A VALENTIJN’S DAY TO REMEMBER FOR GOLDEN GLORY FIGHTERS KHARITONOV AND OVEREEM

[Hammerkick]

A VALENTIJN’S DAY TO REMEMBER FOR GOLDEN GLORY FIGHTERS KHARITONOV AND OVEREEM


STRIKEFORCE GRAND PRIX

The latest Golden Glory teammates invading America and the MMA world are Sergey “Granite” Kharitonov and Valentijn “The Python” Overeem both whom handily obliterated their respective opponent’s while steamrolling through their Strikeforce promotional debuts.

Valentijn’s brother, Alistair Overeem's decisively dominant dismantling of Duffee at Dream's Dynamite capped an impressive 2010 for the famed Golden Glory camp. Most notably known for their worldwide standup dominance winning 5 of the last 6 K-1 Grand Prix’s, Golden Glory is rapidly becoming a force in the Mixed Martial Arts world and the entire Fight Game.

After an electric crowd erupted during the firework extravaganza inside the IZOD Center in East Rutherford NJ, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix was underway. Opening the event was a trio of alternate bouts, all of which would end with first round stoppages.

International K-1 superstar Rey Sefo faced an experienced Valentijn Overeem in the first fight of the night. After a brief feeling out process, strikes started flying. A few near misses and Valentijn saw an opening and shot a takedown. The imposing Overeem forced Sefo to quickly tap to a variation of a neck crank; I’ll name the Python Crank. When focused, Valentijn can be one of the fiercest competitors and toughest draws for anyone at heavyweight. He was in top physical shape as always, but also looked more motivated and determined than in a long time. Look out for Valentijn in 2011.

After an extremely competitive opening, Shane del Rosario submitted Lavar Johnson with just under a minute left in the first round, proving himself to be in line for a serious step up in competition. Chad Griggs continued to shock the promotion and his opponents in an explosive fight that ended quickly with Griggs dropping and finishing Gian Villante.

The entire night was thrilling and an emotional roller coaster. Fans could not find their seats, standing room only for most of the night; the Main Event lived up to the hype. The greatest heavyweight of all time and a heavily fan favorite Fedor Emelianenko showed more heart and grit than any has seen in a long time. After what many believed a first round eked out by Fedor, his massively larger foe Antonio Big Foot Silva showed not only were the 50 pounds a factor but his skill and technique were to be admired. The cage side Dr. stopped the fight due to a closed right eye of Emelianenko much to the displeasure of the ruckus crowd. The warrior Fedor left the cage with a loss but winning over more fans than he ever had.

The other Golden Glory fighter, training out of Golden Glory Pattaya which saw perhaps the greatest performance of the night; goes to the ”sleeper”, if you will, Sergey Kharitonov. After sparring with guys like Semmy Schilt, Gohkan Saki, Alistair Overeem, Errol Zimmerman to name a few, then working on the ground with John Olav Einemo in Thailand, confidence is a way of life. Fighting former UFC Heavyweight champion and crowd favorite Andrei Arlovski, Sergey a former Russian paratrooper stole the hearts of millions of Americans on this night. His relentless pressure and precise pinpoint punches were too much for Arlovski to handle. No longer can he be considered a “Dark Horse”, with the lights shinning brightly upon his star he will continue to impress and win over the hearts of the fans.

So confident in fact after the fight, Kharitonov stated, “I will win the tournament”. Also after the fight when asked about his reaction to the crowd’s adulation after the fight Sergey said, “I just want the fans to see a good fight, and this is what I will always give them. I have many fans and much support from Russia, they are the best; but today I felt I gained many new fans, from all over the world especially here in America. Thank you, my fans America, I love you too.”

Article by
Rey Miles

(c) D Mandal / Strikeforce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TZVouW_jkI Kharitnov sparring

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7gW6Fh0180 Kharitnov training with Einemo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kRDckFDoK0&feature=related Kharitonov bag training

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHzVLVhc8Fk Kharitonov vs Arlovski

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbuQvvorwu0 Valentijn vs Sefo

[Hammerkick]

[Khanom Thom]

Thnx Dirk!

[Kemal]

thanks Dirk, mooie foto's ook!

[micha]

top thanks

[Tykill]

machtig hoe ray gewoon lacht en er niets om geeft hahaha

[micha]

als kickboxer verliezen door een submission kan gebeuren natuurlijk dat zal niemand hem kwalijk nemen

[Soulbringer320]

als kickboxer verliezen door een submission kan gebeuren natuurlijk dat zal niemand hem kwalijk nemen

Ik wil net zeggen, echt geen schande.
Alleen maar mooi dat je er nog om kan lachen.
Als argument gaf Ray ook nog ergens dat die het te druk had omdat die met die Belfort aan het trainen was voor z'n wedstrijd tegen Silva.

[Leventdepevent]

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/6...alentijnov.jpg

machtig hoe ray gewoon lacht en er niets om geeft hahaha

haha dat dacht ik ook meteen ja...die lach van sefo....hij denkt het zal allemaal wel

[kooivechter]

haha dat dacht ik ook meteen ja...die lach van sefo....hij denkt het zal allemaal wel

ja hoop dat valentijn de volgende keer een echte tegenstander krijgt bij SF, om te kijken waar hij staat.