Mirko Cro Cop vs Sergei Kharitonov to Main Event Glory 17

Mirko Cro Cop vs Sergei Kharitonov to Main Event Glory 17
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Two former Pride superstars have verbally agreed to face each other in a kickboxing match at Glory 17.

Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic will take on fellow Eastern European Sergei Kharitonov in the main event at GLORY 17: 'Los Angeles'.

Glory 17 takes place June 21st at The Forum, Inglewood, California. Previous Glory events have been made available to UK viewers through BT Sports, however broadcast information for this event has yet to be confirmed.

Fighting for the second under the Glory banner, Mirko Cro Cop enters the bout looking to bounce back from a decision losses to Remy Bonjasky at Glory 14 in his home nation of Croatia.

A legend in combat sports, Mirko Cro Cop, is the only fighter in combat sports history to win and K-1 and Pride FC Grand Prix; he also hold the Pride record for most finishes with 16.

Having fought MMA rules under the Pride, Dream, and the UFC banner, Cro Cop returned to kickboxing in 2012, where he originally made his name, to defeat Ray Sefo in his return bout, before putting together a series of victories on route to winning K1 World Grand Prix 2012. Cro Cop entered the bout with a 22-8 kickboxing record; the bout with Kharitonov will mark the first time Cro Cop has fought in the US in a kickboxing fight.

Ranked at 8 in the Glory Heavyweight rankings, Kharitonov makes a quick return to the ring having recently lost by unanimous decision to Anderson "Braddock" Silva in the heavyweight "contender" tournament at  last weeks GLORY 16: "Denver."

A 25 fight professional mixed martial arts fighter, Kharitonov who holds notable MMA wins over Fabricio Wedum, Alistair Overeem, and Andrei Arlovski, made the switch to kicking boxing when he joined Glory in 2012. Since joining the promotion the Russian has put together a 2-2 record with wins over Daniel Sam and Jerome Le Banner, and losses coming to number 2 ranked heavyweight Ricco Verhoeven and the aforementioned Anderson Silva.

Also on the card is a 4 man featherweight tournament featuring former WEC champion Miguel Torres, making his promotional debut.

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on Glory 17

Video: K-1 World GP Final - Mirko Cro Cop vs Ismael Londt (Full Fight)

Mirko Cro Cop vs Ismael Londt 

The K-1 2012 Grand Prix Final when down on Saturday night at Arena Zegreb in Zagreb, Croatia, marking the first time the promotion had held its prestigious World Grand Prix tournament outside of Japan.

The final saw 38 year old kickboxing and mma legend take on Ismael Londt in the final having, defeated Jarrell Miller - by controversial decision, and Pavel Zhuravlev to claim his place in the final, in his homeland.  His opponent Londt, a SuperKombat Heavyweight Champion, holding a 34-4-1 record, enters the bout having finished both his quarter final and semi final opponent, knocking out Hesdy Gerges in the quarter finals by flying knee breaking his nose and slashing his face with the move, and TKO'ing Dzevad Poturk.
 

K-1 Rising 2012 Grand Prix Final (fightcard)

K-1 Rising 2012 Grand Prix Final
Date:  March 15, 2013 14.00 GMT
Arena Zegreb, Zagreb, Croatia


For the first time in the promotions history, K-1 will hold its prestigious World Grand Prix tournament outside of Japan, and featuring MMA Legend Mirko Cro Cop, fighting in his home country of Croatia.

Fightcard
Toni Milanovic vs Jason Wilnis
Emil Zoraj vs Miran Fabjan
Mladen Brestovac vs Freddy Kemayo
Dzevad Poturak vs Alexey Ignashov
Benjamin Adegbuyi vs TBA - Reserve Fight
Quarter finals
Catalin Morosanu vs Pavel Zhuravlev
Mirko Cro Cop vs Jarrell Miller
Badr Hari vs Zabit Samedov
Ismael Londt vs Hesdy Gerges