"I'm wondering now if he's genuinely worried about me" - Vakhitov responds to Alex P press conf comments

[jj manchester]

This week Pereira was asked about his long-time rival Artem Vakhitov, former GLORY Kickboxing world champion who fights on Dana White Contender Series next week. They are 1-1 against each other in GLORY title fights and Vakhitov is chasing the trilogy fight.

Alex on Wednesday was asked about him and said “Guys that beat me in a fight long ago, they think that they can just come here… but they are not me, they are not Israel Adesanya."

Vakhitov has responded today (quotes via FightBookMMA):

“Alex has a high opinion of himself and rightly so – he has achieved incredible things. But so have I – for many years I was the undisputed world champion in my weight class and I’ve previously beaten Alex, so it’s strange to me to hear him speaking so dismissively about me.

“Of course MMA is a different sport to kickboxing, but he’s not the only one capable of making the transition.

“Recently he was talking about returning to middleweight and I joked to a journalist that I didn’t want him to run away to another weight class before I can get to him for our trilogy fight.

“But now the way he’s talking, I’m wondering if he is genuinely worried. In recent years I have always wished him good luck and victory when he has fought. I thought maybe he would wish the same to me, but it seems not."

 

[Bobby Boulders]

He's so far ahead of himself. Every quotable is about Alex. And, I get it, Alex is probably the main reason he's even here, but he's gonna get Saki'd if he doesn't worry about the opponents in his way. And, he's gonna have a few before he ever meets Poatan again.

 

[itainteasy]

Chama just opened up a can of worms. These kickboxing guys sense blood in the water knowing MMA fighters (generally) can't contend with their striking, and if a division is weak on grapplers/wrestlers, its for the taking. I dont blame this guy for being confident, he should be, he's seen what other champions in kickboxing have done.

 

[VinceArch]

If Artem Vakhitov is as confident as he feels, he should be able to get to Poatan soon. Fighting frequently and winning in spectacular fashion like Alex did worked wonders.

 

[Red Lantern]

Have a feeling Vakhitov gonna get the Saki treatment not Poatan. His style doesn't seem like it would translate well, unless he change it a lot.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

Hes getting ahead of himself. He doesnt have Poatans size and power and his style in general is not as well suited.

 

[sanguinius]

Have a feeling Vakhitov gonna get the Saki treatment not Poatan. His style doesn't seem like it would translate well, unless he change it a lot.

Hes getting ahead of himself. He doesnt have Poatans size and power and his style in general is not as well suited.

What about his style seems less effective for mma? I don’t know that much about him.

 

[RockyLockridge]

this guy sounds like a giant douchebag to me

 

[shunyata]

Chama just opened up a can of worms. These kickboxing guys sense blood in the water knowing MMA fighters (generally) can't contend with their striking, and if a division is weak on grapplers/wrestlers, its for the taking. I dont blame this guy for being confident, he should be, he's seen what other champions in kickboxing have done.

We've been saying this for years, but not every awesome athlete from another sport makes the transition and then does well. Most of them don't.

I wish him luck, we'll see where his next few fights go.