Russian heavyweight on upcoming fights in Russia and USA, best UFC fighter, and his most formidable opponents.
After eighteen months of inactivity 3 Dec 36-year-old Russian heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov will fight in Russia. The correspondent of “Izvestia” Azamat Bostanov was found with the athlete and learned from him the details of the upcoming fight, and asked about the toughest opponents, the desire to fight Fedor Emelianenko and the best fighters in the UFC.
— Sergey, recently reported that December 3 will be a fight in Russia…
— Yes, it is. The fight will take place under the auspices of the new promotional organization MixFace. They have already held one tournament, now I want to declare itself louder. And for that we need well-known names here and I was invited. My opponent is Brazilian fighter, Francisco Sandro da Silva Bezerra nicknamed Lights out. The fight will take place on December 3 in Ekaterinburg.
— If you could choose the venue of the match, which city would stay?
— Moscow or St. Petersburg. There’s more people, easier to organize broadcast. But we should not forget about the regions — with pleasure would carry out fight in the homeland, in the Arkhangelsk region. I am sure that sooner or later a duel must take place.
— In early November, you have to fight in Bellator with American Jewi Aloe. And the duel in Russia will be held just a month. Whether this will be enough time to recover?
— Most importantly — not get hurt. I stay in shape, are in good shape, so 30 days is enough for me to prepare for the next battle.
— American promotion don’t mind that you play in other competitions?
My arrangement with this organization is set up so that I can take fights in other promotions. One of the main limitations is not to hold matches for the two months before the performances in Bellator.
— It is hard to return to the ring after a long idle?
— Of course. I had trauma because of which I missed almost a year and a half. In may had to fight in Bellator, but the fight was canceled for health reasons. On the other hand, I’m rested, recharged and ready to continue his career.
— Who of current athletes would you like to meet in the ring?
— It would be interesting to meet with a Stipe Miocici. He surprised me — he beat Werdum, Overeem. Well done — a young, intense guy. Became a champion, defended the title — I confess, I did not expect such good results.
— Consider the possibility of fighting Fedor Emelianenko?
— I’ll be honest: I really wanted to meet Emelianenko. In 2006 I got hurt — I dislocated my shoulder, and I lost Alistair Overim. If in that battle I won, the next fight would be with Fedor for the belt tournament Pride. Today, with all due respect to Fedor, I think he came back in vain. I think he should have a spectacular final match and retire. Fight with him I’m not interested. But if it’s interesting to the public, I am willing to consider this option.
— Interested to try their hand in the UFC?
— No, I do not even consider. I don’t like the distribution system fights in the UFC. I will give one, maybe two fights a year. Would they let me reach the championship fights — the big question. Take the example of Habib Nurmagomedov — he went to a championship fight, is the first number of the rating, and push and push. And who knows whether he will give in eventually hold the title fight.
— The most striking athlete the UFC really is Conor McGregor?
— Of course. He is very bright fighter, but also a good actor. Take his fight with Aldo, Jose had to break the seams apart. But the Irishman won the Brazilian psychologically broke him before entering the ring. In the modern world of martial arts trashtalking is its integral part. I’m not enough of such artistry. At the time, Mirko CRO COP earned in Japan ten times more than the champion Fedor Emelianenko, he knew how to work the crowd, made controversial provocative statements, was putting on a show at press conferences. And we have not decided, we don’t like showing off. We are different people, we have a different mentality, and other we will not.
— Who was your most difficult opponent in his entire career?
— I’m always singled out fights with Werdum and Nogueira. It would seem that there is nothing bright, but they are very awkward opponents. Like come on, hit! But it does not work.
— Remember, signed a contract with the Japanese promotion Pride?
I was a sparring partner of Fedor Emelianenko, we trained together. Came the Japanese, I challenged them to soldiers, they accepted it and invited me to a fight. I won a series of victories, and spun… In Pride you were not given easy opponents. But the scheme of organization was better — if you lose, you don’t throw, give a revenge. Pride was better, I liked it very much.
— What do you do in free from fights time?
— Now we open a network of gyms. We plan to open approximately 50 across Russia — I want to share my experience to the younger generation.
— They say you collect samovars…
— I used to have this hobby. Their house was 100 pieces, no less. And then gave away everything. Now there are about 20 of the most unusual and rare.
