UFC White House co-headliner Ciryl Gane is implementing the same strategy Jamahal Hill used ahead of UFC 300, comparing notes with a high-profile fighter who already beat UFC two-division champion Alex Pereira
. Hopefully Gane remembers what happened to “Sweet Dreams” before switching up his gameplan.“Bon Gamin” has enlisted Russian kickboxer Artem Vakhitov to prepare for the June 14 showdown in Washington, DC. “The Siberian Hitman” defeated Pereira for the light heavyweight title at Glory 78 in Rotterdam
back in late 2021, avenging a previous loss to “Poatan” at Glory 77, also in Rotterdam.
“Everyone’s scared, but you don’t need to be scared, just pressure him first,” Vakhitov said on the UFC White House “Countdown” preview. “What makes Alex Pereira dangerous is his stone hands. He has knocked out many people in kickboxing and MMA. 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.”
The only time Pereira looked “lost” was against Magomed Ankalaev in their first fight at UFC 313 in March 2025. Then “Poatan” came roaring back to crush “Big Ank” in just over a minute at UFC 320 later that year. The Brazilian’s only other UFC defeat came at middleweight during his Israel Adesanya firefight at UFC 287.
“Adesanya, a classic kickboxer, he exposed the weakness and landed the shot,” Vakhitov added. “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 has 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.”
Vakhitov, 35, seemed destined to join the 38-year-old Pereira in UFC after laying waste to Islem Masraf on Dana White’s “Contender Series” roughly one year back; however, the Russian bruiser was unable to come to terms on a UFC contract and took his talents back to the kickboxing circuit.
“Ciryl Gane is training with Vakhitov? It doesn’t make a difference,” Pereira responded. “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 (Gane) 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 (expletive) tough.’”
He’s also 242 pounds for his heavyweight title fight.
