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Cheick Kongo Choke Submits Sergei Kharitonov in Bellator 265 Main Event




Cheick Kongo still has what it takes to get the job done under Bellator MMA’s bright lights.

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A little more than three months removed from his 46th birthday, the ageless Frenchman submitted Pride Fighting Championships veteran Sergei Kharitonov with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their Bellator 265 headliner on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Kharitonov (30-8, 3-3 Bellator) capitulated 4:59 into Round 2.

Kongo (31-11-2, 13-4 Bellator) trudged through significant difficulty to get to the finish line. Kharitonov punished him with a powerful jab, hunted his patented uppercut and had him reeling with a kick to the face at the end of the first round. Everything changed in the second, where Kongo dazed the Russian with a thudding right hand, flurried with punches and knees at close range, executed a takedown and climbed to full mount. He secured the choke in the closing seconds, prompting a reluctant tapout from the exhausted Kharitonov.

Meanwhile, Sanford MMA rep Logan Storley rebounded from his first pro defeat and took a split decision from One Championship alum Dante Schiro in the three-round welterweight co-main event. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Ron McCarthy and Bryan Miner for Storley, Jerin Valel for Schiro.

Storley (12-1, 7-1 Bellator) struck for multiple takedowns in the first two rounds and paired them with suffocating control from the top, passing from half guard to side mount while attempting to integrate his ground-and-pound. Schiro (8-3, 0-1 Bellator) largely neutralized the four-time NCAA All-American wrestler from the bottom, then started to turn the tide in the third round. There, he managed to stay on his feet, jockeyed for position in the clinch and scored in the standup. Unfortunately for the underdog, time ran out.

The defeat snapped Schiro’s two-fight winning streak.

Elsewhere, American Top Team’s Marcelo Golm cut down Billy Swanson with punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase. Swanson (4-2, 0-1 Bellator), who entered the cage on the strength of three consecutive wins, succumbed to blows 4:57 into Round 1.

Golm (9-3, 1-0 Bellator) made use of his clubbing right hand, scored with clean combinations and unleashed knees at close range. He trapped Swanson in a clinch along the fence late in the first round, delivered a jarring knee strike to the head, floored him with follow-up punches and mopped up what was left with unanswered shots on the ground.

The 28-year-old Golm has rattled off three straight victories.

Finally, the unbeaten Jornel Lugo kept his perfect professional record intact, as he put Keith Lee to sleep with a rear-naked choke in their catchweight feature at 140 pounds. Lee (7-5, 2-2 Bellator) lost consciousness as the horn sounded to conclude the first round.

Lugo (7-0, 4-0 Bellator) battered the Xtreme Couture rep with repeated jabs, switched stances seamlessly and sat him down with a counter right hand. Lee shot for an ill-advised takedown late in the first round and immediately drifted into danger. Lugo wheeled around to his back, cinched the choke and cut off avenues for escape, letting his squeeze do the rest.

Lee, 24, has suffered back-to-back defeats.

In other action, Fabio Aguiar (18-2, 1-1 Bellator) eked out a split decision—29-28, 28-29, 29-28—over Taylor Johnson (7-3, 2-2 Bellator) in a three-round middleweight confrontation; Mike Hamel (8-5, 1-2 Bellator) took a unanimous decision from Bryce Logan (12-6, 0-3 Bellator) in a three-round welterweight tilt, drawing 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks from the cageside judges; Archie Colgan (3-0, 1-0 Bellator) dismissed Sidney Ben Simons (3-3, 0-1 Bellator) with punches and elbows 4:04 into the first round of their welterweight scrap; Duane Johnson (6-2, 1-0 Bellator) submitted Deven Fisher (4-9, 0-1 Bellator) with a brabo choke 64 seconds into the first round of their middleweight clash; and Bailey Schoenfelder (2-0, 1-0 Bellator) put away Kory Moegenburg (1-3, 0-1 Bellator) with elbows and punches 4:11 into the first round of their heavyweight pairing.
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