Sergei Kharitonov vs Mighty Mo @ Glory World Series Final

Sergei Kharitonov is set to make his return to kickboxing on May 28th, as he'll meet K-1 veteran 'Mighty Mo' Siliga in a heavyweight tilt at the Glory World Series finale. The announcement of the bout between Kharitonov and Siliga certainly brings added interest to the event, which will host the conclusion of United Glory's ongoing heavyweight kickboxing and welterweight MMA tournaments.

Kharitonov last appeared in a kickboxing bout at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final, where he was stopped early by Singh Jaideep in a non-tournament bout. The Russian heavyweight has since made his return to mixed martial arts, knocking out both Tatsuya Mizuno and Andrei Arlovski in just over four minutes combined.

Mighty Mo went 2-2 in kickboxing bouts last year, first appearing at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Bucharest, stopping Roman Kleibl before being knocked out by Sebastian Ciobanu in the tournament semifinals. The American Samoan then took a decision victory over Raul Catinas at the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 in Seoul, advancing to the tournament final in December. There, Mo was defeated by Peter Aerts in the quarterfinal round.

Although many fans are already pretty well set on where the striking of Sergei Kharitonov stands, this bout will offer him the opportunity to prove himself against a solid K-1 veteran. Mighty Mo has the sort of power that could cause real trouble for Kharitonov, but is less likely to technically pick the Russian apart than many of the other opponents that he would have to go through to break into the highest levels of kickboxing. What's more, this bout will offer Kharitonov a great chance to stay active while waiting to learn who his opponent will be in the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament semifinals, as potential opponents Josh Barnett and Brett Rogers aren't scheduled to meet until June.