Alex Pereira rival Artem Vakhitov spurns UFC starter contract, returns to GLORY for Rico Verhoeven fight
Artem Vakhitov is heading back to the kickboxing world.
The Russian striking sensation and two-time GLORY Kickboxing champion turned his attention to MMA in 2023, fighting four times from the middle of the year to the end of 2024. In his final fight, Vakhitov scored an impressive first-round knockout on the UFC's Contender Series, earning a UFC contract to further his pursuit for a multi-sport trilogy bout against former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira.
However, Vakhitov revealed Tuesday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" that he and the promotion ultimately failed to come to terms on an agreeable deal. As a result, Vakhitov now returns to GLORY Kickboxing and is set to move up in weight to challenge heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven at GLORY 100 on June 14.
'It's kind of a big fight, which we wanted from 2017,' Vakhitov said through a translator. 'Unfortunately, we couldn't reach an agreement with UFC because they have their own protocol, but we still have good relations with them, so that's it.
'Now we're announcing a big fight against Rico Verhoeven. I think Rico doesn't need to be [explained as an opponent] because he's well known and, for sure, we wanted this fight a long time ago. For me, it's a good opportunity to become a double champion, and it was in my mind a very long time ago.'
As a two-time GLORY Kickboxing light heavyweight champion, Vakhitov, 33, instantly became one of the most prominent recent names to compete on Contender Series. When the Russian transitioned to MMA, many drew immediate parallels to his old rival, former two-division UFC champion Pereira. Unlike Vakhitov, however, Pereira was signed directly to the UFC rather than being forced to make it through the promotion's feeder league.
For Vakhitov, the decision to turn down his MMA future with the global leader ultimately came down to money. Yet despite the soured negotiations, Vakhitov hasn't fully closed the door on an MMA career.
'UFC always works off a standard contract after Dana White's Contender Series,' Vakhitov said. 'Unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement, or [there were] some things couldn't agree [on]. When we got an offer [from GLORY Kickboxing] and we saw the news that all the Russian fighters are coming back to GLORY, we got an offer to fight against Rico and probably the possibility to become a double champion, we agreed very easily. And for sure, for good money, why not?
"[I'm] not so disappointed [about the UFC], but we are not out on it. Why not in the future? Now we are mostly focused on the upcoming fight, so it's more important for us for now. I just got to have some satisfaction from the MMA classes [during the transition] — from wrestling, from grappling, from all this stuff — but it was also a good [experience for] me [trying MMA], so we see how it's going now.
"[MMA] will be dependent on offers. That's part of the job of my team, and also we will see what is happening. I'm mostly focusing on my upcoming fight."
'I do not wish to appear arrogant regarding this [UFC] contract,' Vakhitov additionally told MMA Junkie. 'I understand they have their rules, and I respect that, but I am a prizefighter. I have daughters to provide for and a short window of opportunity. It would have been a great dream to enter the UFC, but I could not justify the loss of earnings this contract would represent. And so we had to respectfully decline. But all of our dealings were pleasant, and perhaps in the future we will talk again.'
Vakhitov's most recent kickboxing fight saw him end a two-year hiatus when he won a unanimous decision against France's Pascal Touré in 2023. The win followed his two-fight series of bouts with the aforementioned Pereira, whom he defeated via a majority decision in their 2021 rematch.
The timing of Verhoeven vs. Vakhitov couldn't be better for kickboxing and the fighters involved. Their bout aligns with the promotion's "Last Man Standing" heavyweight tournament, which will determine the No. 1 contender to challenge the champion.
Although Vakhitov is no stranger to the heavyweight division, he's expected to be at a decent size disadvantage against the reigning kingpin Verhoeven. Regardless, Vakhitov isn't expecting any issues in that department.
"I was always sparring with and fighting big guys," Vakhitov said. "I even beat some fighters who were fighting with Rico. They had very close fights. It's not so big difference when [fighters] even in my weight division could deliver a punch. It doesn't matter which [weight]. So we have a good team, and it's not wrestling where you have some advantages in your weight, because when in wrestling, you are [against] bigger [opposition], it could be an issue. It will be a good and technical job [preparing for Verhoeven] with my team, so we are ready."
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