Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo will meet this Sunday and UFC Live: Marquardt vs Story, and it’s a big fight for both competitors.Kongo has been with the UFC for five years now and has put together a solid record of 8-4-1. However, Cheick has consistently c…
Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo will meet this Sunday and UFC Live: Marquardt vs Story, and it’s a big fight for both competitors.
Kongo has been with the UFC for five years now and has put together a solid record of 8-4-1. However, Cheick has consistently come up short against high level opponents and, as a result, has earned himself the unofficial position as the heavyweight gatekeeper.
If Kongo can beat Barry in devastating fashion, he could earn himself another shot against one the division’s elite. At the same time, a loss for Cheick would be devastating and would likely put him at the very back of the line for a shot at the title.
A win for Pat would prove to the UFC that he is ready for some higher level competition. The most significant opponent Barry has faced in the UFC was Mirko Filipovic and Barry couldn’t pull out the win, losing by third-round submission.
Barry will be looking to prove that the loss to Mirko wasn’t an accurate representation of what he can do inside the Octagon.
I’ll say it once again: you gotta love the UFC and the way they give fans free fights. This Sunday, UFC on Versus 4 goes down and features a solid card of fighters going at it with heavy implications all around. The importance of fights for guys like T…
I’ll say it once again: you gotta love the UFC and the way they give fans free fights. This Sunday, UFC on Versus 4 goes down and features a solid card of fighters going at it with heavy implications all around.
The importance of fights for guys like Tyson Griffin, who is making his featherweight debut vs. Manny Gamburyan cannot be understated. How about strikers Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry—will they deliver a slobber knocker of a knockout that the fans so expected out of Junior Dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin?
There are some intriguing fights on this card in every division, and I look forward to seeing the strategic, game-within-the-game moments of all of these match-ups. What detail will lead to one fighter’s victory vs. one fighter’s fall? Let’s take a look and zoom in on five things to look for in the fights this weekend.
5. Will the real Joe Lauzon re-emerge and dominate a lesser opponent?
Look closely on Sunday night to see if we will get a tentative, cautious fighter in Joe Lauzon, or if we get the pressing, blitzing, dominant Joe that we have been blessed to witness at times in his career. It has been an up and down couple of years for Lauzon, and he needs to get back on track with a win worthy of some noise for J-Lau.
In my opinion, Curt Warburton is outmatched in this fight both in skill and experience, but Joe has got to fight desperate, and show a renewed pension for unleashing hell when he gets in that cage.
4. Does Size Matter For Tyson Griffin?
Tyson Griffin shot on to the mixed martial arts scene as a lightweight with incredible cardio and dexterity, blasting through his first few fights early in his UFC career. Then he started to come up against some of the big boys of the division and it soon became apparent that he was going to forever struggle to hold off the elite guys at the 155 pound range.
Sunday night he moves down to 145 pounds, and he gets a rude welcome with top contender Manny Gamburyan. Watch closely in this fight to see if Griffin can impose his will on Manny, who is one of the strongest men in the division. I look for this fight to be in close quarters and hopefully Griffin can re-emerge a contender after the fight.
3. Who has the better striking, Mitrione or Morecraft?
I look for this fight to settle two scores where these two fighters are concerned on Sunday. The first score to settle is for these two to start this fight in stand-and-bang mode and see who has the better, more technical and powerful striking. Both of these guys like to cut it up and be funny characters at times and they have both gained a following doing so.
Settling the striking score will certainly settle the second score for me, as I want to see which one of these two boisterous heavyweights is ready for a large step up the next time they step in the cage.
2. Is It Near The End For Cheick Kongo?
I used to get frustrated with Cheick Kongo’s repeated failure to develop a ground game, it seemed such a waste for such a talented, sculpted fighter to get beaten so easily in one aspect of the game. Recently, I have been more frustrated with a certain lack of fire and heart in Kongo’s game. Although his losses have come to legitimate guys in the division, I am always left wanting more from him when the key moment of the fight arrives.
Pat Barry will stand in your face, fire shots and test your will to be there. If Kongo can stand and trade and not flinch an inch against Barry, it will go a long way in telling us all if we should consider Kongo a relevant enough fighter to continue to get interesting fights. He may try to shoot and submit, which is fine and may be smart, but if he retreats and starts to dance, will will know right away, he is fighter looking to survive instead of thrive and I wish him well in the future.
1. Will Nate Marquardt be technical and powerful enough to stop Rick Story?
As he was getting ready for Thiago Alves a month ago, I heard Rick Story say that he was going to come in come hard and come often, and that he did, to my surprise, against Alves, stealing the win in the process. Thiago Alves’ bread and butter was powerful Muay Thai striking, and Story bulldozed straight in through it with good set ups and brute timing.
Marquardt is coming down from 185 pounds and is banking on the fact that his size and power shots will be enough to deter and ultimately stop the train that has become Rick Story. I personally feel like Nate is a bit more technically sound in his approach than Thiago, so he will land punches. Will his punches be powerful enough at 170 pounds to get the job done and stop Story in his tracks? I am saying yes, and Nate will score a decisive win that sees a bloody Story at the end
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Feature Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA.
There’s no question that when Nate “The Great” Marquardt is at the top of his game; not even the most promising of fighters at 185 pounds can shut him down.Nate “The Great” has made a case for himself as being one of the toughest finishers in the sport…
There’s no question that when Nate “The Great” Marquardt is at the top of his game; not even the most promising of fighters at 185 pounds can shut him down.
Nate “The Great” has made a case for himself as being one of the toughest finishers in the sport, as has been evident by his track record in the middleweight division.
However, the question for this weekend is not whether Marquardt is a tough finisher in MMA.
The question is, will he be able to make the drop to welterweight and remain the same tough finisher at 170 lbs. that he was at 185 lbs.?
If fast-rising welterweight Rick “The Horror” Story has anything to say or do about it, the fight will end before Marquardt is able to get the chance to answer the question of whether he can be as competitive at 170 as he was at 185.
Additionally, Pat Barry has found success in his UFC career, save for bouts against Tim Hague and Mirko Filipovic, but on his way up the UFC ladder, he faces the inevitable encounter with an exciting yet controversial kickboxer who is one of the more exciting gatekeepers in the UFC heavyweight division in Cheick Kongo.
Though Kongo’s likely to be the favorite due to his wrestling and ground game being more clear than Barry’s ground game, “Mr. Hype or Die” cannot be prematurely perceived as an underdog, especially since the Roufusport wrecking machine has found some strong company within Brock Lesnar‘s Deathclutch camp, and that strong company could be one to point fingers at if we should see any takedown defense from this comical yet passionate young prospect.
All this and more can be seen this Sunday at UFC Live on Versus 4: Marquardt vs. Story, but who will walk out with the big bucks when all is said and done?
The fourth addition of UFC on Versus Live will feature a fantastic main event, as Rick Story looks to stake his claim as a legit contender at 170 pounds as he takes on former top-tier middleweight Nate Marquardt. Story is fresh off a win over Thi…
The fourth addition of UFC on Versus Live will feature a fantastic main event, as Rick Story looks to stake his claim as a legit contender at 170 pounds as he takes on former top-tier middleweight Nate Marquardt.
Story is fresh off a win over Thiago Alves at UFC 130, and looks to prove it was no fluke by taking a tough test in Marquardt with less than a month of down time.
Marquardt has won two of his last three, and five of his last seven, and will be making his career debut at 170 pounds on UFC Live.
Nate “The Great” claims that he feels stronger, faster and has more stamina as a welterweight, but after losing to top-10 middleweights Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen, fans have to wonder if Marquardt is just grasping at straws for one last title run before he retires.
Fans also get to enjoy what should be a slugfest between two hard-hitting heavyweights when Cheick Kongo takes on Pat Berry.
Additionally, Matt Brown will square off against John Howard in what is likely to be a “loser leaves town” fight, and Matt Mitrione will battle Christian Morecraft to decide which heavyweight remains relevant in the UFC’s 265-pound division.
This time around, the Bleacher Report MMA Staff will be represented by Dana Becker (10-15), Jordy McElroy (6-10), Dale De Souza (6-10), Sean Smith (4-5) and me, John Heinis (10-15).
Take a look inside to see what our panel had to say about this free UFC card.
UFC heavyweight Pat Barry has been quite a charismatic person outside of the UFC, however, he has remained focused ahead of his bout with French kickboxer, Cheick Kongo at UFC on Versus 4.Barry, who will be in the co-main event against Kongo, has put h…
UFC heavyweight Pat Barry has been quite a charismatic person outside of the UFC, however, he has remained focused ahead of his bout with French kickboxer, Cheick Kongo at UFC on Versus 4.
Barry, who will be in the co-main event against Kongo, has put his time in during his training camp and has prepared for his opponent as the Frenchman will serve as one of the biggest tests of his career.
While speaking with Heavy.com, Barry expects to see Kongo use a different strategy than before.
“He’s supposedly feeling 100 percent better now and he’s back to his old ways. But, now he’s standing across from me, and Cheick Kongo being the striker that he is, I guarantee you, will turn into a wrestler as soon as I throw punch either passed his head or I make contact,” Barry said.
Kongo is coming off a back surgery that Barry believes will hinder the Frenchman’s chances of a win on Sunday.
But with that in mind, Barry is not taking his opponent lightly and has been criticized for the lack of intensity he carries into fights. Barry said his recent training camp at DeathClutch in Alexandria, Minnesota will change critics perspective of him.
“Now, Cheick Kongo just had back surgery? I’m going to look for a scar, and I’m going to find it and bite it,” he said.
“That’s just the mentality that these guys have, and they mean it. Really, when it comes down to it, it makes the fight less intimidating.”
And it is with that new found killer instinct, Barry feels prepared for whatever Kongo brings at him this weekend.
How ’bout we keep this fight-picking train rolling, eh? I’ve just come into the possession of a Blu-ray copy of UFC Ultimate Royce Gracie — which hit stores last month — and I figured one of you jokers might wants it. Hit us with the synopsis, Amazon:
This comprehensive Blu-ray collection captures the jiu-jitsu master at his best with nearly six hours of content, including interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and of course, his classic fights against Ken Shamrock, Kimo Leopoldo, and Kazushi Sakuraba.
But you can’t win if you don’t play. This Sunday night, UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story goes down at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, featuring Marquardt’s debut at 170 and a heavyweight clash between Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:
How ’bout we keep this fight-picking train rolling, eh? I’ve just come into the possession of a Blu-ray copy of UFC Ultimate Royce Gracie — which hit stores last month — and I figured one of you jokers might wants it. Hit us with the synopsis, Amazon:
This comprehensive Blu-ray collection captures the jiu-jitsu master at his best with nearly six hours of content, including interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and of course, his classic fights against Ken Shamrock, Kimo Leopoldo, and Kazushi Sakuraba.
But you can’t win if you don’t play. This Sunday night, UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story goes down at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, featuring Marquardt’s debut at 170 and a heavyweight clash between Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:
Nate Marquardt def. Rick Story via split-decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) Pat Barry def. Cheick Kongo via TKO, 1:56 of round 3
Please include the judges’ scores if you think a fight will end in a decision, in case we need them for a tie-breaker. The most accurate prediction wins the Royce Gracie disc. Entries must be in by this Sunday at noon ET, and we’ll announce the winner the next day; one entry per person, please. Any other questions, let us know. Thanks for playing, and props to Anchor Bay Entertainment for the hookup.
