After an awesome preliminary lineup and three decently exciting fights to start the TV broadcast, I went into the main event of UFC on Versus 4 with low expectations.
I’ll be the first to admit when I’m wrong, and I was horribly mistaken when it came to the fight between Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo last night.
I recently threw the fight on a list of bouts that I expected to be boring this summer, saying that Kongo was going to out-wrestle Barry to a decision.
Two thoughts crossed my mind after the fight:
1. I’ve never been happier after I’ve been made to look stupid.
2. Where the hell did that come from?!?
While both fighters were a bit hesitant to throw in the first minute of the fight, Kongo started landing some leg kicks and Barry seemed to take them personally, chasing down his opponent.
When Barry dropped Kongo with a right hand, most believed the fight was nearing its end. After all, no one has the striking ability of Pat Barry in the division and Kongo has shown that he can be rocked by punches, (see Mir, Frank).
Barry started unloading on Kongo, rocking him at on the ground and then knocking him down a second time, and I found myself screaming at Dan Miragliotta to stop the fight before Kongo had to be carried out of the Octagon on a stretcher.
Lucky for MMA fans, (and I guess, Kongo) I’m not a referee.
Kongo got back to his feet for a second time and started backpedaling on wobbly legs, desperately trying to avoid taking another shot from the dynamite right hand of Pat Barry.
Barry got a little too reckless flying in for the finish and got caught with a beautiful combination that ended with a brutal uppercut from Kongo.
The uppercut landed flush, Barry hit the mat, and Kongo landed a couple follow up shots to seal it.
Game. Set. Match.
The second greatest comeback in UFC history happened last night, with Kongo’s come-from-behind win trailing only Anderson Silva’s final-round triangle from UFC 117. And while there are a million things to say about one of the greatest fights in UFC history, I’m going to stick with one.
I was wrong, and proud of it.
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