Alex Pereira and Artem Vakhitov may be fierce rivals when it comes to combat sports, but there’s nothing but respect between them outside the ring.
On Tuesday night, Vakhitov scored a first-round knockout on Contender Series but UFC CEO Dana White was on the fence about whether or not to sign him to a contract. After attending the UFC APEX show to watch Vakhitov’s performance, Pereira actually put in a good word for the former GLORY Kickboxing champion and he was signed to a contract.
Following the event, Pereira and Vakhitov ran into each other backstage and chatted through translators.
“To be honest, I’m very happy see you winning,” Vakhitov told Pereira. “I love what’s happening with you right now over here. So just keep doing it, keep winning, I’ll be watching this. I’ll be focused on myself. Hopefully after a few more defenses, it will happen so that we’ll meet each other again.”
(Video courtesy of Vakhitov’s manager Andrey Busygin)
While both fighters were competing in GLORY, Pereira defeated Vakhitov by split decision in their first encounter before the Russian got his revenge with a majority decision in the rematch. That fight served as Pereira’s final appearance in GLORY before signing with the UFC where he’s gone on to become a two-division champion in short order.
After Vakhitov decided to make a full-time transition to MMA, he exchanged more than a few messages with Pereira through interviews and over social media.
No matter what was said, Vakhitov promised it was never anything personal but just about business.
“Nothing but respect,” Vakhitov said. “All love and it’s just sports. That’s all it is.”
The fighters shook hands and shared a hug, with Pereira giving Vakhitov a few parting words with a laugh between everybody involved after he gave his former opponent the extra nod he needed to get into the UFC.
“You owe me one,” Pereira said.
Vakhitov joins the UFC with a 3-1 record in his MMA career with all of his wins coming by first-round knockout.
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