Last Man to Beat Alex Pereira in Kickboxing Earns a UFC Contract

Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight kingpin
Alex
Pereira helped rival Artem
Vakhitov get into the UFC.

Vakhitov (3-1) earned a first-round technical knockout over
Islem
Masraf at
DWCS 2024: Week 9 on Tuesday. However, UFC CEO Dana White
contemplated before giving Vakhitov a contract as he did not expect
the amount of clinching that transpired. White called on his
biggest star and Vakhitov’s former foe in Pereira, who was sitting
cageside, for his opinion.

“This was an interesting fight, more clinching than I expected. And
you obviously got the job done, you got the finish. And I actually
called Alex back with me to talk about this fight and your win… And
Alex said you absolutely, positively deserve a shot in the
UFC.”

Vakhitov is a former two-time Glory kickboxing light heavyweight
champ with five defenses on his resume. Vakhitov has a 1-1
head-to-head record against Pereira, who beat him via split
decision the first time and the Russian avenged the loss via
majority decision in the rematch.

Vakhitov made his MMA debut in 2023, where he suffered a
first-round injury loss. He has since racked up three consecutive
first-round finishes, with the latest earning him the UFC contract
on Tuesday.