Cheick Kongo is best known for his above average striking and his inadequate wrestling ability. He is someone who has the look and the stand-up skills of a champion, but seems to lack the talent to put it all together with some decent ground work…
Cheick Kongo is best known for his above average striking and his inadequate wrestling ability. He is someone who has the look and the stand-up skills of a champion, but seems to lack the talent to put it all together with some decent ground work.
Early in his career he was a middling talent, but then finally worked on his ground-game to the point where he wasn’t able to be taken down at will, and started putting wins together.
However, these wins were all lower tier fighters who are no longer with the UFC. Every time he stepped up against the likes of Frank Mir, a former heavyweight champion, or Cain Velasquez, the current heavyweight champion, he would lose badly.
At 36, it seems Kongo has found his niche in the UFC. He is tough enough to be a credible name on any elite heavyweights résumé and just flawed enough that his weaknesses can be used against him.
Kongo has done well recently against journeyman striker Paul Buentello and former kickboxer Pat Barry, but Barry has also had a mixed career with the UFC. In a fight with Travis Browne, in which Kongo got a draw, he looked terrible, and many thought he lost the fight.
Now Browne has gone on to beat Stefan Struve and Rob Broughton impressively.
Kongo barely got by Barry and if Browne’s last two wins mean anything, it seems to show what kind of heavyweights can get by the French kickboxer.
Now the UFC seems to be wanting to test Matt Mitrione to see if he is on that level. In truth it will be Mitrione’s toughest fight as his first fights have consisted of second tier fighters like Kimbo Slice and Tim Hague.
His best opponent might just be Joey Beltran, which speaks volumes of how little Mitrione has been tested. He has mostly stood up against other fighters and fought to entertaining decisions.
Against a gatekeeper like Kongo who only gets beaten by former and present champions it might be too much. Plus if Mitrione tries to strike like his teammate, and Cheick Kongo’s last victim, Pat Barry, he might find himself having to wake up to his first official loss.
Unless Mitrione can learn to take Kongo down, or do the unthinkable and beat him in a striking match, then Kongo will claim another win over an overrated heavyweight and continue to be the UFC champion of the gatekeepers.
Smug arrogance is often the first thing fans associate with Frank Mir. A quick survey of his attitude towards Brock Lesnar reveals why. In an interview with Maxim, he described how Lesnar was “whimpering and wincing” from his kneebar. …
Smug arrogance is often the first thing fans associate with Frank Mir. A quick survey of his attitude towards Brock Lesnar reveals why.
In an interview with Maxim, he described how Lesnar was “whimpering and wincing” from his kneebar. On another occasion, Mir expressed a desire to kill Lesnar and thereby cause the UFC’s first fatality.
While the former WWE star may be his top rival, Mir extends blunt criticisms to other opponents as well. For instance, he managed to enrage Cheick Kongo by commenting on how his takedown abilities “sucked.”
But athletes often have more to them than meets the eye. In Mir’s case, a cocky exterior hides one of sports’ greatest comeback stories.
Filed under: UFCOn paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for “HD.”
On paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for “HD.”
Barry is 3-4 in the UFC, but he could easily be 6-1 or 5-2 or 4-3. And I don’t just mean that in the purely speculative, hypothetical sense, the way the flap of a butterfly’s wings could have resulted in the Nazis winning World War II. It doesn’t take a gigantic mental leap to imagine a world where Barry has a winning record in the UFC. All it takes is a look at his losses and a little bit of sympathy.
Fortunately for Barry, it’s the way he’s gone about losing that has earned him the sympathy, which explains why he’ll likely keep his job with the UFC at least a little while longer.
Consider Barry’s first three defeats in the Octagon. After a successful debut at UFC 92, he dropped Tim Hague in the opening seconds of their UFC 98 bout, only to get carried away in search of the finish and ending up in a guillotine choke. He rebounded with a knockout of Antoni Hardonk, then broke his most valuable appendages on Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s head before succumbing to a sloppy rear-naked choke.
Then, of course, came his infamous near-knockout (or, if you prefer, actual knockout followed by brilliant recovery) of Cheick Kongo in a bout that ended with one of the most spectacular comebacks in MMA history. Unfortunately for Barry, it also ended with him on his back, looking up at the lights.
You tweak one or two things in each of those three losses — a more patient attack, sturdier bones, the lack of a miraculous recovery — and Barry might be one the most successful UFC heavyweights of the past two years.
In fact, the only one of his losses that you can’t explain away with some minor blunder or bizarre misfortune is his most recent loss via submission to Stefan Struve this past Saturday night. That one was utterly and purely Barry’s fault, and this time inexperience and/or hyper-aggression weren’t plausible scapegoats.
Not that it should matter, at least in theory. There are plenty of UFC fighters who never caught many breaks but still got cut once the losses piled up. Regardless of whether Barry could have won those fights — or even should have — he didn’t. And in the end, isn’t that what counts?
Judging by UFC president Dana White’s reaction, the answer is: sometimes, but not always. Following the UFC on Versus 6 press conference, White explained that he was in no hurry to cut Barry because he “always brings it.”
In other words, he’s a kickboxer with an exciting style and an engaging personality, plus fans like him, so he gets a little more slack. It’s the Dan Hardy rule. Most guys can’t lose three fights in a row and remain on the UFC roster (some, like Gerald Harris, can’t even lose one). But if the UFC likes what you bring to the table, you might get a fourth and fifth chance to halt a losing skid. It’s one more reminder that this sport isn’t just about winning and losing — it’s also about selling tickets.
In some cases, that results in some truly forgettable missteps (see also: Kimbo Slice). But in Barry’s case, it makes for a welcome reprieve. Sure, he has some gaping holes in his game and he’ll never be UFC champion — or, most likely, even a serious contender — but he’s talented and he’s fun. Even when (especially when?) he loses it makes for a memorable night, and he’s always competitive, especially when the UFC is kind enough to keep him away from the heavyweight division’s better grapplers.
If Barry were a wrestler with poor striking rather than a striker with poor submissions defense, he’d be cut by now. It wouldn’t matter how much fun he was to interview or how narrow his defeats were. In that sense, keeping guys like Barry and Hardy around promotes a certain kind of fighting, and it’s the kind the UFC thinks it can most effectively sell to fans.
But Barry (and, to some extent, Hardy as well) is a case where this system actually feels just. He’s not a bad fighter; he’s just unlucky. He needs work on his ground game, but at least he never bores you. Even with a 3-4 record in the organization, he’s the best losing heavyweight in the UFC.
Of course, if he doesn’t want to find out just how much slack the UFC is willing to cut him, he’d better pull to .500 very, very soon. Winning may not be everything, but it’s still the most noticeable thing.
Filed under: UFCOn paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for “HD.”
On paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for “HD.”
Barry is 3-4 in the UFC, but he could easily be 6-1 or 5-2 or 4-3. And I don’t just mean that in the purely speculative, hypothetical sense, the way the flap of a butterfly’s wings could have resulted in the Nazis winning World War II. It doesn’t take a gigantic mental leap to imagine a world where Barry has a winning record in the UFC. All it takes is a look at his losses and a little bit of sympathy.
Fortunately for Barry, it’s the way he’s gone about losing that has earned him the sympathy, which explains why he’ll likely keep his job with the UFC at least a little while longer.
Consider Barry’s first three defeats in the Octagon. After a successful debut at UFC 92, he dropped Tim Hague in the opening seconds of their UFC 98 bout, only to get carried away in search of the finish and ending up in a guillotine choke. He rebounded with a knockout of Antoni Hardonk, then broke his most valuable appendages on Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s head before succumbing to a sloppy rear-naked choke.
Then, of course, came his infamous near-knockout (or, if you prefer, actual knockout followed by brilliant recovery) of Cheick Kongo in a bout that ended with one of the most spectacular comebacks in MMA history. Unfortunately for Barry, it also ended with him on his back, looking up at the lights.
You tweak one or two things in each of those three losses — a more patient attack, sturdier bones, the lack of a miraculous recovery — and Barry might be one the most successful UFC heavyweights of the past two years.
In fact, the only one of his losses that you can’t explain away with some minor blunder or bizarre misfortune is his most recent loss via submission to Stefan Struve this past Saturday night. That one was utterly and purely Barry’s fault, and this time inexperience and/or hyper-aggression weren’t plausible scapegoats.
Not that it should matter, at least in theory. There are plenty of UFC fighters who never caught many breaks but still got cut once the losses piled up. Regardless of whether Barry could have won those fights — or even should have — he didn’t. And in the end, isn’t that what counts?
Judging by UFC president Dana White’s reaction, the answer is: sometimes, but not always. Following the UFC on Versus 6 press conference, White explained that he was in no hurry to cut Barry because he “always brings it.”
In other words, he’s a kickboxer with an exciting style and an engaging personality, plus fans like him, so he gets a little more slack. It’s the Dan Hardy rule. Most guys can’t lose three fights in a row and remain on the UFC roster (some, like Gerald Harris, can’t even lose one). But if the UFC likes what you bring to the table, you might get a fourth and fifth chance to halt a losing skid. It’s one more reminder that this sport isn’t just about winning and losing — it’s also about selling tickets.
In some cases, that results in some truly forgettable missteps (see also: Kimbo Slice). But in Barry’s case, it makes for a welcome reprieve. Sure, he has some gaping holes in his game and he’ll never be UFC champion — or, most likely, even a serious contender — but he’s talented and he’s fun. Even when (especially when?) he loses it makes for a memorable night, and he’s always competitive, especially when the UFC is kind enough to keep him away from the heavyweight division’s better grapplers.
If Barry were a wrestler with poor striking rather than a striker with poor submissions defense, he’d be cut by now. It wouldn’t matter how much fun he was to interview or how narrow his defeats were. In that sense, keeping guys like Barry and Hardy around promotes a certain kind of fighting, and it’s the kind the UFC thinks it can most effectively sell to fans.
But Barry (and, to some extent, Hardy as well) is a case where this system actually feels just. He’s not a bad fighter; he’s just unlucky. He needs work on his ground game, but at least he never bores you. Even with a 3-4 record in the organization, he’s the best losing heavyweight in the UFC.
Of course, if he doesn’t want to find out just how much slack the UFC is willing to cut him, he’d better pull to .500 very, very soon. Winning may not be everything, but it’s still the most noticeable thing.
DENVER — MMA Fighting spoke to Quinton Jackson on Thursday about his UFC 135 title fight against Jon Jones, whether he found the spy in his camp, the lack of respect he’s received from the oddsmakers and much more. Plus, Jackson’s training partner and friend Cheick Kongo makes an appearance, which leads to things getting a bit weird (and a tad physical) between everyone.
DENVER — MMA Fighting spoke to Quinton Jackson on Thursday about his UFC 135 title fight against Jon Jones, whether he found the spy in his camp, the lack of respect he’s received from the oddsmakers and much more. Plus, Jackson’s training partner and friend Cheick Kongo makes an appearance, which leads to things getting a bit weird (and a tad physical) between everyone.
Participating in the most rigorous and physically demanding sport in the world, its obvious as to why mixed martial artists’ bodies would be in peak physical condition.As some of the most well-trained athletes to ever compete, fighters’ bodies are ofte…
Participating in the most rigorous and physically demanding sport in the world, its obvious as to why mixed martial artists’ bodies would be in peak physical condition.
As some of the most well-trained athletes to ever compete, fighters’ bodies are often the prime example of a finely tuned machine.
In some cases, the body may not be entirely reflective of a fighter’s skill, like Fedor Emelianenko for example, or their physical appearance may give insight into just how dangerous they truly are, as is the case with Georges St. Pierre.
Often times, though, when the thought of a mixed martial artist comes to mind, we often picture a flawless figure of perfect muscular proportion, carved from granite and built to destroy.
However, not every fighter is ripped like Rambo or a muscle bound colossus like the Incredible Hulk.
Many fighters may look good, but these chosen few—who border on a statuesque appearance— look even rarer an anomaly in the athletic spectrum; damn near perfect physical specimens.
Here are the ten best physical specimens in MMA today.
Cheick Kongo is best known for his above average striking and his inadequate wrestling ability. He is someone who has the look and the stand-up skills of a champion, but seems to lack the talent to put it all together with some decent ground work.
On paper,