Video – Ex-GLORY Kickboxing champion Artem Vakhitov suffers dislocated elbow in MMA debut

In his mixed martial arts debut, things did not go according to plan for former GLORY Kickboxing light heavyweight champion Artem Vakhitov.

Known by most MMA fans as the last man to defeat ex-UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira in the world of kickboxing, Artem Vakhitov stepped into the cage on Sunday for a main event clash with Ashraf Bashandy at Open FC 31 in Shergesh, Russia. In the opening minute of the matchup, Bashandy had Vakhitov pressed against the cage wall and appeared to pull guard, dragging Vakhitov down on top of him. During the impact, Vakhitov seemingly injured his elbow prompting him to get the referee’s attention and ultimately end the fight at the 55-second mark.

Artem Vakhitov and Alex Pereira Both Lost Their MMA Debuts

Artem Vakhitov made his GLORY Kickboxing debut in 2013, going 5-1 en route to winning his first light heavyweight title with the promotion. He would go on to defend the title five times before surrendering the belt to Alex Pereira in 2021. Running it back eight months later, Vakhitov would recapture the light heavyweight title with a majority decision over Pereira. Shortly following the loss, ‘Poatan’ would exit the promotion and make his transition to mixed martial arts, a decision that ultimately led him back to long-time rival Israel Adesanya.

Of course, we all know how that story goes with Alex Pereira capturing the UFC middleweight title before handing it right back to ‘The Last Stylebender’ five months later.

Artem Vakhitov is hoping to generate similar results in his own mixed martial arts career. Despite suffering an anti-climactic defeat in his first outing, Vakhitov can take solace in the fact that even Alex Pereira lost his own MMA debut in 2015, suffering a third-round rear-naked choke.