{"id":66538,"date":"2017-03-27T19:35:07","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T00:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=66538"},"modified":"2017-03-27T19:35:33","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T00:35:33","slug":"top-russian-heavyweight-sergei-kharitonov-commits-to-fighting-on-m-1-challenge-80-card-in-china-breaking-mma-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=66538","title":{"rendered":"Top Russian Heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov Commits to Fighting on M-1 Challenge 80 Card in China – Breaking MMA News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"707c08c1-3883-493a-bf7f-d2f45449ff55\"<\/a>Russian heavyweight Sergei “The Paratrooper” Kharitonov has committed to fighting June 15 on the M-1 Challenge 80 card in Harbin, China. Kharitonov will square-off against veteran Brazilian MMA fighter Marcus Viniciuds “Montanha” Lopes in the main event.<\/p>\n

Kharitonov (23-6-0, M-1: 3-0-0) is undefeated in three M-1 Challenge events having defeated former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner twice, at M-1 Challenge 59 in 2015 at Kazakhstan (WKO\/TKO4 – punches) and M-1 Challenge 43 in 2013 at China, (KO\/TKO3 – injury), and to Alexei Kudin at M-1 Challenge 53 in 2014 Russia (KO2).<\/p>\n

Kharitonov, who has also fought in Strikeforce and PRIDE, has defeated some of the greatest heavyweight MMA fighters of all-time, including Allister Overeem, Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum and Pedro Rizzo.<\/p>\n

Lopes (15-0-0, M-1: 2-1-0) defeated Evgeni Myakinkin by three-round unanimous decision this past February at M-1 Challenge 74. Lopes won a three-round unanimous decision over Kurban Ibragimov in his M-1 debut last July. His lone M-1 loss came at M-1 Challenge 71 this past October to former M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz, who used a choke hold for a third-round submission victory.<\/p>\n

A pressure fighter and solid striker, Lopes is a jiu-jitsu champion in his native Brazil, where most of his MMA fights have been held during his 6 1\/2-years professional career.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with M-1 Global News, Kharitonov said, “I received a lot of offers but I prefer to fight in M-1 Global.” Below is the complete Q & A with Kharitonov:<\/p>\n

Do you know who your opponent will be at M-1 Challenge and, if not, what are your expectations?<\/p>\n

SK: “I don’t not know anything yet. I received an offer from M-1 to fight in China. Since I have been talking with (M-1 Global president) Vadim Finkelchtein for a long time and understand each other, I gave my consent Vadim said I am popular in China and that he wanted me to represent Russia in this tournament. At this moment, I have no thoughts or assumptions about this fight because I’m focused on my upcoming Bellator fight. This is my main objective right now and after that fight I will think about the M-1 fight.”<\/p>\n

Bellator did not give permission for a fight last December in Russia. What changed this time and was it difficult to get permission to fight again in M-1?<\/p>\n

SK: “There were no problems. I do not want to comment on how we came to an agreement, bit one thing is for sure, I’ve received permission and after my next Bellator fight I will fight at M-1 Challenge 80 in China.”<\/p>\n

You fought in China at M-1 Challenge 53. How do you like the local audience there and what are your overall impressions of the tournament?<\/p>\n

SK: “Everything was fine. I liked the level of organization, fans’ attitude toward the athletes, and the response from the public. I think M-1 has good experience in terms of holding tournaments in China, so this time they can make it an even bigger show.”<\/p>\n

Do you accept offers to fight from other Russian organizations and why did you decided to fight in M-1?<\/p>\n

SK: “Yes, I received a lot of offers, especially recently. I won’t say specifically but they were from major Russian MMA organizations. But I have a long relationship with M-1 and me and Vadim know each other well. We get along well and trust each other. Therefore, O prefer to fight in M-1 Global.”<\/p>\n