UFC legend Chael Sonnen has urged former two-time Glory Kickboxing champion Artem Vakhitov to rethink the way he’s currently approaching his pursuit of Alex Pereira in mixed martial arts.
Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight champion in MMA’s leading promotion, is beginning to find himself on the opposite end of a narrative he rode all the way to the top in the UFC following his promotional debut in 2021.
“Poatan” arrived with hype already around his name owing to his history with then-middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya, whom he got the better of twice in the kickboxing ring.
The Brazilian capitalized on that story to secure a faster-than-usual rise to the belt, ultimately capturing it from “The Last Stylebender” before immediately dropping it back and moving onto other things a division up.
Now, having cemented his grip on the 205-pound crown and enhanced his legacy in MMA, a figure from Pereira’s striking past has emerged.
In his final kickboxing bout, the former two-weight Glory champion was outpointed by Vakhitov months on from his own narrow decision victory over the Russian. Vakhitov has also since transitioned to the cage, and he recently began his pursuit of a combat sports trilogy with Pereira by taking aim at his skillset.
But one man who certainly boasts experience in the realm of MMA storylines believes the MMA newcomer is going about things in the wrong way…
Sonnen Tells Vakhitov To ‘Join’ Pereira, Not Target Him
During a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen reacted to the recent war of words between Vakhitov and Pereira, who reacted to his former rival’s remarks with a warning and some advice regarding the need for management.
Sonnen made the obvious comparison between “Poatan’s” transition to MMA and subsequent pursuit of Adesanya. But in contrast to that, “The Bad Guy” believes it would be wise for Vakhitov to align himself with the light heavyweight champ.
“Artem did an interview, and I can’t tell you that he did anything wrong,” Sonnen said. “He’s coming over the MMA and he’s got a win over Pereira. I can’t deny that that story works. … We know that it works, that’s the exact formula Pereira did when he came over; ‘I beat Izzy, I beat your champion. I’m now coming to your sport. I beat him over here, why would I not beat him in this one as well?’ You don’t want to have the secret sauce to beat a guy, and that’s all that you’ve got, ‘I can take out your champion.’ It can’t be, because even if it’s true, you can’t get to him.
“I feel that the best way to do it is to join him. I feel that instead of Artem coming in and doing what makes the most sense to him, which is create heat, create a story, ‘I want to get to Pereira, I’m gonna start calling Pereira out straight away.’ Believe me, I understand it…(but) kickboxing does not come over with enough of an audience,” Sonnen continued. “I’m only suggesting for you that Artem come in different and he come in with Pereira. ‘We are taking over,’ and he associates himself with Pereira. ‘We kickboxers, we’ve always been the hardest sport.’ … I think if he just associates himself with Alex Pereira, it might be a better approach.'”
It remains to be seen whether Vakhitov will heed Sonnen’s advice following his recent back and forth with Pereira. For the time being, though, the Russian will be focused on securing his path to the Octagon to ensure he’s competing under the same banner as “Poatan.”
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