The last man to defeat Alex Pereira in the kickboxing ring has been quietly going about the process of gaining experience in the world of professional MMA.
Artem Vakhitov held the Glory Kickboxing light heavyweight world title between 2016 and 2019, before losing it by split decision to "Poatan" in January of 2021. He reclaimed the belt by winning an immediate rematch against the Brazilian later that year, before Pereira moved on to the UFC.
With a kickboxing record of 23-6 and five Glory title defences to his name, Vakhitov is certainly one of the most decorated and dangerous strikers in the world today. His professional MMA debut against Ashraf Bashandy in June of last year didn’t quite go to plan when an unfortunate landing barely a minute into the bout resulted in a dislocated elbow and a TKO loss for the Russian.
Vakhitov has rebounded this year in impressive fashion however, by picking up first-round stoppage victories over Siyavush Salkhov and Valisher Khambaev. Following on from a short but impressive amateur career in which he picked up a multitude of submission wins, it certainly seems the Russian is a fighter to keep an eye on.
Former Glory Champion Who Beat Pereira Links Up With ‘Triple C'
In an interesting development, it has emerged this week that Vakhitov has teamed up with a new coach in order to develop his skills in MMA.
Former UFC two-weight world champion Henry Cejudo posted a video of himself and Vakhitov to social media from the stands at UFC 303 this past weekend, during which he seemed to drop hints that the pair may have Alex Pereira in their sights.
So guys…allow me to introduce you guys to who’s training with the ‘Triple C’ next” said Cejudo. “I train the best in the world but guess what? Now I got the six-time Glory world champ, the last guy to defeat Alex Pereira, and we have a message for you!
The former Olympic gold medallist turned his phone to show Vakhitov, and the Russian simply replied “Chama.” 'Triple C' ended the message with, “We comin'”.
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After the successful crossovers of former Glory champions Pereira and Israel Adesanya into the Octagon, is history about to repeat itself?