Former GLORY champ Artem Vakhitov is hoping he’ll be booked in a rematch with Alex Pereira – but he wouldn’t be opposed to fighting the man that made Pereira famous in the MMA space either. Russian kickboxer Vakhitov recently traveled to California, where he served as a sparring partner for Edmen Shahbazyan in his preparation for a UFC 262 clash with Jack Hermansson. “I was glad to do it and have been very interested before to prepare with a top MMA fighter,” Vakhitov told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “I agreed to the proposal immediately when they reached out. It was a great opportunity.” A striking specialist, Vakhitov wasn’t Shahbazyan’s only sparring partner for Hermansson, who boasts a strong ground game in his arsenal to go along with his standup skills.
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