Alex Pereira's longtime combat sports rival issues bold prediction for potential MMA fight between them: "I could find the keys"

Alex Pereira's longtime combat sports rival has addressed the possibility of another fight against him. The veteran fighter notably gave his prediction for a possible MMA showdown against Pereira, in addition to also discussing whether he'd prefer their trilogy to take place in MMA or kickboxing.

The fighter in question is Artem Vakhitov, who's faced Pereira twice in kickboxing. The Russian suffered a split decision defeat in their first kickboxing encounter at Glory 77 in 2021. Later that year, he avenged that loss by beating Pereira via majority decision at Glory 78.

Pereira is a former Glory kickboxing middleweight and light heavyweight champion, as well as a former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion. Meanwhile, Vakhitov is a former two-time Glory light heavyweight champion.

On The Ariel Helwani Show this week, Artem Vakhitov was whether he was surprised to see Alex Pereira achieve tremendous success in the sport of MMA. Vakhitov admitted that he is indeed shocked by Pereira's success. The Russian also indicated that he'd love to face 'Poatan' in a trilogy once the Brazilian finishes his MMA career.

When asked how he believes a potential MMA fight with Pereira would play out, Vakhitov reaffirmed his stance that his foe primarily relies on his famed left hook and supposedly lacks defensive skills. He stated via his translator:

"I think it would be in the striking style. And as he has no defense, he has only the one punch, I could find the keys and win [against] him easily. Because I've seen how to do it. And I'm very confident with my team that we could get this win by our strategy."

Helwani chimed in and questioned whether Artem Vakhitov would like to see a third fight against Alex Pereira materialize, be it in MMA or kickboxing.

Vakhitov replied by signaling that he'd prefer for their trilogy matchup to be contested in kickboxing:

"Because we got two fights already in kickboxing rules, for sure, would be interesting to finalize our trilogy in kickboxing rules."

Check out Vakhitov's comments below:

Watch Vakhitov's interview below (comments at 1:45:51):

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Artem Vakhitov's past criticism of Alex Pereira, their expected next moves

Artem Vakhitov competed on Dana White's Contender Series in October 2024, knocking out Islem Masraf. Many expected him to sign with the UFC as a result, but Vakhitov confirmed to Helwani that he'll face Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven for the title at Glory 100 on June 14.

Meanwhile, Alex Pereira is still a part of the UFC roster. Pereira's most recent contest was at UFC 313 earlier this month, where he was outpointed by Magomed Ankalaev and lost his light heavyweight title. 'Poatan' is likely to face Ankalaev in an immediate rematch.

Artem Vakhitov and Alex Pereira have often traded barbs. Notably, speaking to Submission Radio late last year, Vakhitov insinuated that Pereira wasn't a great striker and is rather overreliant on his left hook:

"He [was taught to deliver] one punch really well. So it doesn't mean that he is a great striker."

Watch Vakhitov's assessment below (1:27):