A former foe from UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira’s kickboxing days is reportedly set to fight for a UFC contract later this year.
UFC News: Kickboxing Rival Targets Alex Pereira for MMA Grudge Match: ‘I Have Beaten Him Before’
Following a decorated kickboxing career, Pereira joined the UFC with a 3-1 MMA record in 2021 and has managed to claim belts in two weight classes and become a major star after just nine total fights with the sport’s leading promotion.
The Brazilian’s rivalry with former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya was a major factor in his fast track to a title shot and UFC stardom, and now according to MMA Propagande another one of Pereira’s former kickboxing rivals may soon join the promotion when Artem Vakhitov competes on Dana White’s Contender Series on October 8.
A former GLORY champion, Vakhitov lost the kickboxing promotion’s light heavyweight strap to Pereira via split decision before the Russian got revenge in their immediate rematch when he took a majority decision victory.
Those two fights turned out to be the last kickboxing bouts of Vakhitov and Pereira’s respective careers, and after picking up one Muay Thai win Vakhitov saw his MMA debut end in less than a minute due to injury before he scored a pair of first-round finishes earlier this year.
The 33-year-old’s Dana White’s Contender Series fight will see him take on Islem Masraf, who also made his professional MMA debut last year at France’s ARES FC 15 and most recently scored a 10-second head-kick knockout at PFL Europe to give him three finishes out of three pro fights.
‘I Hope He Wins’: Alex Pereira Praises Israel Adesanya Ahead of UFC 305 Title Fight
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