Report: Kharitonov-Mizuno Tapped for ‘Dynamite’

Despite being knocked out just a week ago at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final, sambo specialist Sergei Kharitonov (Pictured) will return to the ring to face Dream veteran Tatsuya Mizuno at “Dynamite: The Power of Courage 2010” on Dec. 31 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The matchup was first reported by MMAFighting.com on Friday, and HDNet, the network which will broadcast Dynamite stateside, later posted the report to its Web site. K-1 parent company Fighting and Entertainment Group has not yet made the bout official.

His KO loss under K-1 rules notwithstanding, Kharitonov has won three of his last four MMA contests. The Russian holds victories over UFC veteran Mike Russow and current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem in that span. His lone blemish in the last three years came in his most recent fight, where he was submitted by American Top Team grappler Jeff Monson with a north-south choke at Dream 8 in 2009.

Mizuno is fresh off a one-sided defeat at the hands Gegard Mousasi in the final of Dream’s light heavyweight grand prix in September. Prior to that loss, he had run off three straight victories, including an improbable knockout over Dutch destroyer Melvin Manhoef in the tournament’s semi-final. Mizuno is a veteran of M-1 and Shooto and has won all of his fights by either knockout or submission.

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Pellegrino-Tibau Tapped for UFC 129

Kurt Pellegrino: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

Several days ago, rumors began to surface regarding a potential Kurt Pellegrino-Gleison Tibau bout, but the where and when of the confrontation were unknown. No longer, as Pellegrino has announced that the matchup will take place in New Jersey, the known site of UFC 129.

Pellegrino took to his Twitter account today, effectively broadcasting the matchup by enlisting the help of his fans.

“It's on! Can anyone guess who I’m fighting and where for a free T-shirt?” asked Pellegrino.

Minutes later, one of his followers guessed “Tibau in New Jersey,” which Pellegrino then confirmed as being the correct answer. The lightweight bout will be contested at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on March 19.

Pellegrino had registered four consecutive victories inside the Octagon before running into George Sotiropoulos at UFC 116 earlier this year. The New Jersey native holds notable victories over Junior Assuncao, Josh Neer and Thiago Tavares, and he has finished 10 of his 15 defeated foes by submission.

Tibau comes off a hard-fought defeat at the hands of Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 22 in September. The Brazilian has won four of his last six, however, notching victories over Caol Uno, Jeremy Stephens and Rich Clementi. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt owns nine of his 21 career victories by submission.

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Report: Ruediger-Taylor Tapped for UFC 126

Gabe Ruediger: Jeff Sherwood | Sherdog.com

Gabe Ruediger and Paul Taylor will each look to reverse their fortunes when they square off at UFC 126, scheduled for Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

According to MMAJunkie.com, the lightweights have verbally agreed to the match, though bout agreements have not been finalized. MMAWeekly.com was first to report the pairing on Monday.

Notorious for his stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 5,” Ruediger was rudely welcomed back into the Zuffa fold in August, when the Californian was trounced in a short-notice bout against Joe Lauzon at UFC 118. The first-round armbar submission brought a halt to “Godzilla’s” impressive six-fight win streak, which included wins over the likes of Lenny Lovato and Dominique Robinson under the Tachi Palace Fights banner. The 33-year-old holds an 0-2 record inside the UFC, having also lost to Melvin Guillard in 2006.

Meanwhile, the former welterweight Taylor will be attempting to halt a two-fight losing skid and secure his future with the UFC. Despite a crowd-pleasing style, the British slugger has never won back-to-back fights during his three-and-a-half year Octagon tenure and holds an overall UFC record of 3-5. Taylor most recently dropped a narrow split decision to Sam Stout at October’s UFC 121.

UFC 126 will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between champion Anderson Silva and challenger Vitor Belfort. Also confirmed for the card is a showdown between 205-pound prospects Ryan Bader and Jon Jones, as well as a bantamweight scrap between WEC veterans Miguel Torres and Antonio Banuelos.

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