Veteran Sergei Kharitonov has one last MMA motivation: a Bellator title fight
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Less than seven months after Matt Mitrione stood over the crumpled body of Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 215, their roles reversed.
Saturday, at Bellator 225 at Webster Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., Kharitonov (30-7 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) took one step closer to erasing the memory of the fight-ending low blow against Mitrione (13-7 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in February.
Unlike their fist outing, this bout had a definitive winner. After absorbing frequent Mitrione kicks in the opening minutes, Kharitonov scored a vicious uppercut-to-knee combination for the TKO win.
Despite the potential for nightmarish flashbacks, Kharitonov indicated he wasn’t phased by the kick-heavy offense. The Russian explained he realizes accidents happen in MMA.
“It’s just a sport,” Kharitonov told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter post-fight at Bellator 225. “Everything is fair. So no emotions or anything. Just sport.”
As reporters fielded questions to the heavyweight contender, a common theme emerged. Almost all of Kharitonov’s answers, whether related to the question or not, contained the same two words “title fight.”
The 39-fight veteran has competed all of the world for numerous top-level organizations, but a Bellator title fight has eluded him. The Russian heavyweight kept it short and sweet when speaking about the title.
“I only have one motivation,” Kharitonov said. “It’s a title fight.”
While he did not elect to give his prediction for the heavyweight title clash between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226 on Sept. 7, Kharitonov said he’d be willing and ready to step in if either fighter fell off the card.
“No predictions,” Kharitonov said. “But if someone signs out, I’m ready to fill in.
With the victory, Kharitonov has now won three out of his five outings with the promotion, including the no-contest with Mitrione in Feb. 2019. His last loss came to Javy Ayala in his promotional debut at Bellator 163 in Nov. 2016.