Alex Pereira is unfazed by his former kickboxing rival getting involved in Ciryl Gane’s prep for UFC Freedom 250.
Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) takes on Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for the interim heavyweight title in Sunday’s co-main event (Paramount+) at the White House in Washington.
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Helping Gane train for Pereira is Artem Vakhitov, who’s the last man to defeat “Poatan” in kickboxing.
“Everyone’s scared, but you don’t need to be scared,” Vakhitov told Gane on UFC Countdown. “What makes Alex Pereira dangerous is his stone hands. He has knocked many people out in kickboxing and MMA. (He has) minimal technique, but very effective strikes that land. His weakness is his openness. He has a very strong attack, but his defense suffers. Many opponents lose mentally in the fight because they enter already afraid of him. That should not be done.
“You need to take initiative yourself, go forward and be aggressive. Then he starts to get lost. (Israel) Adesanya, a classic kickboxer, he exposed the weakness and landed the shot. Ciryl is also a kickboxer. He has very good movement, speed, timing and feel. It will be a very interesting fight. We’ve seen that Alex gained weight. I don’t think that will work in his favor because Ciryl feels comfortable at this weight. The fight will end early. Ciryl will finish the job and take the title.”
Pereira dismissed Vakhitov’s comments.
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“Ciryl Gane’s training with Vakhitov? It doesn’t make a difference,” Pereira said. “Kickboxing and MMA are different sports, and I’m not the same fighter I was when I fought Vakhitov. I’ve evolved a lot. Maybe he thinks the guy can give him some useful information, but he’s the one who’s going to be in there with me. If Artem Vakhitov is an honest guy, the most important thing he’ll say is, ‘Be careful with this guy. He’s f*cking tough.'”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Alex Pereira: Vakhitov giving Gane advice ‘doesn’t make a difference’
