Kharitonov v. Arlovski - Strikeforce GP

Here is Sergei Kharitonov fighting Andrei Arlovski in the Strikeforce Grand Prix which took place on 2/12/11 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Kharitonov (23-5) is set to make his Bellator debut against Josh Appelt (12-5) on May 14th. Kharitonov has won 5 straight since a submission loss to Josh Barnett. He has career wins over Alistair Overeem, Ninja Rua and Fabricio Werdum.

Arlovkski (25-11) next fights Alistair Overeem at UFN 87 on May 8th. He had his 6 fight win streak snapped by Stipe Miocic at UFC 195.

Sergei Kharitonov v. Alistair Overeem 2

Here is Sergei Kharitonov fighting Alistair Overeem at K1 - Hero's which took place on 9/17/07 in Yokohama, Japan.

Overeem (37-14) next meets Stefan Struve at UFC on Fox 13 on 12/13/14. Kharitonov (21-5) will next fight Satoshi Ishii at M-1 Challenge 53 on 11/11/14 in Beijing, China.

Video of the Day - Monson v. Kharitonov

Here is Sergei Kharitonov fighting Jeff Monson at Dream 8 which took place on 4/5/09 at the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Japan.

Monson will fight Alexey Oleinik this weekend in M-1 Global.

Strikeforce Epic Heavyweight Tournament

The MMA world is buzzing after the opening bouts of Strikeforce's Heavyweight Grand Prix style tournament involving eight top 25 heavyweights. The next round will take place on April 9th somewhere on planet Earth. Japan, Canada and many locations in the United States have been rumored, but the status of Josh Barnett's fight license will likely force Strikeforce's hand.

The opening bouts saw MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko get crushed in the second round by the notably bigger Antonio Silva. In addition, Andrei Arlovski will likely be out of the game for a long time following a dramatic knock-out loss to the hands of Russian slugger Sergei Kharitonov.

The next round will see K-1, Dream and Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem fighting ADCC champion Fabricio Werdum in a mega fight. In addition, former UFC champ Josh Barnett will face hard hitting Brett Rogers.

Alistair Overeem's Strikeforce HW belt will not be on the line, as the tournament will crown an independent Grand Prix Champion. Look for Werdum to try to force the floor at all times to avoid Alistair's destructive stand-up game.

Round 1 Results:

Antonio Silva def Fedor Emelianenko via TKO, R2, 5:00
Sergei Kharitonov def Andrei Arlovski via KO, R1, 2:49

Reserve Bout Winners:

Shane Del Rosario def Lavar Johnson via Sub(armbar) R1, 4:31
Chad Griggs def Gian Villante via TKO (strikes) R1, 2:49
Valentijn Overeem def Ray Sefo via Sub (neck crank) R1, 1:37

Remaining Round 1 bouts:

Alistair Overeem v. Fabricio Werdum (April 9th)
Brett Rogers v. Josh Barnett (April 9th)


Final Four Qualifiers:

Antonio Silva (16-2)- "Pezao" or "Bigfoot" is a strong heavyweight that meets the top end of the 265 pound limit. A lifelong martial artist, Silva has black belts in Karate, Judo and BJJ. Silva rose to fame by winning the heavyweight title in Elite XC, though he later tested positive for steroids. Silva blamed the test on a testosterone-booster that he uses to counteract the low testosterone levels caused by his acromegaly.

In the opening round of the tournament, Bigfoot had a very close 1st round matching the stand-up skills of Fedor Emelienenko. However in the second round, Bigfoot took advantage of Fedor utilizing his ground skills establishing dominant position, then crushing his foe with his massive fists.

Silva will go as far as his big time power and ground game will take him. Silva has TKO wins over Tom Erikson, Mike Kyle and Wesley Correira. He has decision wins over Andrei Arlovski and Ricco Rodriguez.


Sergei Kharitonov (18-4)- This Russian Airborne soldier gained notierity in the MMA world with his entertaining bouts in the Pride organization. A former training partner with Fedor Emelianenko, Kharitonov emerged in the 2004 Pride HW GP when he KO'd Ninja Rua and kickboxing legend Semmy Schilt.

Expect Kharitonov went toe to toe with Andrei Arlovski in his opening round bout, and despite taking some shots eventually got the better of Arlovski. Kharitonov used nasty uppercuts and punches to the body, eventually sending Arlovski to the canvas and finishing him off with strong ground and pound. Kharitonov has other victories over tournament front runners Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.


Remaining 1st Round Fighters:

Alistair Overeem (34-11)- Since becoming a full-time heavyweight, Overeem's career has shot off the charts. He is 9-0 since a September 2007 KO loss to fellow tourney competitor Sergei Kharitonov. Even more impressive, Alistair was able to capture the 2010 K-1 Grand Prix World Championship, defeating kickboxing legend Peter Aerts in the final.

Overeem is the defending Strikeforce HW champion, having won the title against Paul Buentello and defending against Brett Rogers. A powerful kickboxer with upper level submission skills, Overeem has other victories against Vitor Belfort, Todd Duffee and Igor Vovchanchyn.  Overeem will look to keep the fight standing against Werdum.


Fabricio Werdum (14-4)- Werdum sent shockwaves through the MMA world in his last fight, a one minute long bout with Fedor Emelianenko which saw the Russian tapping. As the bout unfolded, Werdum was punched, went to the canvas, and then baited an aggressive Fedor into the fight ending triangle/armbar choke. The submission won MMA Blaster's submission of the year.

Fabricio Werdum will be looking to get the fight with Overeem to the ground early and often to utilize his world renown jiu-jitsu skills. The task will be difficult, but Werdum has defeated many top fighters, including Brandon Vera, Junior Silva, Gabriel Gonzaga, Aleks Emelianenko and Fedor Emelianenko. Werdum is the 2007 and 2009 ADCC HW champ.


Josh Barnett (26-5)- The submission wizard and pro wrestling fanatic, Josh Barnett is an interesting character in the martial arts world. Barnett is still a wild card in the tournament, still not having cleared up a positive steroid test in California. If troubles persist, look for an alternate to take Barnett's place.

With the positive test looming in the United States, Barnett fought twice in Japan in 2010, winning via TKO over Geronimo dos Santos and submitting Mighty Mo Siliga. Barnett rose to fame in the early UFC, defeating Semmy Schilt and Bobby Hoffman to earn a title shot against Randy Couture. Barnett would defeat Couture via TKO at UFC 36, but tested positive for three banned substances. Barnett would go on to acheive success in Pride, going to the finals of the 2006 HW Grand Prix.


Brett Rogers (11-2)- The hard hitting Rogers rose to fame in the Elite XC when he rattled off four straight wins to earn a fight against Andrei Arlovski. Rogers would go on to knock out Arlovski with a clean shot, catapulting him into a match with Fedor Emelianenko.

Rogers would fight Fedor at Strikeforce, Chicago and battle the Russian to a close first round. In the second, Rogers ate a big shot and his night was finished. Rogers next fought Alistair Overeem to disappointing results. Since, Rogers rebounded with a win over Warpath Villareal.

Dream 8 Preview

Dream will also have an event going on Sunday, April 5th in its Dream 8 event. The event kick off the Dream 8-man 170 pound tournament. Also, the last 139 pound bout will take place in Hata v. Tokoro. The event will be shown on a 5 day delay on HDNet. The headliner bout between Sergei Kharitonov and Jeff Monson should be interesting, as Sergei only fought once in 2008 beating Jimmy Abriz.

Non-Tourney Bouts

Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jeff Monson
Katsuhiko Nagata vs. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
Andrews Nakahara vs. Shungo Oyama
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa vs. Katsuyori Shibata

170 Pound WW Tournament

Shinya Aoki vs. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Jason High vs. Yuya Shirai
Seichi Ikemoto vs. Marius Zaromskis
John Alessio vs. Andre Galvao

139 Pound FW Tournament Final Bout

Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata vs. Hideo Tokoro


(Sergei Kharitonov pictured)

Dream 6

Here are the Dream 6 results. If you haven't gotten a chance, check out mmascraps, dailymotion or hdnet for the fights.

RESULTS

MW Reserve Bout
Andrews Nakahara def. Dong Sik Yoon via TKO (Punches), 0:30 of R2
MW Grand Prix Semi-Final Bout
Gegard Mousasi def. Melvin Manhoef via Submission (Triangle Choke), 1:28 of R1
MW Grand Prix Semi-Final Bout
Ronaldo "Jacare" De Souza def. Zelg Galesic via Sub (Armbar), 1:27 of R1
Keita Nakamura def. Adriano Martins via Dec (Split)
Sergei Kharitonov def. Jimmy Ambriz via TKO (Strikes), 2:15 of R1
Atsushi Yamamoto def. Hideo Tokoro via Dec (Unanimous)
Masakatsu Funaki def. Ikuhisa Minowa via Sub (Inverted Heel Hook), 0:32 of R1
Hayato Sakurai def. Kuniyoshi Hironaka via Dec (Unanimous)
Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Masanori Tonooka via Sub (Armbar), 6:26 of R1
Shinya Aoki def. Todd Moore via Sub (Neck Crank), 1:07 of R1
Alistair Overeem vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was ruled a No Contest - Overeem was winning the fight but repeadedly threw knees into Cro Cop's groin.

Middleweight Grand Prix Final Bout
Gegard Mousasi def. Ronaldo "Jacare" de Souza via KO (Upkick) at 2:15 of Round 1- Gegard Mousasi threw an absolutely nasty upkick to knock Jacare out. Jacare had the takedown, then was looking to pass when he was hit square in the jaw. Probably the nastiest upkick since Renzo Gracie v. Oleg Taktarov.

Where is Sergei Kharitonov?

Sergei Kharitonov (15-3) is a Russian born heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter. The Russian Top Team product is still on active duty with Russia's Airborne Troops division. Like most Russian fighters, Sergei started out in combat Sambo in his later teens along with boxing. He has been a training partner with Fedor Emelianenko. He has notable wins over Semmy Schilt, Fabricio Werdum, Pedro Rizzo, Alistair Overeem, Mike Russow and Ninja Rua. Sergei's last fight was in September 07 in K1 Hero's, now Dream.


Kharitonov v. Overeem^