Sergei Kharitonov mauls Tyrone Spong in Eagle FC 44 main event.
Former Bellator fighter Sergei Kharitonov entered Eagle FC 44 with plenty to prove, and he put on a career-boosting performance against Tyrone Spong.
Kharitonov controlled the opening round of the fight using his grappling and ground-and-pound. Spong landed some heavy kicks in the first half-minute of the fight, but Kharitonov was able to get the fight to the ground and maul him.
Despite the one-sided first round, Spong was able to survive and move to Round 2.
In the second round, Spong stuffed an early takedown from Kharitonov and got to work with his boxing. But, Kharitonov was eventually able to get in the pocket and secure a powerful takedown on the fence.
Kharitonov demonstrated the vast difference in grappling prowess, getting the full mount on Spong. After landing some hard ground-and-pound, the fight was stopped and Kharitonov earned the TKO victory.
Sergei Kharitonov is still a heavyweight to be reckoned with
Kharitonov entered EFC 44 after letter stints in Bellator and M-1 Global. He last competed against former UFC fighter Fabio Maldonado in Parus Fight Championship in November, earning a first-round knockout.
Before that, he had lost to former Bellator title challenger Cheick Kongo after earning wins over former UFC standouts Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione.
Spong was making his MMA return after a nearly nine-year hiatus from the sport. He last competed in World Series of Fighting, earning wins over Angel DeAnda and Travis Bartlett.
But MMA was never Spong’s claim to fame. He competed against the best of the best in Glory Kickboxing and earned wins in K-1 against the likes of Ray Sefo and Keijiro Maeda.
With the main event win over Spong, Kharitonov is a name to keep an eye on as EFC continues its rise in the sport.
