A heavyweight matchup between two hard hitting strikers has been confirmed today. UFC fighters Pat Barry (6-2) and Cheick Kongo (15-6-2) will take place on June 26 as part of the upcoming UFC on Versus 4 event.
MMAWeekly.com was the first to report the bout on Monday. No word was provided on whether the fight would make the live broadcast but it’s almost certain that a Barry vs. Kongo match will make the Versus broadcast.
Barry is 1-1 in his last two fights and is 3-2 with the UFC overall. The former K-1 kickboxer earned a unanimous decision over Joey Beltran in January, as part of the UFC’s Fight for the Troops 2 event in Fort Hood, Texas. Barry was submitted by Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovi? in the fight before that at UFC 115. Barry looked to be in control of that fight after dropping the Croatian in the first but failed to end the match. Afterwords, Barry revealed that he had broken his hand and foot early in the fight.
Kongo has been recovering from back surgery after failed rehab for the injury. The French fighter’s last octagon appearance was in October of last year, fighting Travis Browne to a draw at UFC 120 in a fight that saw Kongo have a point deducted for holding the shorts. He is currently 1-2-1 in his last four fights, earning the draw with Browne, submitting (strikes) Paul Buentello in March, and dropping bouts to Frank Mir at UFC 107, as well as Cain Velasquez at UFC 99.
The UFC on Versus 4 event has not been officially announced by the promotion but is expected to take place on June 26 in Milwaukee, Wis.