Sergei Kharitonov
In February 2006, Overeem fought Russian Top Team favourite Sergei Kharitonov. Overeem won, dislocating Kharitonov's shoulder in the process. With his win over Kharitonov, Overeem secured a spot in the PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination Absolute. He fought Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Fabrício Werdum, and lost via kimura in the second round.