Matt Mitrione vs Sergei Kharitonov 2 headlines Bellator 225
Bellator will hold the first-ever MMA event at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. on Saturday, August 24 when Matt Mitrione (13-6, 1 NC) squares off against Sergei Kharitonov (28-6, 2 NC) in a heavyweight headliner.
Tickets for Bellator 225: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov 2 go on sale to the general public Friday, June 21 at 10 a.m. ET, with a special pre-sale scheduled for Thursday, June 20 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets will be available in-person at the Click It or Ticket Box Office at Webster Bank Arena, as well as online at Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com.
The event will be broadcast live on Paramount Network and DAZN at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com, DAZN and globally on the Bellator Mobile App. Additional bouts will be announced in coming weeks.
Just six months after the pair of heavyweight sluggers first met, the rematch will take place just 75 miles south of Uncasville’s Mohegan Sun at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. The card will be overseen by the Connecticut Boxing Commission.
“Mohegan Sun, who has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Bellator, is pleased to present for the first time in Bridgeport, a world-class event of this caliber, and we look forward to hosting A-list entertainers in the coming months as well,” said Thomas Cantone, Sr. Corporate Vice President, Sports & Entertainment for Mohegan Sun.
Hailing from Indianapolis, Matt Mitrione will once again lace up the gloves in a main event against Kharitonov after an inadvertent shot put an abrupt end to their first matchup at Bellator 215 this past February. The former Purdue University and New York Giant football standout is fresh off a strong run in Bellator’s Heavyweight World Grand Prix, where the knockout artist advanced all the way to the semifinal round after defeating Roy Nelson. With victories in four of his last five contests, including a highlight-reel first round knockout of Fedor Emelianenko, Mitrione will now focus on writing the second chapter of his story with Kharitonov.
Riding a seven-fight unbeaten streak, including four first-round finishes and three knockouts, Sergei “The Paratrooper” Kharitonov returns to the U.S. after an unfortunate end to the pair’s first meeting. Now, the Moscow-native will seek to add another name to his list of victories amassed in well-known promotions around the globe, such as Pride and Strikeforce, and against equally dominant fighters, including Roy Nelson, Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski, Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Alistair Overeem.
Quickly re-watch Mitrione and Kharitonov’s first meeting below:
Following Bellator 222, it was announced that Fedor Emelianenko was re-signing with the promotion and doing a retirement tour to finish out his career. While names like Rampage Jackson and Josh Barnett were discussed as possible opponents, it’s also possible the winner of Mitrione vs Kharitonov could face Fedor during his retirement tour.
After he defeated Chael Sonnen at Bellator 222, Lyoto Machida has his sights set on Ryan Bader and Gegard Mousasi, so the booking direction for Machida could effect Bellator’s heavyweight division as well.
