After an extremely impressive win on Dana White’s Contender Series, Artem Vakhitov was offered a UFC contract.
Having only made his MMA debut in 2023, Artem Vakhitov was fast-tracked to Dana White’s Contender Series last year when he was matched up with Islem Masraf.
After scoring the knockout in the first round, the Russian striker was offered a contract by Dana White, with the UFC boss hoping to set up a monumental fight against Alex Pereira with the two having met twice in Glory.
Vakhitov has the Brazilian to thank for being offered a UFC contract as Pereira convinced White to sign him so that they could settle their trilogy, this time inside the Octagon.
Despite having been offered a UFC contract, Vakhitov sensationally turned down the offer and will instead fight Glory champion Rico Verhoeven at Glory 100.
The 34-year-old suggested that having being offered a contract through the Contender Series, the base pay on his contract was too low.
However, he revealed in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow that he is, in fact, still in negotiations with the promotion and could potentially still figure out a future in the UFC.
“You know, we passed the Contender Series, and during our conversations, unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement and didn’t agree on some conditions. Then, we took a pause in our conversations and negotiations, and the offer came (from Glory), so we took that offer.
“It could have made sense (to fight on the lower contract in hopes of earning a bigger contract), but we need to understand more clearly, it could be very risky to fight for the kind of money they offered me.
“For now, we just didn’t sign the contract and are still in negotiations, but now we are in Glory, and we are focused on this fight, and maybe we could think about (the UFC) after this fight,” Vakhitov admitted.
It’s fair to say, with Vakhitov’s revelation, that his fight against Verhoeven is now even bigger, and with a win, his wish of being offered a more lucrative contract may come true.
Could Artem Vakhitov and Alex Pereira settle their trilogy in the UFC?
Although it may have seemed like a longshot, Vakhitov would have likely only needed a few wins in a shallow light heavyweight division to earn a super fight against ‘Poatan’.
The two have fought twice before under the Glory banner, both scoring a win against one another.
The Brazilian has already set out the blueprint, as he was fast-tracked to a UFC title fight because of his long rivalry with Israel Adesanya.
With Pereira potentially coming towards the end of his tenure in the sport, a potential fight against Vakhitov in the UFC now rides on two big fights, with the 37-year-old set for a title rematch against Magomed Ankalaev.
