Barely three fights into his MMA career, Artem Vakhitov is already a star, despite him being 2-1 in his fledgling MMA career so far. But the 33-year-old is not just any new fighter starting on a long and arduous journey. The Russian is already combat sports royalty.

After all, he is a former Glory Kickboxing light heavyweight champion, where he had two memorable clashes with UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira. And as Vakhitov gears up for a shot at settling his unfinished business with ‘Poatan’, let us take a look at Vakhitov’s background and martial arts career.

All about Artem Vakhitov’s background and nationality

For as long as he can remember, Artem Vakhitov has been training in martial arts. Born in the southern coal town of Prokopyevsk, in the USSR (now Russia) in 1991. Vakhitov started training in basic martial arts under his father at the age of five. The Russian national would soon enroll in a local Karate dojo and train in the discipline for the next six years.

However, when his family moved to another part of the city, quite far from the dojo, he was forced to give up Karate. But, it seems this was because fate had other, even greater plans for the Russian native. Not willing to give up martial arts, Vakhitov would unknowingly take the most important decision of his life at eleven.

The future Glory champion joined the Kuzbass Muay Thai gym where started training under coach Vitaly Miller, the gym and coach he would continue to train under throughout his illustrious kickboxing career. Not to mention it would start him on a journey to the top of the martial arts world, the last chapter of which is yet to be written and combat sports fans cannot wait for.

By the time Vakhitov was seventeen, he was the best amateur kickboxer in all of Russia. Quite a strong statement to make, we know, but one that is more than justified by his accolades. In 2008, he would become the International Federation of Muay Thai Associations (IFMA) champion of Russia, going on to repeat the feat four times more over the next five years. But that was just the beginning.

Artem Vakhitov’s MMA, Kickboxing record; Alex Pereira rivalry & More

Pretty soon, he would also prove himself the best amateur kickboxer in the world by winning the IFMA world championships thrice in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Just for good measure, the Russian prodigy would win the 2013 edition of the World Combat Games, after having placed second in 2010. Surprisingly, Vakhitov had his first pro fight in 2009, even though he would compete in amateur tournaments until 2015.

Another turning point in the Russian’s career came when joined Glory FC in 2013. Vakhitov would go on to become the Glory light heavyweight champion in 2016 and went on a fantastic five-year undefeated run as champ. Interestingly, this was unceremoniously ended by Alex Pereira at their Glory 77 clash in 2021.

‘Poatan’ won a close split decision over the Russian, naturally leading to an immediate rematch, which turned out to be even closer. Vakhitov eked through a majority decision victory regaining his title and levelling the score with Pereira. Two years later, the Russian retired from kickboxing and followed ‘Poatan’ into MMA with an overall kickboxing record of 22-6-0.

Now the Russian will fight for a UFC spot on Dana White‘s Contender Series on October 8, despite his MMA record of 2-1. To be fair, he only lost his pro-MMA debut in 2023 because of an injury and is a prodigal talent. And if he does indeed win his DWCS bout, the UFC will have a new and very exciting storyline. Not many newcomers can boast of having an already well-developed rivalry with the current face of the UFC. What are your thoughts on Artem Vakhitov’s illustrious martial arts career?