By Greg Riot
Below are fight analysis of Josh Barnett’s and Sergei Kharitonov’s previous fights along with videos of their most recent fight. Based on the analysis I have provided a breakdown and prediction of how the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Finals match between Josh Barnett and Sergei Kharitonov will go down.
Sergei Kharitonov vs Andrei Arlovski Fight Video and Analysis
Sergei is quick and pretty clean when boxing but exhibits weakness in defending and counter attacking. He positions his hands awkwardly wide when boxing and this leaves opening for jabs and straight punches to enter. Although he didn’t use his legs for leg kicks, his dirty boxing and knees look effective in clinch. Kharitonov looks more comfortable the closer he is to his opponents. He tries to position for clinch with 1-2 combinations that close the gap.
Josh Barnett vs Brett Rogers Fight Video and Analysis
From the start of the fight it looked like Josh Barnett’s goal was to take the fight to the ground. He did not throw the first strike and took the opportunity to take down Brett Rogers when he caught the kick. After he initiated the slam Barnett positioned for a full mount, all the while setting up his opponent for a submission. This is obvious as he wasn’t putting full power into ground and pound; the mounted punches were to create an opening for submission attempts.
Barnett wasn’t able to finish the fight in the first round even though he had a full mount position. Barnett also looked winded after the fight and looked a bit slow in his striking.
Josh Barnett vs Sergei Kharitonov Fight Analysis
Both Josh Barnett and Sergei Kharitonov came away without a scratch in their previous fights by exploiting their opponent’s weaknesses. Kharitonov knew Arlovski has a weak chin so he kept the fight on his feet, closed the gap and went for uppercuts. Barnett knew Rogers is a stand up only fighter so he looked for takedowns to extinguish his opponents KO firepower.
Barnett has 7 KO wins on his record compared to Sergei’s 9 KO wins. I don’t see him trying to stand up with the Russian. Josh’s game plan will be to takedown his opponent, wear him down and attempt submissions. The American “Baby-Faced Assassin” has a whooping 18 wins via submissions on his illustrious MMA record, so I see him sticking to what he’s good at and that means he’ll be looking to stay off his feet as much as possible. “The Russian Mercenary” will simply want to keep the fight standing so he can use his boxing power to score a KO win.
Strikeforce Picks: I see Barnett successfully implementing the game plan he used against Brett Rogers to win via submission. Josh can’t let the fight go on too long because his cardio can’t compete against the Russian’s so he will be looking for a quick submission win before the 3rd round. The MMA Betting Odds over at BetDSI Sportsbook are in accordance with my pick, they have Barnett as the favorite to win at -275 and Kharitonov as the underdog at +215.
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