Strikeforce Fedor vs. Silva Results: Sergei Kharitonov KOs Andrei Arlovski

Nick CaronFeb 12, 2011

The first fight in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix featured Russian kickboxer Sergei Kharitonov vs. former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.

Arlovski came off of a streak of three straight losses, albeit to three of the best fighters in the world, but three losses nonetheless. After once being considered one of the top heavyweights in the world, Arlovski is on the verge of slipping out of real contention as his chin has become the major question mark surrounding his once very promising career.

Kharitonov has been seemingly in and out of mixed martial arts, having fought only three MMA fights since his 2007 victory over Alistair Overeem, the last loss that Overeem has on his record.

This fight will be a major determining factor on the future of these two men’s MMA careers as both of these veterans could use this win in a big way.

Round One:

The fight started off with both men fairly hesitant for the first few seconds. Arlovski broke up the standstill with a leg kick followed by a punch that seemed to clip Kharitonov a bit. Kharitonov moved in but Arlovski pushed him away with a front push kick.

Seconds later, Arlovski was back on the offensive as he threw a head kick that was mostly blocked followed by right hand that connected. This started a flurry of punches between both men where each appeared to land grazing shots but nothing real solid.

The two eventually clinched against the cage for awhile, with neither man really doing much damage, but Kharitonov appeared to get the better of the exchanges.

After awhile, the clinching benefited Kharitonov even more as he began to really land some nice shots. Arlovski stood his ground and tried to throw back but was wild and missed a lot of shots.

Khar landed a series of huge shots with Arlovski’s back against cage, but a right hook to the jaw sent Arlovski stunned to the ground!

Arlovski threw his legs up to try to defend the Russian from finishing the fight, but Kharitonov smelled blood and would not be stopped. With a right-left-right combo on the ground, Arlovski went stiff and was completely out as the referee stopped the contest at 2:49 in the first round, declaring the winner by TKO, Sergei Kharitonov.

Result: Sergei Kharitonov defeats Andrei Arlovski by knockout, round one.

This violent knockout loss is now the seventh of Arlovski’s career, his third in his last four fights. The chin continues to be the biggest concern for Andrei as he seems to be getting hit on the button regularly and collapsing seemingly in every fight.

Kharitonov, on the other hand, really made an impact tonight with this big knockout victory. He was considered by some to be a big dark horse to win it all going into the tournament and this performance only strengthens those predictions.

After the fight, Kharitonov was interviewed in the ring and asked about what he thought of the experts predicting him to be a dark horse in the tournament.

“I could care less what the experts think,” Kharitonov confidently responded. “I’m going to win this tournament.”

Big words, but who can really blame him? He is now 18-4 in his MMA career with wins over a former UFC Heavyweight champion and the current Strikeforce Heavyweight champion.

Kharitonov will now move on in the tournament to face the winner of Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, while the rumors of a possible retirement from Andrei Arlovski begin to flood the internet.