Matt Mitrione Landed a Brutal Groin Kick in His Fight With Sergei Kharitonov… The Fight Ended After 15 Seconds With the Result a No-Contest… Things That Make You Go Ouch…
Matt Mitrione and Sergei Kharitonov are two of the highest profile heavyweight fighters outside the UFC. 40-year-old Mitrione is a former UFC veteran, who went on a decent four-fight winning streak with Bellator, including wins over Fedor Emelianenko and Roy Nelson, before running into the current champion Ryan Bader.
Meanwhile, Kharitonov is regarded as one of the best fighters never to have fought for the UFC. In his prime, he was a big star in Japan, fighting for PRIDE and DREAM, while he also appeared for Strikeforce. He has wins over UFC legends like Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum on his record.
So when these two men were set to fight in the main event of Bellator 215 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, people were genuinely excited. It turned out to be a massive anticlimax though. Watch the footage below if you’re brave enough.
BRUH. 😩
Main Event of #Bellator215 is LIVE now! 👉 https://t.co/j4BIUf4XnH pic.twitter.com/6NazI1FKPh
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 16, 2019
Smashed
This fight literally lasted about fifteen seconds. The two men were sizing each other up, waiting for an opening, when boom. Mitrione blasted Kharitonov with a front kick up the middle. The Russian stood still for a split-second, before turning away in obvious agony.
Mitrione raises his hand in acknowledgement of the low blow. It was clearly accidental, so when Kharitonov was unable to continue, the fight was ruled a no-contest. It was definitely an unfortunate way to end the night.
Just like that the main event is over. #MattMitrione with a brutal nut kick. Poor Sergei Kharitonov 😩. #Bellator215 pic.twitter.com/GxzqdFXrA4
— ern.s3 (@ErnestSIII) February 16, 2019
Disappointing
Nobody wants a no-contest. It’s the single most frustrating result that you can get. Mitrione said that he feels ready to fight and is even down for fighting again on Saturday night, on the undercard of Page v Daley, if Kharitonov is fit to do so. He told MMAJunkie:
It just sucks, man. Mr. Coker and I were already talking about some stuff. I have to get in Mr. (Bellator matchmaker Rich) Chou’s ear and see what I can get on. If it’s all booked out, maybe they can bump somebody. I know there’s a card in Chicago (in May), and I live in the Midwest. I’ll bring a gang of people there and we’ll act straight foolish in there if we can get a fight in Chicago.”
“If Sergei is down to go, if he can do it, if his body’s good – hopefully he didn’t rupture a (testicle) – but if he can do it again, then obviously I’m 100 percent down,” Mitrione said. “He’s the only person I really want to fight in this situation because everybody, I think, deserves that. It would’ve been a great fight and a lot of fun. It just sucks, man.”
Goodnight and goodluck 😂 @mattmitrione just ended this guys entire family line pic.twitter.com/CbSMkw6pUJ
— Nick Maraldo (@nickmaraldo) February 16, 2019
Apologetic
The former UFC fighter was openly apologetic about what happened. The first thing he did at the pre-fight press conference was to apologise to his stricken opponent. Every man who has seen the footage will probably spend the rest of the day walking around with their knees clenched together.
That’s just not a fun injury at all.
