Today’s the day—UFC 137 is just hours away and the co-main event of the evening is set to be a heavyweight matchup between Cheick Kongo and Matt Mitrione.
Kongo vs. Mitrione is one of the most intriguing fights on the card and also has the potential to be one of the most exciting.
Mitrione made his way into the UFC by competing in the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter and since then has enjoyed nothing but success within the promotion, amassing an impressive record of 5-0.
Though relatively inexperienced as a mixed martial artist, Mitrione has proved to be a quick learner and many believe he has the potential to be a top contender in the heavyweight division.
During his time with the UFC, Kongo has lost consistently to the top level competition he’s faced. His biggest win was defeating Mirko Cro Cop back at UFC 75, which was a controversial performance from Kongo, who landed several illegal groin shots throughout the fight.
Because of his inability to get passed the elite of the division, many consider Kongo to be the unofficial gatekeeper of the UFC’s heavyweight division—a role he’ll be looking to shed with a big win later today.
On paper, this fight goes to Kongo.
He’s much more experienced than Mitrione, has proven himself against tougher competition, and is arguably the third-best striker in the heavyweight division.
The only glaring flaw in Kongo’s game is that he’s not great on the ground, especially if he’s on his back.
That said, he has solid takedown defense and, given that Mitrione doesn’t come from a wrestling background, Kongo should be able to keep this fight standing if he wants to.
If the fight does stay standing—which is likely, as both these guys love to stand and bang—Kongo will have a big advantage, in terms of technical striking.
However, Mitrione has surprisingly quick footwork and, in general, moves well.
Back at UFC 107, Frank Mir was able to out-strike Kongo by using busy footwork and head movement. Mitrione is even more light on the feet than Mir, so if Mitrione wins, the key to victory will likely be his movement—he needs to be a moving target.
This is a difficult fight to call because we don’t know what to expect from Mitrione.
Since his debut in the UFC two years ago, Mitrione has looked better and better every time we’ve seen him in the cage.
But has he improved enough since his last fight to contend with Kongo?
I’m thinking, no.
Kongo is so much more dangerous standing than any of the other opponents Mitrione has faced and that will be the deciding factor in this one.
Mitrione will frustrate Kongo for a while, using his footwork to avoid getting tagged, but eventually Kongo will land a big shot and finish Mitrione off with a barrage of punches.
Final Prediction: Cheick Kongo defeats Matt Mitrione via late second-round TKO.
Bleacher Report’s Andrew Barr