With UFC Unwilling to Budge on Contract, Artem Vakhitov Jumps Ship, Takes Fight with Rico Verhoeven

With UFC Unwilling to Budge on Contract, Artem Vakhitov Jumps Ship, Takes Fight with Rico Verhoeven

Artem Vakhitov arrived on Dana White’s Contender Series last year billed as the last man to beat Alex Pereira in kickboxing. The premise was simple: here’s a fighter who could, like Pereira before him, flourish in MMA, and rise up to a point where a rematch with “Poatan” could be possible. Things were headed in the right direction when the Russian won his DWCS appearance. A future showdown with Pereira seemed to be in the cards. It won’t be happ…