Responsible for Alex Poatan 's last defeat in kickboxing, Artem Vakhitov intends to have another encounter with the Brazilian, this time in the octagon, and claims to know the weaknesses of the current UFC light heavyweight champion (up to 93 kg).
In an interview with 'MMA Fighting', the Russian, who faced Alex Poatan twice in Glory Kickboxing, with one win and one loss, confirmed his desire to face his rival for a third time and questioned the label given to the Brazilian as 'best striker in the world'.
“MMA has always been interesting to me, but obviously I'm very motivated by the idea of getting that trilogy with Pereira. He's a superstar and I'm happy for him, but when I hear people saying he's the best striker in the world...well, I think it's time for MMA fans to learn about me and my team, so to speak,” Vakhitov said.
Artem Vakhitov and Alex Poatan faced each other twice in GLORY. In the first fight, the Brazilian won by split decision and captured the light heavyweight title, becoming the organization's first two-division champion. In the rematch, eight months later, the Russian got his revenge and won by majority decision.
“His main weakness is that he is all attack and has no defense. Due to his lack of defense, he is open to receiving many punches to the head when facing a skilled striker. You saw that in the second fight with Adesanya. He was caught because he leaves many openings for those who know what he is doing”, analyzed the Russian.
In Vakhitov's opinion, with the exception of Israel Adesanya , the athletes Alex Poatan has faced throughout his UFC career do not possess sufficient striking skills or the confidence to deal with the Brazilian.
“The other guys didn't do well against Alex because their striking doesn't have the necessary level. They have no confidence against him and think he is invincible, so in their hearts they are already defeated before the fight begins. But I've already defeated him in pure striking competitions and I'm sure I'll do it again if I achieve the trilogy in the UFC”, he concluded.
Artem Vakhitov is 33 years old and made his professional MMA debut in 2023. The Russian lost his first professional fight due to an injury suffered in the first round, but recovered with two knockout victories in January and February of this year.
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