Artem Vakhitov already has Alex Pereira’s attention ahead of DWCS appearance: ‘He lost to me 2 times … it’s worrying him’

Artem Vakhitov has an opportunity to earn a UFC contract when he competes on The Contender Series on Oct. 8, but even before he sets foot in the octagon for the first time, he’s got light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira’s attention.

The former rivals who met twice in GLORY with Vakhitov holding the final win over Pereira before he left the promotion to sign with the UFC have already engaged in a war of words. With Vakhitov making his transition into MMA — with a 2-1 record, which is almost identical to Pereira when he joined the UFC roster — he’ll have plenty of eyes on him when he fights next Tuesday night.

While he still has to perform and impress the UFC executives in attendance to guarantee himself a contract, Vakhitov knows Pereira is already looking over his shoulder.

“I didn’t ask for any attention from him but he already knows he lost to me two times,” Vakhitov said about Pereira when speaking to MMA Fighting. “It’s worrying him a little bit.

“For sure for fans around the world, it’s very interesting. Let’s see for the future. I think we can do it.”

Much like Pereira signing with the UFC largely due to his wins over then champion Israel Adesanya in kickboxing, Vakhitov knows he’s got a leg up on the competition when it comes to a fast rise up the ranks.

Add to that, the 33-year-old Russian doesn’t believe there are many strikers even close to Pereira’s level on the feet, which is another reason why he wants to shake things up with his arrival.

“You see now that he is very easily beating all the guys now,” Vakhitov said. “For sure, they really needed some guy who can beat him in that striking style. I guess we will see who is the best striker very soon.”

Because he shares so much history with Pereira thanks to those back-to-back fights in 2021, Vakhitov competes on The Contender Series with a much brighter spotlight on him than the average prospect.

That might intimidate some fighters but don’t count Vakhitov among them.

“I’m not getting any pressure,” Vakhitov said. “I just have it in my own way. My aim and my focus is only on Dana White’s Contender Series for sure. If I will get Pereira in the future, I will show a great fight and let’s hope that will be meet soon in the octagon.

“I was thinking that I could get in the UFC directly without Dana White’s Contender Series but anyway it’s a very good chance for me. A great opportunity to get there. I will take this chance and for sure I will only show great fights in the future. I think it’s a very good opportunity for me.”

Beyond his training at home in Russia, Vakhitov has also spent significant time training at Kill Cliff FC in Florida, the same gym that houses notable UFC fighters such as Shavkat Rakhmonov, Gilbert Burns and Michael Chandler.

Making the move from kickboxing to MMA is never easy but Vakhitov believes he’s learned a lot already and he’s still adding more and more weapons to his arsenal everyday.

“From the beginning, I was starting to work on defense from takedowns, about things to help me defend from guys on the ground,” Vakhitov said. “I’ve got a few camps in Moscow and here in [Florida] so I’m already experienced and a lot of high level guys are training with us.

“It for sure helped me with the experience and I’m getting more into this stuff. It looks like the transition is going well and we are still working on it. Continuing to work on it.”

Assuming he wins next Tuesday and UFC CEO Dana White offers him a contract, Vakhitov doesn’t expect that he’ll just get handed a fight against Pereira right away.

Vakhitov has no problem earning the chance to face his old foe again but until then he’ll keep rooting for Pereira to hold onto his title — just like he did in his latest defense over Khalil Rountree at UFC 307.

“For sure [rooting] for Alex to win, it’s all I can wish for him,” Vakhitov said. “Just continue to win and I hope we will meet very soon. He just has to wait for me.”