Credit:Getty/UFC
Credit: Getty/UFC
Credit: Getty/UFC
Credit: Getty/UFC
Former Alex
Pereira rival Artem
Vakhitov isn’t going to join the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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Vakhitov is among the few men in the world who can boast a victory
over Pereira. The Russian beat “Poatan” via majority decision under
the Glory kickboxing banner in 2021, avenging a split-decision loss
from earlier that year.
Following in Pereira’s footsteps, Vakhitov transitioned to MMA in
2023 and earned a UFC contract with a first round knockout on
Dana White’s Contender Series last year. However, Vakhitov the
rare fighter who is going to pass on his contract from the
Contender Series. Vakhitov revealed that the UFC has a standard pay
structure for all contracts earned through the Contender Series.
While Vakhitov understands the UFC’s strictness with protocols, he
couldn’t turn down a much more lucrative contract that Glory
offered. The former champ is now going to fight heavyweight champ
Rico
Verhoeven at Glory 100 on June 14 in Netherlands.
“UFC always offering like a standard contract after Dana White
Contender Series… Unfortunately we couldn’t reach an agreement with
the UFC. Because they have their own protocol. But we still have
good relations with them… Now we’re announcing big fight against
Rico
Verhoeven,” Vakhitov said on “The Ariel Helwani” show.
Vakhitov is 3-1 in MMA with all three victories coming via
knockout.