Artem Vakhitov, the last kickboxer to defeat current UFC champion Alex Pereira under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, picked up his first win in mixed martial arts.
After suffering a dislocated elbow 55 seconds into his MMA debut in June, Vakhitov returned at a World Ertaymash Federation event in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Saturday, earning a technical knockout over his 0-1 opponent, Siyavush Salokhov.
After a successful amateur career where he won three world championships as well as taking gold in 2013 at the World Combat Games, the Prokopyevsk, Russia native turned pro in 2009 and signed with GLORY Kickboxing four years later.
He claimed the GLORY light heavyweight world title on two separate occasions and currently sits as Combat Press’ No. 6 ranked pound-for-pound kickboxer in the world.
Vakhitov squared off with Alex Pereira in back-to-back bouts, coming up short in their inaugural meeting at GLORY 77 in Rotterdam. With the bout ending via a closely contested split decision, the two immediately ran it back with Vakhitov earning a majority decision to reclaim the light heavyweight crown.
GLORY released Vakhitov from their roster on June 17, 2022, in protest of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.