MIAMI – For the first time in more than eight years, Tyrone Spong is going to get in an MMA fight.
But it’s not like Spong has been inactive. The kickboxing standout in recent years has been boxing, a sport in which he’s 14-0 and holds the WBC Latino and WBO Latino heavyweight titles. He’s got more than 100 kickboxing wins on his record.
But he’s only had two MMA fights, both under the WSOF banner in 2012 and 2013. Friday, Spong (2-0) will return to the sport to take on Sergei Kharitonov (33-9) at the U.S. debut of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion in Miami.
Spong said training for an MMA fight took some getting used to, but feels ready for his return.
“It’s been years since I’ve had an MMA fight,” Spong told MMA Junkie. “Things have been going well. In the beginning, my body had to adjust (from) a long time of no grappling, wrestling. That was not fun, but I’m a very physical person, so I enjoy it. Right now, everything is locked in, but I feel good.”
Spong’s overall combat sports career is not short on experience. But he’ll be taking on a Russian opponent who has more than 20 times his experience in MMA. That’s just the math of it.
Spong said even that hasn’t caused him to dive into Kharitonov’s footage any more than he normally would – though he understands what he’s up against.
“I don’t really study my opponents. I never really have in my career,” he said. “I know the basics, and that’s enough. He’s a big guy, well experienced, fought the who’s-who in MMA. I look at the things he has, I look at the things I have: I’ve got to give him experience, I’ve got to give him size, maybe strength. But I’ve got speed, I’ve got fight IQ, explosiveness. So we’re going to play chess and use my advantage over his and try to secure the ‘W.'”
The bigger question for Spong may be whether or not he’s willing to play the long game with MMA after this fight. He admitted the original matchup with Antonio Silva, whom Kharitonov stepped in for, was something he took when an international boxing opportunity didn’t come to fruition.
But whether this is a one-off or not remains to be seen.
“We’re just focused on Friday now,” Spong said. “Friday is most important. I’ve got to come through that and get a ‘W,’ and then we’ll see. I’m not going to lie: I’m still passionate about boxing.”
