By Shawn Smith


Old school fight fans first became familiar with Sergei Kharitonov on October 5, 2003. As the much-beloved PRIDE FC organization began to boast of the best heavyweight division in the sport, a little-known Russian came in and made a splash.

Then 23, Kharitonov burst onto the scene in the PRIDE Bushido series. He quickly submitted little-known Jason Suttie, followed just four months later with another submission victory at PRIDE 27 of Cory Peterson.

And for those who missed his first two PRIDE bouts, they certainly didn’t miss the follow up ones. His knockout victories over Murilo “Ninja” Rua in April of 2004 and Semmy Schilt in June of 2004 made Kharitonov the new kid on the block.

But the Moscow native has always been overlooked, partially because he’s always been matched against the toughest heavyweights in the world and partially because he happens to fight in the same generation as another great Russian heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko.

At Bellator 175, Kharitonov will continue to try and carve out his own legacy. Kharitonov will face American-born Chase Gormley in what could be the Russian’s last stand if he hopes to make a splash on the North American fight scene.

“The motivation is still there, especially after a recent loss,” Kharitonov said through translator Mike Kogan. “You go back to the gym with a different kind of hunger. He’s motivated, he loves to train and he wants a title shot.”

To call Kharitonov’s career a roller coaster might be an understatement. Every time he’s been able to put together a series of victories, a loss or two seems to knock him down to size. After four straight wins in PRIDE, Nogueira was able to win a decision over him. He put together four more victories, before getting knocked out by Alistair Overeem and Aleksander Emelianenko. In Strikeforce, Kharitonov was submitted by Josh Barnett after a career-defining victory over Andrei Arlovski.

Most recently, it was a five-fight win streak halted by heavy-handed Californian Javy Ayala.

“I can’t find anything specific, something was off,” Kharitonov said of his fight with Ayala. “It might be something in the approach, but it would be different in a rematch.”

And while Kharitonov is focused solely on Gormley, he hasn’t forgotten about Ayala.

“Right now, I’m focused on Chase Gormley,” Kharitonov said. “My immediate focus is a rematch with Javy Avela. I’ll worry about the rest once I get through those.”

Kharitonov reinforced he’ll be asking for a rematch with Ayala if he’s successful against Gormley.

He’s has never been afraid of a challenge, with most of his losses coming against elite heavyweights such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, Aleksander Emelianenko and Josh Barnett.

His career had oddly mirrored that of his country-mate Emelianenko, travelling from PRIDE to Strikeforce, M-1 to Bellator. And despite sporting wins over heavyweights Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski, he’s never quite been able to break through to that next level.

Kharitonov is no longer the spry 23-year-old that took PRIDE FC by storm. At 36, he is struggling to convince fans, and perhaps himself, that he can continue to compete at the elite level of mixed martial arts. He is adamant that he has probably 10 years of fighting left in him and has not thought about retirement at all.

He hasn’t had a notable victory since his knockout of Arlovski in February of 2011. A loss to Gormley would end Kharitonov’s chances of a heavyweight title push, as well as his chances of a rematch with Ayala. It would likely send him scrambling home to fight for local Russian promotions, and perhaps out of the consciousness of North American fight fans forever.

If fight fans know one thing, it’s that power is always the last thing to go. Kharitonov has the strength and ability to knockout any heavyweight fighter in the world, he just needs to create the opportunity.

A win over Gormley would remind fans of what the heavy-handed Russian is capable of and perhaps begin the career resurgence he is desperately looking for.