Alex Pereira went to bat for his former kickboxing rival, Artem Vakhitov. Luckily for him, Dana White was willing to listen.

Alex Pereira and Artem Vakhitov may be fierce rivals when it comes to combat sports, but there’s nothing but respect between them outside the ring. On Tuesday night, Vakhitov scored a first-round knockout on Contender Series but UFC CEO Dana White was on the fence about whether or not to sign him to a contract.

Artem Vakhitov picked up a huge win on Dana White's Contender Series - and Alex Pereira was right there to watch it all unfold.