Kickboxer Artem Vakhitov Set For MMA Debut On June 11th
Artem Vakhitov, the former champion of Glory Kickboxing, is set to switch to MMA for his debut at Open FC 31 on June 11th, 2023.
Vakhitov will face Ashraf Bashandy in Shergesh, Russia, as reported by MMA Fighting.
Bashandy has previously won four out of five amateur fights, with three of those victories being by submission, which is why the bout will offer much.
Former GLORY Light Heavyweight Champion Artem Vakhitov will make his MMA debut on June 11th at Open FC 31 against Ashraf Bashandy.#ViolentMoney #VMTV #MMA #Kickboxing pic.twitter.com/YwsouQQ6f6
— Violent Money TV (@ViolentMoneyTV) April 30, 2023
Artem boasts an impressive track record of 23 victories in kickboxing, out of which eight were by knockout.
Vakhitov also successfully defended his GLORY world championship five times before losing the belt to Alex Pereira.
However, Vakhitov did regain the title by securing a majority decision over Pereira.
Vakhitov had expressed his interest in transitioning to MMA for sometime, and by the looks of it, the combat sport community has gotten behind him.
Social Media Reaction
Excited to see this.
— Paco Johnson (@ColdtakesMMA) April 30, 2023
He’s so good too
— 🥷🏼⚔️ (@tonytimebaby) April 30, 2023
This should be real interesting
— SniperPheanom (@SniperPheanom) May 1, 2023