Earning a spot in the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) is a dream for many fighters, but one contract winner recently made the surprising decision to walk away from it.
Former GLORY light heavyweight champion Artem Vakhitov punched his ticket to the UFC in October with a statement-making knockout victory over Islem Masraf during Season 8, Week 9 of DWCS.
Vakhitov’s arrival in the UFC was highly anticipated, as he holds the distinction of being the last man to defeat former two-division titleholder Alex Pereira in a kickboxing contest back in September 2021 — just before “Poatan” made his full-time transition to MMA.
However, on Tuesday, the 33-year-old Russian announced on The Ariel Helwani Show that he had decided to forgo the opportunity to sign with the UFC and will instead face reigning GLORY heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven in the main event of GLORY 100 on June 14.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach an agreement with UFC,” Vakhitov said through a translator. “Because they have their own protocol, but we still have good relations with them, so that’s it. Now we’re announcing a big fight against Rico Verhoeven. I think Rico doesn’t need to be [explained as an opponent] because he’s well known and, for sure, we wanted this fight a long time ago. For me, it’s a good opportunity to become a double champion, and it was in my mind a very long time ago.”
Vakhitov further weighed in on his decision, revealing that his choice to decline a potential UFC run was largely influenced by dissatisfaction with the promotion’s financial structure and strict contractual obligations.
“UFC always works off a standard contract after Dana White’s Contender Series. Unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement, or [there were] some things couldn’t agree [on]. When we got an offer [from GLORY] and we saw the news that all the Russian fighters are coming back to GLORY, we got an offer to fight against Rico and probably the possibility to become a double champion, we agreed very easily. And for sure, for good money, why not?”
Reports suggest that a standard DWCS contract includes a clause granting the UFC the power to lock a chosen fighter into a 20-month commitment spanning four bouts.
Vakhitov’s most recent kickboxing bout took place under the Muaythai Factory banner in February 2022, where he secured a unanimous decision victory over Pascal Touré.
