Alex Pereira now has another one of his former kickboxing rivals, Artem Vakhitov, signed to the UFC. However, Dana White would reveal just seconds before handing the contract that ‘Poatan’ insisted on signing the Russian star, which came as a surprise to many people. Nevertheless, Pereira seems to have garnered a lot of respect from certain MMA figures, including Hall of Famer Michael Bisping.

During a recent video on his YouTube channel, ‘The Count’ was singing Alex Pereira’s praises for the selfless gesture he made towards Artem Vakhitov. “That, to me, is unbelievable. That speaks volumes about Alex Pereira, about the type of man that he is,” said Michael Bisping. Normally, the UFC legend was expecting Alex Pereira to downplay his former rival, but instead, the Brazilian ace chose to show great sportsmanship, putting his personal differences aside.

“We know, inside the Octagon, the man’s a killer, okay? He’s one of the best strikers that we’ve seen… but the fact that Dana White asked, ‘Hey, this guy, who’s the last person to beat you, that might get kind of fast-tracked a little bit, that might possibly get decent favorable matchups to meet you because there’s a big storyline’… Pereira could have played down the performance, but no, he said, ‘He absolutely deserves a shot. Give him a shot,'” Michael Bisping added.

After getting to know about the boost Dana White received from Alex Pereira in signing Artem Vakhitov, Michael Bisping learned another thing about the quality ‘Poatan’ has as a fighter. That is, in fact, his competitive nature.

Michael Bisping hails Alex Pereira for his competitive spirit

The only thing that Alex Pereira has done in the UFC is step up to the occasion against any opponent put in front of him. He even saved Dana White on a couple of occasions, with the short-notice title fight at UFC 303 being one example and the performance at UFC 307 being the other. Giving a positive nod to his former rival, who defeated him in his last kickboxing bout, reveals that he has a strong sense of competition, according to Michael Bisping. This, he believes, can make for an impressive trilogy bout for the UFC title, much like it happened with Israel Adesanya.

“That not only speaks about the type of man that he is, but it also speaks about the kind of competitor that he is because, clearly, the fact that he beat him p-sses him off. It irks him [and] he wants to get that one back,” Michael Bisping added. “These guys are one and one. The trilogy in the UFC for a title, that would be amazing.” Well, if that trilogy fight happens, it’ll surely be a treat for the UFC fans.

An even more interesting aspect to this storyline is the fact that Pereira lost to Vakhitov in the very last fight he had on Glory Kickboxing. There are strong arguments, even from ‘Poatan,’ that he was robbed of a win because the promotion did not want him leaving with the title.

What do you have to say about Michael Bisping’s comments on Alex Pereira? Is this a story you want to see finished in the UFC? Drop your comments below.