Bellator 226 “Bader vs. Kongo” was recently announced for Sat., Sept. 7, 2019 at SAP Center in San Jose, California. As of this reporting it is currently a one-fight card, but that one fight is a really big one.
Literally.
Bellator MMA “champ-champ” Ryan Bader (27-5) will put the title he won by defeating Fedor Emelianenko in the Heavyweight Grand Prix on the line against “The Darkness” Cheick Kongo (30-10-2) in the featured fight, airing exclusively on DAZN at 10 p.m. ET.
Kongo brings an eight-fight win streak dating back to 2015 into this title match, scoring first-round knockouts in two of his last three fights. It’s a remarkable accomplishment for the 44 year-old veteran who only seems to be getting better with age, but defeating Bader would be the ultimate feather in his cap.
Bader is himself on a seven-fight win streak that dates back to his UFC tenure, leaving him undefeated in Bellator MMA and the holder of both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles. While he could use his high-level wrestling to smother the taller and heavier Kongo the way Muhammed Lawal did, he’ll need to avoid Kongo’s power and 82” reach to do so.
The opening round of the featherweight Grand Prix is also set for this Bellator card, but none of the brackets or match-ups have been announced at this early date.
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