Two heavyweight heroes will collide at GLORY 10 as Jerome Le Banner and Sergey Kharitonov meet in a superfight encounter which is almost certain to end inside the distance.
Le Banner (88 - 20 - 2, 68 KO’s) is an icon in the kickboxing world, a veteran of the sport who shows no signs of slowing down as he continues to power-punch his way through his heavyweight peers. Kharitonov (3-3, 3 KO’s) is a two-sport athlete and is better known in the US for his MMA fights under the Strikeforce and PRIDE FC banners, from which he sports a 19-5 record with 18 wins inside the distance.
“I think this is a great fight, two heavy punchers and a fight that is not likely to go the distance. Le Banner is a legend in the sport and his record speaks for itself, he’s fought all the big names, he’s beaten most of them at least once. He’s a very experienced fighter but he likes to get into wars and so does Kharitonov,” says GLORY matchmaker Cor Hemmers.
“When he moved into kickboxing his first ever fight was with Daniel Ghita and we saw then just how tough he is. He is like a bull, you really have to hit him with everything you’ve got if you want to stop him. You put him down and he gets right back up again and wants to keep fighting.
“If Le Banner plays it technical he will probably have the advantage but it’s more likely that these two will get into a war and then it’s really anybody’s fight. It’s going to be a lot of big hooks, crosses and uppercuts. Pay close attention because it could end at any moment.”
Known to his hordes of international fans as ‘The Battle Cyborg’, Le Banner is one of kickboxing’s all-time greats. Legendary for his toughness and his knockout power, he is currently 2-0 under the GLORY banner with one of those wins by way of KO. His career victories include Tyrone Spong, Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky, Ernesto Hoost and Mark Hunt.
Kharitonov is a former paratrooper in a Special Forces unit of the Russian Armed Forces. A veteran of PRIDE FC and Strikeforce, Kharitonov holds wins over Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski. He branched out into kickboxing late 2009 and has gone 3-3, with all three wins by first-round KO.
GLORY 10 takes place at the Citizens Bank Arena in Los Angeles, California on Saturday September 28. The event’s centerpiece is a four-man middleweight tournament featuring world-ranked #1 Artem Levin, Muay Thai wrecking machine Steve Wakeling, American standout Joe Schilling and young Dutch prospect Jason Wilnis.
