Artem Vakhitov, who is helping Ciryl Gane prepare and is the last man to defeat Alex Pereira in kickboxing, has predicted that Pereira will lose his next fight because he has gained too much muscle mass. Vakhitov believes the added weight will negatively impact Pereira's performance. In other news, Jiri Prochazka responded to accusations from Alex Ulberg by dismissing him as a "stripper." Islam Makhachev confirmed he has begun preparation for his next bout. Hamzat Chimaev responded to Sean Strickland's trash talk by comparing him to a circus clown and noting that Strickland is not genuine, claiming Strickland told Chimaev's friends he was just promoting the fight.
Artem Vakhitov, the last fighter to defeat Alex Pereira in kickboxing and a current training partner of Ciryl Gane, has gone on record predicting that Pereira will lose his next MMA contest — pointing to the UFC light heavyweight champion's recent muscle gain as the reason for his expected decline.
Vakhitov argues that the added mass will work against Pereira rather than for him, hampering the qualities that made him dangerous in the first place. His perspective carries weight given his unique insight into Pereira's game, both as a former conqueror of the Brazilian striker and as someone now embedded in a rival camp preparing to face him.
Elsewhere in the media rounds, number-two-ranked light heavyweight Jiri Prochazka of the Czech Republic addressed accusations leveled at him by Alex Ulberg, brushing off his critic with the blunt label of "stripper." Prochazka, who carries a 32-6-1 record and lands a remarkable 5.69 significant strikes per minute with 55 percent accuracy, is rarely short of a colorful response.
Middleweight champion Sean Strickland, meanwhile, found himself on the receiving end of a sharp rebuttal from Hamzat Chimaev. The 35-year-old American titleholder, who owns a 31-7-0 record and throws an aggressive 6.04 significant strikes per minute, had been trading verbal shots with Chimaev. Chimaev pushed back by comparing Strickland to a circus clown and claiming that Strickland privately told members of Chimaev's inner circle that the trash talk was purely promotional in nature.
On the competition side, welterweight and pound-for-pound number-one champion Islam Makhachev confirmed he has started camp for his next fight. The 34-year-old Russian, who holds a 28-1-0 record and averages 3.2 takedowns per fifteen minutes alongside 1.1 submission attempts, has given no further details about his upcoming opponent or date.
Why it matters
- Vakhitov's critique adds external pressure on Pereira heading into his next title defense
- Prochazka's public dismissal of Ulberg keeps divisional tensions simmering at light heavyweight
- Makhachev entering camp signals the welterweight title picture is moving forward
- The Chimaev-Strickland exchange raises questions about whether their rivalry will produce a sanctioned matchup
