Sergei Kharitonov & Satoshi Ishii Fighting in Nov. 11 showdown
Sergei Kharitonov & Satoshi Ishii Fighting in Nov. 11 showdown
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (September 12, 2014) – M-1 Global announced today that two of the top heavyweight fighters in the world, Sergei “The Paratrooper” Kharitonov (21-5-0, 11 KO/TKO, 9 SUB) and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii(12-3-1, 1 KO/TKO, 4 SUB), will square-off November 11 on M-1 Challenge 53: Battle in the Celestial Kingdom at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China.
M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Marcin “Tybur” Tybura (11-0-0, 4 KO/TKO, 5 SUB), of Poland, will make his first title defense against undefeated challenger Denis Smoldarev (8-0-0, 3 KO/TKO, 3 SUB) on this explosive event.
M-1 Challenge 53 will be streamed in high definition on www.M1Global.TV,live from China. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV.Fans may watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Andriod and Apple smart phones and tablets.
The 6′ 4″, 260-pound Kharitonov, fighting out of Russia, has defeated Fabricio Werdum, Pedro Rizzo, Andrei Arlovski and Alistar Overeem during his 5 ½ year MMA career. Kharitonov has been more involved in kickboxing than mixed martial arts of late, but his return to MMA and M-1 Global finds him in the ring with rising Japanese star and judo sensation, Ishii, in a Special Heavyweight Attraction.
Ishii has beaten, among the more notable MMA fighters, Jeff Monson,Pedro Rizzo and Tim Sylvia. Last month, Ishii suffered a cut that cost him his fight against Mirko “Crop Cop” Fillipovich.The 5′ 11″, 240-pound Ishii will be fighting in his third M-1 Global event having lost in 2011 to legendary Fedor Emelianenkoby way of a first-round knockout by punches. Satoshi defeated Monson last October in M-1 Challenge 42in St. Petersburg, Russia.
M-1 Global originally planned to match Kharitonov against former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion, Damian “Polish Pitbull” Grabowski (19-2-0, 6 KO/TKO, 6 SUB), who recently lost his title to Tybura. Plans will soon be announced for Grabowski’s return.
Russian welterweight Muslim “King of Kung Fu” Salikhov (2-1-0, 1 KO/TKO, 0 SUB) is also scheduled to fight on M-1 Challenge 53.
Additional fights and opponents will soon be announced. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
