respect was evident. Vakhitov congratulated Pereira, saying:
“I’m very happy to see you winning. I love what’s happening with you right now. So keep winning. I’ll be watching. I’ll be focused on myself, and hopefully after a few more defenses it will happen that we meet each other again [in the Octagon]. Nothing but respect. All love, and it’s just sports, that’s all it is.”
Pereira responded:
“You owe me one.”
Check out the interaction between the two below:
Their last encounter ended in a majority decision victory for Pereira in 2021. The two currently hold a 1-1 record against each other in kickboxing.
Dana White says Alex Pereira convinced him to sign Artem Vakhitov to the UFC
Dana White has confirmed that Alex Pereira played a key role in convincing him to sign former kickboxing rival Artem Vakhitov to the UFC roster.
Speaking with Laura Sanko after announcing new roster additions, White admitted he was surprised by Vakhitov’s grappling approach during his Contender Series fight but revealed it was Pereira's endorsement that solidified his decision.
Speaking to the media, White said:
“He [Pereira] said ‘Obviously a little more clinching than you’d expect, you would expect the other guy to clinch with him, not him clinching’ – but he said this is what I think, ‘I think he’s talented enough, and I think he deserves to be here, he’s had a tonne of fights in his career."
He added:
“But he said ‘I think the Contender Series, no matter where you fought or what you’ve done, it puts a different type of pressure on you that you might not perform the way you normally would… He thinks that this is a tremendous amount of pressure, and he said, ‘All I know is that I’m glad I didn’t have to go through the Contender Series.’”
Check out Dana White's comments below: