Alex Pereira might be the best find that the UFC had in recent times. The dual-weight champion in both the UFC and Glory kickboxing saved the UFC’s honor when they were about to lose it at UFC 303. In his short MMA career, Pereira turned the entire dynamics of the middleweight as well as the light-heavyweight division by winning both belts in record time. However, despite his professional record, his former opponent is not pleased with his victories.

The last man to defeat ‘Poatan’ in the kickboxing arena, Artem Vakhitov believes that the light-heavyweight fighters in the UFC lack the conviction to defeat Pereira. Why? Well according to him, Pereira is nothing more than a normal fighter who uses a basic but strong attack to force his opponents to get knocked out. His comments took the MMA community by surprise, however, Alex Pereira has come forward with his own statement against the Russian.

Alex Pereira’s fiery response to former Glory opponent after the defense comments

The Russian kickboxer fought Alex Pereira twice in his career and their record now stands at 1-1. Their initial fight ended in a split decision victory for Pereira as he became the undisputed two-division champion in GLORY in 2021. Vakhitov later took his revenge by defeating Pereira by way of a majority decision eight months after the clash. Three years after their final clash, Artem Vakhitov has come forward to make some harsh comments regarding Pereira’s continuous winning streak.

Vakhitov has criticized the light heavyweight division for its lack of professionalism. His words cut deep through Alex Pereira, who was just enjoying his victory after defeating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303. The light heavyweight champion took to his Instagram handle to add a comment directly questioning Vakhitov’s last victory against him.

“Hey brother be careful with people that are giving you this idea. The same person that is advising you that has tried the same to me and I didn’t do because I’m not stupid. Everybody knows that when they gave you the win it is because Glory knew that would be my last fight in the Organization and they didn’t want me to leave the belt!” said Pereira.

He further added, “For you to expose yourself like this, it seems you are a bit lost, and almost certainly you don’t have a manager. That’s what I think. You should send a message to Joinha[Jorge Guimaraes] because I think he can help you. Chama” This was probably the first time when Pereira was so agitated by someone’s words that he took to his socials to add a comment. So what exactly did the Russian say about him? let us find out.

Artem Vakhitov criticized Pereira for his recent victories

Following Alex Pereira’s footsteps, Artem Vakhitov made his professional MMA debut back in 2023. The Russian lost his initial bout as he dislocated his shoulder, Regardless, he has been scoring back-to-back victories since then. Vakhitov has but one dream that can be cracked any moment now- he wants to fight under UFC and dethrone Pereira in his championships.

In an attempt to target the light heavyweight champion, Vakhitov took shots at the entire LHW division, “His biggest weakness is that he is 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,” said Vakhitov. He further added, “These other guys haven’t done well against Alex because their striking isn’t at a 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.”

Challenging Pereira once again, Vakhitov said “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.” The old rivalry seems to be brewing once again in the realm of combat sports. Whats your take on the situation? State your thoughts in the comments below.