Still holding places of prominence in the Bellator MMA heavyweight division, Cheick Kongo and Sergei Kharitonov will face one another in the Bellator 265 main event on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Kongo has pieced together an 8-1 mark with one no contest across his past 10 appearances. He last competed at Bellator 248, where he wound up on the wrong side of split verdict against Timothy Johnson on Oct. 10. Kharitonov, meanwhile, has put together a 7-1 record with two no contests over his past 10 outings. He last appeared under the Modern Fighting Pankration flag on Nov. 7, when he needed a little less than three minutes to punch out Oli Thompson.
As Kongo and Kharitonov inch toward their forthcoming encounter, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
46: Years of age for Kongo, who was born on May 17, 1975 in Paris.
3: Kongo wins by submission, accounting for 10% of his career total (30). His methods of choice: one heel hook, one armbar and one rear-naked choke. Kongo holds 15 other wins by knockout or technical knockout and 12 more by decision.
8: Countries in which Kongo has fought as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 18-6 in the United States, 6-2-1 in the Netherlands, 3-0-1 in England, 2-0 in Canada, 1-0 in Croatia, 0-1 in Germany, 0-1 in Japan and 0-1 in France.
24: Takedowns landed by Kongo as a member of the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster between July 8, 2006 and April 27, 2013. He remains tied with Gabriel Gonzaga for fifth on the promotion’s all-time list for heavyweights, trailing only Curtis Blaydes (59), Cain Velasquez (34), Randy Couture (25) and Stipe Miocic (25).
236: Victories between the 11 men—Johnson, Velasquez, Muhammed Lawal, Vitaly Minakov, Roy Nelson, Mark Hunt, Frank Mir, Heath Herring, Carmelo Marrero, Gilbert Yvel and Rodney Glunder—who have defeated Kongo. They sport a cumulative winning percentage of .645 (236-125-5).
41: Years of age for Kharitonov, who was born in Plesetsk, Russia, on Aug. 18, 1980.
20: Kharitonov victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 67% of his career total (30). His list of Bellator victims: Nelson, Matt Mitrione and Chase Gormley. Kharitonov owns eight other victories by submission and two more by decision.
13: Promotions in which Kharitonov has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 8-3 in Pride Fighting Championships, 5-0 in M-1 Global, 3-2 in Bellator, 3-0 in Brilliant, 2-0 in K-1, 2-0 in Tournament of Real Men, 1-1 in Dream, 1-1 in Strikeforce, 1-0 in Rings, 1-0 in Russian MMA Championship, 1-0 in Tech-KREP Fighting Championship, 1-0 in Russian Cagefighting Championship and 1-0 in Modern Fighting Pankration.
.723: Cumulative winning percentage between the seven men—Linton Vassell, Javy Ayala, Josh Barnett, Jeff Monson, Aleksander Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira—who have beaten Kharitonov. They boast a combined record of 235-87-3.
24: First-round finishes to Kharitonov’s credit. They include three sub-minute stoppage victories: a 47-second rear-naked choke submission of Osmanli Vagabov under the Tournament of Real Men banner on Feb. 20, 2003, a 34-second keylock submission of John Delgado at a Russian MMA Championship show on June 1, 2012 and a 40-second knockout of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at an M-1 Global event on June 15, 2017.