For good reason, Cheick Kongo‘s UFC run up until now can only be comparable to a roller coaster.
He’s racked up wins over the likes of Pat Barry, Paul Buentello and Mirko Cro Cop, losses to the likes of Frank Mir, and a draw with Travis Browne. However, he’s never been able to get over the hump.
It’s probably not helping matters that Matt Mitrione is on a tear at this very moment, nor is it soothing Kongo to realize that a win for Mitrione at UFC 137 next Saturday means that the undefeated Mitrione could find himself a win or two away from a bout with someone in the Top 3.
So knowing that Kongo came from behind to beat Barry at UFC on Versus 4 this past June, and given both his history in big fights and Mitrione’s rise, what is realistically the best to expect from Kongo on October 29th?
Given the win over Barry, we can expect a resilient and a very game Kongo to let the MMA world see exactly how Mitrione reacts when an established veteran takes it to him.
It won’t be the same as the test an Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett or even a Sergei Kharitonov would give to Mitrione, but Kongo is good enough to help us gauge where Mitrione is now and where he can go with a few more battles in the cage.
Let’s not forget that Kongo is the man who almost took the “0” away from UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 99 in what was arguably the most difficult fight of the champion’s career so far.
So Mitrione and his skill set will face a challenge next weekend and his performance against the wily veteran Kongo will answer plenty of questions about whether Mitrione is ready to be used in the same sentence as the champion’s name without provoking hysterical laughter.
The only question Kongo will have to answer is whether or not he can finally get over that gosh-darned hump and establish himself as a serious title contender.
And while he gained strong momentum from his win over Barry, it’ll be hard to buy him derailing Mitrione’s momentum train until we see him actually do it come fight night.
It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible either.
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