Sergei Kharitonov out of Bellator 154 due to illness

Another fight has been pulled from Bellator 154.

Sergei Kharitonov is out of his fight with Josh Appelt due to an illness, Bellator spokesperson Danny Brener confirmed with MMA Fighting on Tuesday. ESPN's Brett Okamoto was the first to report the news. The event is scheduled for Saturday night in San Jose. The main card will now be just four fights.

Kharitonov (23-5) would have been making his Bellator debut. The well-known heavyweight is a veteran of PRIDE, K-1, M-1 and Strikeforce. Kharitonov, 35, won five straight in Europe before being inked by Bellator. The Russian striker has victories over the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski.

Appelt (12-5) has won two straight under the WFC banner. The 32-year-old sports a 3-0 record in Bellator all time.

Last week, a fight between Michael Chandler and Josh Thomson was yanked from Bellator 154 due to an injury to Thompson. Jordan Parsons, the fighter tragically killed in a hit-and-run last week, was originally scheduled for the card as well.

Bellator 154 will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between former UFC vereran Phil Davis and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal.