After a long, one-and-a-half-month break, Bellator will organize another mixed martial arts tournament on August 24. It is noteworthy that the American promotion is returning from the show, led by two Russian athletes at once, the famous Sergey Kharitonov and former heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov. So, one of them will hold a second battle with Matt Mithrion, and the other will fight with Javi Ayaila.
The first fight between Kharitonov and Mitrion took place in February 2019 and could become decisive in the struggle for the title of the first contender for the belt. Each of the athletes completed in his favor two of the last three fights under the auspices of the promotion, and a beautiful victory in this could bring one of them the title of first challenger. However, the battle ended with a curiosity, and Chake Congo got the right to argue with Ryan Bader.
The fight lasted only almost 15 seconds and was declared invalid due to Kharitonov’s injury. Mitrion tried to execute a kick on the inside of the opponent’s thigh and, having missed, fell into the groin of his counterpart. The Russian crashed into the canvas and was unable to continue the match. As a result, the damage was so painful that the victim had to be hospitalized.
It is noteworthy that some Russian MMA fighters were quick to accuse Kharitonov of simulation. One of them was the winner of the UFC Grand Prix Oleg Taktarov, who compared his colleague with the Brazilian footballer Neymar. However, it later became known that Sergei had been diagnosed with a hematoma, which confirms the seriousness of the injury.
A similar result did not suit either the fighters or the Bellator leadership. Given the not-so-deepest roster and star status of both athletes, promotion director Scott Cocker decided to organize a second match between Kharitonov and Mitrion. Both expressed a desire to meet again in a cage, but for a long time almost nothing was known about the progress of the negotiations. At the same time, much was said about the possible battle of Sergey with Alexander Emelianenko, but the information remained at the level of rumors.
Only in June, the leadership of the promotion officially announced a return match between the two athletes. The fight between Kharitonov and Mitrion was scheduled for the Bellator 225 tournament, however, this time his winner is unlikely to get the right to fight with the champion. Back in April, Cocker announced that the next in line was the legendary Josh Barnett, who signed a contract with the organization in the spring.
The fact that this battle does not have the status of an “eliminator” (a battle for the title of a contender for the title) does not deprive it of principle. Kharitonov certainly wants to get even for the blow between the legs, even if he was inflicted unintentionally. In turn, Mitrion will not refuse to replenish the list of Russians defeated by him, in which Fedor Emelianenko is already listed.
At the same time, it is extremely difficult to name a favorite in this confrontation. In the last two fights in the Bellator, Kharitonov defeated Roy Nelson and Chase Gormley, but only the first of them can be called a serious rival. For eight years, the "Big Hillbill" performed at the UFC and defeated mixed martial arts stars such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filippovich and Antonio Bigfoot Silva. At the same time, the second of them cannot boast of a similar track record and mainly fought in regional promotions.
Mitrion also stayed in the UFC for a long time, but had the status of a “gate keeper” (a fighter who must be defeated in order to break into the elite) and was never considered a contender for the title. However, in Bellator, he began to look much more confident and even reached the Grand Prix finals, losing only to the future winner in the person of Bader.
Of course, Bellator does not use a rating system, so it is rather difficult to guess which of the fighters is among the main applicants for the belt. Nevertheless, the status of the main event of the evening may well indicate that the promotion has high hopes for Kharitonov and Mitrion and is quite capable of considering one of them as a future contender for the champion battle.
Do not forget about the second most important match of the evening. Knowing Cocker's love for the Grand Prix format, Bellator may well consider these two fights as a kind of tournament, the triumph of which will be able to argue for gold. Thus, it is possible that in the winter of Russian fans of MMA, a battle between Kharitonov and Minakov can wait.
By 2014, Vitaliy had already reached all possible heights at Bellator. First, he became the triumph of the Grand Prix of heavyweights, and then not only won the title in the battle with his compatriot Alexander Volkov, but also defended in the battle with Congo. This was followed by a strange period in the career of a Russian. At first, he stopped playing in the USA, and 15 months after the fight with Cheyk, he held his first fight in Russia.
As a result, Minakov remained at Fight Nights for two and a half years, after which he made an attempt to return to Bellator. True, success did not work outright. In a rematch with Congo, he looked extremely unconvincing and was defeated by a judicial decision.
For Minakov, a meeting with Ayaila is a great chance to rehabilitate. Despite the shock power, thanks to which the American crushed Kharitonov and Frank Mir, he is much inferior to the Russian in technical terms. Given proper training, Vitaliy can easily impose his own fighting style on him and take full advantage of sambo and judo skills. Xavi was never famous for his work on the ground, so it is unlikely to be able to compete with his opponent in this aspect.
Five years ago, Minakov would have been a clear favorite in the battle with Ayala, but in the light of his last performance, his victory is no longer guaranteed. A Russian needs to prove that he has not lost his skill and is still an elite athlete.