When it came to heavyweights in PRIDE, there was always one name that was among the most feared: Sergei Kharitonov. The Russian Mercenary had the physique that someone wouldn’t be afraid of on the street, but his reputation itself is something that intimidates people to this day. He’s had legendary battles with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Fabricio Werdum and even knocked out K-1 Kickboxing Champion Semmy Schilt; Kharitonov was and still is no joke. That’s why at Pride 31, nobody expected Alistair Overeem (who was making his heavyweight debut) to defeat Kharitonov by knockout.
A little over a year later in 2007 the two met in the middle of a ring again in Japan, this time under the “Hero’s” banner at “Hero’s 10”. Since their first meeting, Kharitonov went 1-1, including a blood-feud loss to Alexander Emelianenko. Alistair Overeem was 3-4 since his fight with Kharitonov, his only notable win being over Vitor Belfort. Only one man could walk away the victor the second time around, and the fight ended in an impressive and unexpected fashion.
Sadly we will never see how a third bout between these two will go as Alistair Overeem is set to take on Brock Lesnar in December and Sergei Kharitonov is facing Josh Barnett this Saturday.
