Easy come, easy go.
Hard-hitting heavyweight striker Sergei Kharitonov injured his neck and was forced to withdraw from his upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) fight against Tony Lopez at the "2012 Glory World Series" on May 26 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Golden Glory head coach Martijn de Jong recently confirmed the change on Twitter.
Kharitonov (18-5) was last seen disposing of Mark Miller under the United Glory banner earlier this year in Russia. It was a nice rebound win (under kickboxing rules) for the former paratrooper, who was bounced from the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix with a submission loss to Josh Barnett back in 2011.
Stepping in to take his place will be Swedish "Sledgehammer" Llir Latifi (5-2-1), who was previously booked to throw hands opposite Jeremy Horn until "Gumby" blew out his knee.
Lopez (31-8) has been on an absolute tear under the King of the Cage (KOTC) umbrella, winning seven straight fights and securing seven violent finishes in the process. Just over half of all wins for "Kryptonite" have come by submission.
The revised United Glory fight card and line-up (via Buddha Sport) after the jump:
United Glory Series 16 70kg Tournament:
Giorgio Petrosyan (Italy) vs. Fabio Pinca (France)
Max Vorovski (Estonia) vs. Sanny Dahlbeck (Sweden)
Robin van Roosmalen (Netherlands) vs. Dzhabar Askerov (Russia)
Ky Hollenback (USA) vs. Michael Corley (USA)
Yoshihiro Sato (Japan) vs. Shemsi Beqiri (Switserland)
Dennis Schneidmiller (Germany) vs. Qi Chenglong (China)
Kem Sitsongpeenong (Thailand) vs. Cosmo Alexandre (Brasil)
Albert Kraus (Netherlands) vs. Mohamed El Mir (Denmark)Kickboxing Superfights:
Nieky Holzken vs. Alex Harris
Semmy Schilt vs. Errol Zimmerman (For United Glory HW Championship)
MMA Bouts:
Jason Jones (Netherlands) vs. Dritan Barjamaj (Austria)
Tony Lopez (USA) vs. Llir Latifi (Sweden)
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more updates to the United Glory event as they become available.
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