Once a ferocious world-ranked heavyweight, Kharitonov used to be one of the most feared big-men in mixed martial arts, a great bear of a man who bested Fabricio Werdum and knocked Andrei Arlovski out cold. But things changed a little over five years ago, when a dispute between Zuffa and Golden Glory resulted in a mass release of several Golden Glory fighters.
Kharitonov was caught in the unfortunate crossfire, and the dissolution of Strikeforce soon followed, leaving Kharitonov out in the cold while fellow Strikeforce heavyweights like Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett made their high-profile transitions to the UFC.