Sergei Kharitonov was once considered one of the great up and coming fighters in the world.

Sergei Kharitonov was once considered one of the great up and coming fighters in the world. But for some reason, he never showed the consistency to be considered a true top three kind of heavyweight. Coming into their Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva match up, Andrei Arlovski had lost three straight. In other words, both combatants were looking at the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament as a way to right the wrongs.

But only one would walk out of the fight feeling good about the direction their career was going. Keep reading to find out whom.

Early on, Arlovski landed a low kick, right to the head, and then a light front kick to the body. Kharitonov landed a couple of jabs, before getting hit with a flurry. Upon a clinch, the two traded uppercuts with Arlovski getting the better of things. Nice low kick by Arlovski. He's looking like the faster fighter. A couple of decent kicks by the former UFC champion. Kharitonov landed a couple of jabs and then clinched with his adversary, but Arlovski got away easily. Nice jab by Arlvoski. Upon still another clinch, Kharitonov connected with a couple of solid uppercuts. Arlovski started sticking and moving again. He was looking good. But then, as it often seems to happen with him, Arlovski went from looking good to, well, keep reading.

Kharitonov landed a hard uppercut and then a right hand. Then came a flurry of punches from him, including a right hand that knocked Arlovski down. A few strikes on the canvas later and it was all over; Arlovski was simply out.

Sergei Kharitonov defeats Andrei Arlovski by KO at 2:49 of round one. A very impressive performance by the Russian.

Read More:Sergei Kharitonov was once considered one of the great up and coming fighters in the world.

Sergei Kharitonov was once considered one of the great up and coming fighters in the world.