At one time Russian heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov (17-4) was ranked among the top ten fighters in the world in his weight class, but a lack of fights, just three in the last three years in mma, has saw him fall from the charts.
Now the former Russian Airbrorne Trooper will get a chance to fight his way back to the top of those rankings once again. He’ll get his chance this weekend against former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski in their opening quarterfinal bout of the Strikeforce World Grand Prix heavyweight tournament. Both men co-headline the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva event at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Many fans in North America are unfamiliar with Kharitonov, who has kept himself busy with kickboxing rather than mixed martial arts. That suits him just fine, the Russian prefers to be the gray man of the tournament leaving him with no unwanted attention, that is until he dose something to deserve it.
“To be honest with you, it’s OK for me not to get all the attention, I don’t necessarily want the attention until I prove myself and prove that I deserve the attention. I understand I haven’t fought in the United States since 2007 when I fought in Las Vegas. So people don’t know me right now, but that’s OK. I’d rather not get the attention until I do something to deserve it. I don’t think I’m getting (Arlovski) at the right time necessarily because of the fact he’s coming off three losses, because this is a guy who, those three losses were against some of the best in the world. And before that, he had beaten some of the best in the world. So I don’t think I’m getting someone who is in any way less dangerous than he’s ever been. In fact, he’s probably more motivated that he’s coming off of those losses.”
Check out the rest of the interview and Kharitonov’s comments on fighting in a cage at MMAFighting.com.