At the world championship Vitaly defeated Marcus Öberg in the quarter-finals before gaining his revenge on Nakonechnyi in the semi-finals en route to winning gold.

On July 30, 2017 Gurkov became the first 75 kg Muay Thai Gold-medalistat The World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland.

Gurkov showed his amateur skills were not lost on the professional circuit, defeating Australian Greg Foley in the final to win the event.

In 2008, he attempted to qualify for The Contender Asia Season 2 Muay Thai reality show in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

In 2010, Gurkov made his mark on the professional circuit at the K-1 World MAX 2010 East Europe Tournament on March 19 in Minsk, Belarus.

After three rounds, Gurkov was crowned K-1 World MAX 2010 East Europe champion, defeating his opponent by unanimous decision.

This victory meant that Gurkov qualified for kickboxing’s most prestigious competition at the forthcoming K-1 World MAX 2010 Final 16.

[8][9] He defeated Kem Sitsongpeenong by decision to win the WBC Muaythai World Super Welterweight (-69.8 kg/154 lb) Championship at Ring Wars in Milan, Italy on January 25, 2014.

[13] On November 5, 2017 Gurkov won eight-man 75 kg tournament at Kunlun Fight 66 in Wuhan, China, defeating Chinese Nurla Mulali, Thai Arthit Hanchana, and Iranian Hossein Karami.

[14] On July 27, 2019 Gurkov won the 75 kg tournament in Beijing, China to become the first athlete in the promotion to win the belt twice.