By the Numbers: Matt Mitrione vs. Sergei Kharitonov II

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Fans were denied an explosive heavyweight showdown when Matt Mitrione and Sergei Kharitonov’s Bellator 215 bout ended in a no contest. On Aug. 24, the two knockout-conscious fighters will run it back at Bellator 225, which takes place in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Here are some numbers you might want to know before the rematch takes place.

Bellator appearances

Kharitonov first fought for Bellator on Nov. 4, 2016 when he lost to Javy Ayala by first-round knockout. That was at Bellator 163. A few months later at Bellator 175, he made up for it by knocking out Chase Gormley, also in the first round. He then moved to M-1 Challenge and Russian Cagefighting Championship before returning to the Santa Monica, California,-based promotion for Bellator 207 with a knockout of Roy Nelson. With a fresh contract, he then fought Mitrione to a no contest. Kharitonov is 2-1 (1 NC) at Bellator.

After losses to Ben Rothwell and Travis Browne in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Mittrione decided to move to Bellator MMA where he made his presence felt early by starching Carl Seumanutafa within one round. It happened on June 24, 2016 at Bellator 157. Less than a month after at Bellator 158, he dropped and stopped Oli Thompson. He then defeated Fedor Emelianenko and Roy Nelson before suffering his first Bellator loss to Ryan Bader before the aforementioned no contest with Kharitonov. After six Bellator apperances, Mitrione has gathered a record of 4-1 (1 NC).

Knockout rate

Kharitonov, 38, has been fighting since 2000, commencing his career with a 3-0 start, all of which were knockouts. He has starched quality opponents not just in Bellator, but also in other top promotions like Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, K-1 and M-1 Global. Some of his victims include Andrei Arlovski, Alistair Overeem, Pedro Rizzo, Semmy Schilt and Murilo Rua. After 28 fights, he’s knocked out opponents 18 times, making for a 64 percent accuracy.

With 11 out of his 13 wins coming by knockout, Mitrione can stand his ground against any heavyweight power for power. His knockout of Philip De Fries at UFC on Fuel TV 9 is among the fastest in the promotion’s history at 19 seconds. Some of the notables he stopped by KO are also Gabriel Gonzaga, Derrick Lewis and of course, Emelianenko. As a result, he prides of a high knockout rate of 85 percent.

Wins by submission

There is little chance of a submission when Mitrione is in the cage. As of his last Bellator appearance on Feb. 15, 2019, he has yet to score a stoppage by tapout. This is not the case for Kharitonov, who owns eight wins by submission, making for a 29 percent submission rate.

Career losses

Mitrione and Kharitonov have six defeats apiece, and all were against quality opposition. Mitrione’s losses were handed by Bader, Browne, Ben Rothwell, Brendan Schaub, Nelson and Cheick Kongo. For Kharitonov, he suffered defeat to Ayala, Barnett, Jeff Monson, Aleksander Emelianenko, Overeem and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.