Defining Fights: Bellator 234 headliner Sergei Kharitonov

MMA Junkie’s Simon Head looks back at six of the key battles from Bellator heavyweight contender Sergei Kharitonov’s illustrious MMA career.

Roy Nelson at Bellator 207 – Oct. 12, 2018

Roy Nelson doesn’t get knocked out often, so when Kharitonov face-planted “Big Country” into the mat after a crushing uppercut and a thumping knee, it served notice to the rest of the division that the Russian veteran may be long in the tooth, but he’s every bit as powerful as ever.

It gave Kharitonov his second win under the Bellator banner, both by first-round knockout, as he followed up on his first-round finish of Chase Gormley a year-and-a-half earlier with one of his most impressive finishes to date.