Kickboxing Standout Artem Vakhitov Turns Down UFC Contract

Former Alex Pereira rival Artem Vakhitov isn’t going to join the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Vakhitov is among the few men in the world who can boast a victory over Pereira. The Russian beat “Poatan” via majority decision under the Glory kickboxing banner in 2021, avenging a split-decision loss from earlier that year.

Following in Pereira’s footsteps, Vakhitov transitioned to MMA in 2023 and earned a UFC contract with a first round knockout on Dana White's Contender Series last year. However, Vakhitov the rare fighter who is going to pass on his contract from the Contender Series. Vakhitov revealed that the UFC has a standard pay structure for all contracts earned through the Contender Series. While Vakhitov understands the UFC’s strictness with protocols, he couldn’t turn down a much more lucrative contract that Glory offered. The former champ is now going to fight heavyweight champ Rico Verhoeven at Glory 100 on June 14 in Netherlands.

“UFC always offering like a standard contract after Dana White Contender Series… Unfortunately we couldn’t reach an agreement with the UFC. Because they have their own protocol. But we still have good relations with them… Now we’re announcing big fight against Rico Verhoeven,” Vakhitov said on "The Ariel Helwani” show.

Vakhitov is 3-1 in MMA with all three victories coming via knockout.