Veteran Sergei Kharitonov has one last MMA motivation: a Bellator title fight

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Less than seven months after Matt Mitrione stood over the crumpled body of Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 215, their roles reversed.

Saturday, at Bellator 225 at Webster Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., Kharitonov (30-7 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) took one step closer to erasing the memory of the fight-ending low blow against Mitrione (13-7 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in February.

Unlike their fist outing, this bout had a definitive winner. After absorbing frequent Mitrione kicks in the opening minutes...