Heavyweights Sergei Kharitonov, Linton Vassell to Clash in Bellator 234 Headliner

Sergei Kharitonov will square off against Linton Vassell in the Bellator 234 main event.

Sherdog.com confirmed the heavyweight booking with a promotion official on Monday after Bellator fighter Haim Gozali unveiled a poster for the event on his Instagram account. Bellator 234 takes place at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 14 and will also see Roger Huerta lock horns with Sidney Outlaw in the lightweight co-main event. The card will air on Paramount Network and Dazn in the United States.

Additionally, Sinead Kavanagh will face Olga Rubin in a featured contest at women’s featherweight. Gozail and his son, Aviv Gozali, will also appear on the card, as will Austin Vanderford. Opponents for those three have yet to be determined.

Kharitonov, 39, is coming off a second-round TKO victory over Matt Mitrione in a rematch at Bellator 225 on Aug. 24. Their initial meeting ended in a no contest when the Russian was unable to continue due to an accidental kick to the groin from Mitrione at Bellator 215. Kharitonov is unbeaten in his last eight professional bouts dating back to 2017, a run that includes victories over Chase Gormley, Roy Nelson and Mitrione in Bellator competition.

Vassell, meanwhile, enters the matchup with Kharitonov on a three-bout skid. A two-time light heavyweight title challenger, “The Swarm” moved up to heavyweight at Bellator 218, where he dropped a unanimous verdict to Valentin Moldavsky on March 22. The 36-year-old Englishman is 18-8 as a pro, with notable wins over Lima McGeary, Emmanuel Newton (twice) and Francis Carmont.

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בלאטור 234 אירוע קרבות MMA הגדול בעולם חוזר להיכל מנורה. 14 לנובמבר היכל מנורה תל אביב משפחת גוזלי נכנסים לכלוב עוד פעם!!! והשנה יש לנו עוד הרבה הפתעות!!! לכרטיסים מוזלים צרו איתי קשר בפרטי או כנסו ללינק המצורף: http://bit.ly/BELLATOR-MMA-2019-HAIMGOZALI

A post shared by Haim Gozali (@haimgozali) on Sep 2, 2019 at 12:25am PDT