Sergei Kharitonov vs Antonio Silva Could Round Out EliteXC’s Championship Triple Header
Filed Under (EliteXC Unfinished Business) by Todd Yeakle
Russian Airborne Trooper, Sergei Kharitonov, could get his shot at American fame and a nice little belt to go along with it at EliteXC’s second installment of "Saturday Night Fights" on July 26th.
Standing in his way is a 6′4" 300lb monster, known as "Bigfoot" Silva. Antonio Silva has verbally agreed to fight the Pride veteran for the vacant EliteXC heavyweight crown. This match up would be one of three championship bouts slated for the card in July.
The two other title fights feature some interesting match ups. In the main event of the night, Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith will settle some "Unfinished Business" from the first CBS event.
The other title fight features a match up between welterweights, Jake Shields and former Bodog champ, Nick "The Goat" Thompson.
Silva and his camp are simply waiting to get the green light from the California State Athletic Commission due to some previous medical issues involving Silva. Antonio has had problems in the past including a tumor found in a pre-fight medical test that forced him to be removed from a K-1 event last year. The commission recommended surgery and Silva had the tumor removed last summer.
Silva, known as "Bigfoot" to his fans, is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist with well rounded skills and devastating strikes. He moves like a light heavyweight and has unbelievable reflexes for such a big guy. At 10-1, the American Top Team fighter has finished seven of his eleven fights via strikes. Silva proved his ground game is top notch, edging out ground specialist and former UFC heavyweight champ, Ricco Rodriguez, in a three round war of attrition at EliteXC "Street Certified" in February.
The path to the belt won’t be an easy one for "Bigfoot" Silva. Sergei Kharitonov is an extremely feared and ferocious striker with excellent ground skills to boot. A member of Russian Top Team, the 27 year old has some extremely impressive victories over top competitors such as Semmy Schilt, Fabricio Werdum, Murilo Rua and most recently Alistair Overheem.
Out of Sergei’s 15 victories he has finished seven via (T)KO and seven via submission with only one fight going the distance. On top of that he finished every single opponent in the first round. There is no doubt that he will attempt to follow suit and put a quick end to Silva’s meteoric rise to the top of the heavyweight division on July 26th.
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