Bellator 215: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov fight card preview

Check out the breakdown of Friday’s Bellator 215 main card, including Matt Mitrione vs. Sergei Kharitonov in the main event.

It’s time for some back-to-back evenings of Bellator MMA! The initial event of this double dose is Bellator 215, and will take place tonight from the Mohegan Sun. Bellator 216 will go down from the same location tomorrow night and will get its own preview post. The top of the billing for tonight’s card will be a heavyweight matchup between the more explosive Matt Mitrione, and the more experienced Sergei Kharitonov. Taking up the co-main event slot, the 9-0 four-time collegiate All-American wrestler, Logan Storley, looks to remain perfect against the 18-9 Ion Pascu. Before that will be a taste of Bellator new blood. After starching both of his opponents in a total of 69 seconds, the explosive Mike Kimbel is set for his third professional/Bellator bout as he faces fellow finisher John Douma.

Austin Vanderford, whom you may have seen getting engaged to UFC flyweight Paige VanZant, will be putting his undefeated 6-0 record on the line at Bellator 215. He is slated to square off in a 175-pound matchup against the streaking 6-2 Cody Jones. Also on the card, the promotion’s former two-time bantamweight champion, Eduardo “Dudu” Dantas, will be looking to bounce back into the win column when he battles the ever-exciting Toby Misech.

For an in-depth breakdown of each Bellator 215 main card fight, check out The MMA Vivisection with Bloody Elbow’s own Zane Simon, Vic Rodriguez, and Eddie Mercado. Stay glued to Bloody Elbow for all of your event coverage including play-by-play, results, highlights, and more!

Bellator 215 takes place this Friday, February 15, and will air live on the Paramount Network and DAZN at 9:00 P.M. ET. The prelims will begin at 6:30 P.M. ET.

Main card:

Matt Mitrione (13-6 MMA; 4-1 Bellator) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (29-7 MMA; 2-1 Bellator): Heavyweight

Matt Mitrione was on a roll in Bellator MMA. He stopped his first three opponents with strikes, including Fedor Emelianenko, and then won a hard fought majority decision over Roy Nelson to advance in Bellator’s heavyweight Grand Prix. And then he ran into Ryan Bader. Mitrione was unable to deal with the wrestling pedigree that Bader brought to the table, and was booted from the tournament after falling short on the scorecards. Mitrione has the opportunity to bounce back, and against someone with name value, and also someone willing to keep it standing.

After a bit of a rocky start in Bellator, Sergei Kharitonov ran through a couple of guys over in M1 Challenge, before making his return to the Viacom promotion. Kharitonov has wins over MMA royalty such as; Andrei Arlovski, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Pedro Rizzo, Semmy Schilt, and Murilo “Ninja” Rua. In his last fight, he added Roy Nelson to that list. Kharitonov blasted him with a barrage of punches and knees that sent Nelson crashing to the canvas. In his 19th year of professionally fighting MMA, Kharitonov has strung together an impressive 5-0-1 run. Pulling off a victory over Mitrione could place Kharitonov right there in line for a shot at the belt, behind the winner of Vitaly Minakov vs. Cheick Kongo.

Logan Storley (9-0 MMA; 4-0 Bellator) vs. Ion Pascu (18-9 MMA; 0-2 Bellator): Welterweight

Logan Storley earned the honor of All-American in each of his four years as a collegiate wrestler at the University of Minnesota, the alma mater of one Brock Lesnar. MMA seemed to be a natural transition for Storley. He’s been able to impose his smothering style on his opponents thus far, scoring takedowns and controlling where the fight takes place. The knock on Storley has been that ever since he climbed up a few rungs on the Bellator ladder, he hasn’t been able to finish his foes, despite dominating them on the ground. Such wasn’t the case in his last fight with Bellator veteran AJ Matthews. Storley showed off an increase in punching power and was able to stop Matthews with a barrage of ferocious ground strikes. Storley has a chance to stretch his record to 10-0, but will first have to get through his most experienced opponent to date.

Ion Pascu has graced a Bellator cage twice already, falling short in both encounters. First, Pascu was out-struck by three-time NCAA Div-I national champion wrestler turned pro MMA fighter Ed Ruth. After that, Pascu pounced across the pond to BAMMA where he won a decision over Alex Lohore, before returning to Bellator to drop a unanimous decision to Lorenz Larkin. Pascu likes to score the takedown and work from the top, dropping ground strikes and sniffing out submissions. He was able to takedown both Ruth and Larkin in losing efforts. Can Pascu find a way to lean on his veteran edge to upset the prospect and earn himself his first Bellator win?

Mike Kimbel (2-0 MMA/Bellator) vs. John Douma (3-1 MMA; Bellator Debut): Bantamweight

Mike Kimbel has had two professional MMA fights in his career and has only been in the cage for a total of 69 seconds. Kimbel made his Bellator, and professional, debut with a 63 second knockout of Geoffrey Then. Then, he one-upped himself when he knocked out Alex Potts in a mere SIX SECONDS, after touching gloves of course. This kid is only 21 years old, but he talks the talk, and thus far has walked the walk. With such a young record, who really knows?

At just 22 years of age, John Douma sits at 3-1 in his pro MMA journey, with each of his four bouts occurring for the CES promotion. Douma finished his first-three opponents before the the need for a round 3, but dropped his last bout by TKO in the third. Kimbel has a big chance here to get himself back into the win column, make a statement in the Bellator promotion, and derail the hype train of his opposition.

Austin Vanderford (6-0 MMA; Bellator Debut) vs. Cody Jones (6-2 MMA; Bellator Debut): 175 pounds

Austin Vanderford will be making his Bellator debut with a record of 6-0. Vanderford was seen on Dana White’s Contender Series, throwing and eating hard punches before picking up a second round RNC submission. Yes, PVZ was watching cageside for that one. After not getting picked up by the UFC, Vanderford took a match in Final Fight Championship, stoping his opponent with strikes in just 98 seconds. Can Vanderford find a home in Bellator, and show the UFC what they’re missing out on?

Cody Jones is also making his first appearance under the Bellator lights. Jones has won four-straight, dusting each of those victims in under one round. Although he has been known to give up the takedown, Jones has a crafty submission and sweep game that has led some of his previous opponents to regret. This would be a huge win for Jones and a solid scalp for his big stage debut.

Eduardo Dantas (20-6 MMA; 10-3 Bellator) vs. Toby Misech (11-6 MMA: 1-0 Bellator): Bantamweight

Eduardo Dantas captured Bellator gold twice in his career, and for the first time is coming off of back-to-back losses. Dantas dropped his belt to current champ Darrion Caldwell by unanimous decision, and then was brutally knocked out by Michael McDonald in a swift 58 seconds. Unfortunately, Dantas fractured his lower leg as he was falling from the McDonald punch, but has gotten back on the horse and is ready to ride again. He’s ready, right?

At 145-pounds, Toby Misech is coming off of a sensational flying knee knockout victory in his Bellator debut. Misech now has the opportunity to defeat a former two-time champion, which would be quite the feather in his cap, as he drops down to bantamweight. Misech is a scrappy fighter that is willing to bite down on his mouthpiece and bang it out. Expect Misech to make this one ugly as he faces the most elite opponent of his career thus far.