The Bellator 163 main card started off with a bang Friday night when heavyweight veteran Sergei Kharitonov, who entered the fight with 29 professional fights, stepped into the cage with Javy Ayala. It took just moments before Ayala picked up a major win as he knocked Kharitonov out cold with a big overhand right, winning in just 16 seconds.
The win made it two straight for Ayala, who picked up his last win in June of 2016, as he TKOd Roy Boughton, snapping a 2-fight losing streak.
For Kharitonov, a former olympic boxer, the fight was his Bellator MMA debut. In addition to being a Pride FC, and Strikeforce veteran, Kharitonov has also competed as a professional kickboxer competing several times under the Glory WS banner. The loss to Ayala this week snapped Kharitonov’s 5-fight win streak that saw him go undefeated for three years, with all five of his wins being stoppages, and three of his wins coming under the M-1 banner. Throughout the course of his sixteen year professional MMA career, Kharitonov has shared the ring with legendary fighters such as Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, and Pedro Rizzo to name just a few of the well-known fighters Kharitonov has faced.
Check out the replay of the finish above, and let us know where the KO win ranks among your all-time favorite KO’s, as well as your all-time favorite overhand right KO’s, in the comments section below!
UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier feels the UFC is the only MMA promotion in which athletes truly have an opportunity to achieve a superstar fame level.
