Tonight in Dallas, Brett Rogers and Josh Barnett square off in one of the two remaining quarterfinal matches in the 2011 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. The winner will face Sergei Kharitonov in the semifinals.
Though only 30 years old, Kharitonov is a grizzled veteran of mixed martial arts, having made his professional debut all the way back in 2000, which is the MMA equivalent of the Cretaceous Period. But given that the Russian had only two MMA fights in the two years preceding his quarterfinal bout with Andrei Arlovski (which doubled as his Strikeforce debut), some observers considered it a mild upset when he knocked Arlovski out in the first round.
He probably won't sneak up on anyone else again. So the Kharitonov question now becomes whether he can duplicate his success against Barnett or Rogers. And, taking an even longer view, can he actually win this tournament?
I'll give you my two nutshell answers: maybe, and maybe. I know, enlightening, right?
But let's go a little deeper. Kharitonov's strength is striking. He has jagged rocks for fists, which he loves to hurl at his opponents. All told, 10 of his 18 wins came on striking-related stoppages, and has also scored multiple knockouts as an amateur boxer and a K-1 kickboxer.
Basically, then, Kharitonov is a highly trained brawler. Even though he has proven susceptible to the big bomb—a Brett Rogers specialty—I believe his superior skill set and better physical condition would give him an advantage on paper over the less-polished Rogers.
Even so, Kharitonov is far from a one-trick pony. A Russian paratrooper in his spare time, Kharitonov is a very tough customer who has combat Sambo training through the military and under some dude named Fedor Emelianenko. He has only tapped once in his 22-fight career.
Given Barnett's specialty as a submission grappler, Barnett would certainly have an advantage on the ground. But it wouldn't be insurmountable; Kharitonov isn't exactly dynamic on the mat, but he isn't afraid of the grind, either.
Add in that Kharitonov is working on his takedown defense with world jiu-jitsu champion Jon Olav Einemo, and there's a chance Kharitonov could avoid the ground war with Barnett. At least for a while. If he could keep things upright, he would have a very good chance to land serious damage on the 33-year-old Barnett.
That said, Barnett could be Kharitonov's toughest matchup out of the remaining fighters in this tournament. Kharitonov has defeated Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem before. Fans would probably love to see a rubber match between Kharitonov and Overeem, this time for the heavyweight grand prix title (and maybe some prime UFC positioning to boot).
The well-rounded and heavy-handed Antonio Silva might prove to be a difficult matchup for Kharitonov, too. Could he win that fight? I think he can. Could he win this entire tournament? It might take some luck (I don't think he could beat Barnett and then Werdum/Silva/Overeem), but I have him as my dark horse candidate at the moment, particularly since he has previously knocked out the favorite (Overeem), and since Overeem is going to be suspect against top competition until he proves otherwise.
But back to tonight. For now, Kharitonov is watching tonight's fight with everyone else. And though he should feel optimistic about facing either man, you have to imagine he's rooting for Rogers to follow in his footsteps and pull the upset.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
No comments:
Post a Comment