Bellator has itself a new heavyweight title contender in French kickboxer Cheick Kongo following his unanimous-decision win over Peter Graham.
The bout saw Kongo handily take the first two rounds by plying his standard clinch-then-knee strategy t…
Bellator has itself a new heavyweight title contender in French kickboxer Cheick Kongo following his unanimous-decision win over Peter Graham.
The bout saw Kongo handily take the first two rounds by plying his standard clinch-then-knee strategy to great effect. By the third round, Graham was visibly worn out and found himself battered thoroughly standing and on the ground. All three judges would score the fight 30-27 in Kongo’s favor.
Cheick Kongo was famously set free of the UFC following his UFC 159 loss to Roy Nelson. While it seemed highly likely that the heavyweight veteran (who racked up a solid 11-6-1 record in the promotion) would simply return to his long-time home, he followed Wolfslair teammate Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to Bellator.
In his Bellator debut, he defeated British boxer Mark Godbeer to advance to the finals of Season 9’s four-man heavyweight tournament.
His second bout, though, was repeatedly shaken up. While he was originally supposed to face fellow former UFC fighter Vinicius Queiroz (who was booted after a failed drug test after UFC 120), “Spartan” was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury. Additionally, the bout was removed from the Bellator 106 card after it was moved from pay-per-view to Spike TV, and the fight was then booked to headline Bellator 107.
Graham, like Kongo, comes primarily from a kickboxing background. While he started off his MMA career with a hideous 1-5 record, he rattled off nine straight wins from there, including wins over former Pride fighter Alexander Emelianenko and former Bellator heavyweight title contender Eric Prindle.
Kongo will face the winner of next week’s heavyweight title bout between champion Alexander Volkov and Vitaly Minakov. When and where, though, remains to be seen.
After going 0-2-1 in his first three UFC appearances, McCall won his do-or-die fight against Iliarde Santos at UFC 163, and was looking to make it two in a row against Jorgensen, a former bantamweight contender who was scheduled to make his 125-pound debut. The UFC is currently looking for a replacement opponent for Jorgensen, who was most recently choked out by Urijah Faber at the TUF 17 Finale. Anyway, tough break for Creepy. We’ll update you when we know more.
In other injury news, Bellator 106 has taken another step towards “cursed card” status…
(“Serves you right, you bastard.” — The local homeless drug-addict community. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
After going 0-2-1 in his first three UFC appearances, McCall won his do-or-die fight against Iliarde Santos at UFC 163, and was looking to make it two in a row against Jorgensen, a former bantamweight contender who was scheduled to make his 125-pound debut. The UFC is currently looking for a replacement opponent for Jorgensen, who was most recently choked out by Urijah Faber at the TUF 17 Finale. Anyway, tough break for Creepy. We’ll update you when we know more.
In other injury news, Bellator 106 has taken another step towards “cursed card” status…
Fun fact: Bellator’s current heavyweight champion is a guy named Alexander Volkov; I just learned that on Wikipedia. Come back, Cole — the game needs you.
That’s right kids, Luke Thomas recently passed along the word that some more UFC veterans are going to throw down for the right to challenge whoever Bellator’s current heavyweight champion is (I think it ends in “agrov” or “arinov”?) for the low, low price of 35ish dollars!
(That’s right, three consecutive posts anchored by gifs. Deal with it.)
That’s right kids, Luke Thomas recently passed along the word that some more UFC veterans are going to throw down for the right to challenge whoever Bellator’s current heavyweight champion is (I think it ends in “agrov” or “arinov”?) for the low, low price of 35ish dollars!
(That’s right, three consecutive posts anchored by gifs. Deal with it.)
One thing is certain after watching Cheick Kongo’s meticulous destruction of Mark Godbeer at Bellator 102: “The Darkness” is consuming the heavyweight division.
In a division starving for notable talent, Bellator began its march towar…
One thing is certain after watching Cheick Kongo’s meticulous destruction of Mark Godbeer at Bellator 102: “The Darkness” is consuming the heavyweight division.
In a division starving for notable talent, Bellator began its march toward heavyweight legitimacy with the eagerly anticipated debuts of UFC castoffs Kongo and Lavar Johnson.
While Johnson was cut from the UFC, Kongo actually passed on an opportunity to negotiate for a new contract with the MMA mecca.
Instead, he made the unlikely decision of going to Bellator, a televised promotion void of the same mainstream attention as the UFC. For fans, it’s tough to comprehend why any fighter would choose to bypass an opportunity to continue fighting on the big stage.
After competing in the UFC for over seven years, Kongo admitted he really just needed a change of scenery:
I felt in the UFC, those company had me a lot. [I just wanted to focus] on getting back in shape, and [Bellator said], “Don’t you worry about anything.” After I lost weight, I didn’t have to worry about nothing, just the conditioning from here. It’s just different perks for [different companies]. Honestly, it was really good. It was really great to get a change. The crowd was wonderful and I thought the promotion was also.
Change isn’t always the answer, but it appeared to be the best solution in Kongo’s case.
After being plagued by inconsistent performances in the UFC, Kongo looked like a new man when he stepped foot into the Bellator cage for the first time on Friday night. Standing across from him was Godbeer, a dangerous striker looking to make a name for himself by knocking out “the UFC guy.”
Unfortunately for Godbeer, years of experience taught Kongo to keep his emotions in check and be tactful in the cage.
A chorus of boos echoed throughout the Visalia Convention Center in Visalia, Calif., but Kongo remained fixated on finishing the fight on his terms, which basically consisted of making Godbeer carry his weight and wearing him down with elongated clinch grapples against the fence.
With the tournament-style setup in Bellator, Kongo’s primary concern was leaving the fight with a win and remaining injury free:
I’m used to doing different things, but I went to use the fence so I wouldn’t get injured for the next opponent. Just tried to save energy and avoid injuries from the war in the stand-up, striking. I tried a whole bunch of different things, no matter what he tried to do, and to make him tired.
The game plan came together like clockwork for Kongo, who leaned heavily on his grappling and clinch strikes throughout the fight.
By the time the second round rolled around, Godbeer was breathing heavily and winging haymakers out of desperation. The turning point in the bout came when Godbeer missed on a sloppy overhand right and Kongo ducked under and secured a body lock from behind.
From the clinch, Kongo began to unload with a series of devastating knees to Godbeer’s legs and body. Godbeer stood tall in the face of adversity until the damage relocated to his face. The referee was finally forced to step in at 2:04 to save him from further punishment.
The post-UFC transition has gone well for Kongo, but Johnson wasn’t so fortunate. In a truly shocking turn of events, the former UFC heavyweight was knocked out in just 23 seconds by ViniciusQueiroz.
Kongo, who was eyeing the fight backstage, admitted he was shocked by the knockout. Many expected he would be facing Johnson in the next round, but things have certainly taken an unexpected turn.
After seeing Queiroz’s performance, Kongo is already formulating a game plan that would ensure victory and minimize the risk of injury:
I was shocked to see how [Queiroz] finished Lavar Johnson. I was surprised. The fight was so fast. It’s on and I was like, “Oh!” So after that, I was thinking OK, I have to do the same thing. Don’t go for the war, get injuries. Just save your energy and do the things as a smart guy.
Kongo is now one step closer to winning his first major MMA world title, which is a far cry from where he was in the UFC.
Perhaps “The Darkness” may have finally found the light.
JordyMcElroy is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
(Cheick Kongo relaxing before his fight, presumably listening to high-quality audio of groin shots. / Screen-cap via Chris Nelson)
After nine years in the UFC, Cheick Kongo found himself fighting for another promotion last night. The French heavyweight probably found the experience a little disconcerting, and yet entirely familiar. The cage was there, there was a man inside it, and he was tasked with disposing of him. Yet there is something less about the entire experience for a fighter competing in a lower-tier organization, deprived of the possibility of reaching the glory he once sought. For Kongo and fellow UFC cast-off Lavar Johnson, Friday’s Bellator 102 event in Visalia, California, was the beginning of the end of the road. Both are fighters on the way down, fighting not for what they once strove for, but simply because this is what they know how to do. It’s rarely a road that ends well. All they can hope for is to reclaim the one thing that doesn’t change — the euphoria of victory. Because if you can’t get that, what’s the point anymore?
Kongo was, at least, able to make the best of his opportunity against Mark “The Hand of” Godbeer. His most formidable challenge on the night came from his pre-fight water bottle. Unfortunately, Godbeer wasn’t capable of offering such a test. If there’s one thing Kongo is known for, it’s probably his knee strikes. If there’s another thing he’s known for, it’s probably that those knee strikes tend to find his opponent’s testicles a little too often. Fortunately for almost everyone involved, Kongo managed to keep himself in Cheick tonight. (I’m so sorry.) He battered Godbeer with knees from the clinch throughout the fight, and finished him in the second round with a monster right knee followed by an uppercut against the fence. Able to stave off the reaper for another few months, Kongo advances into the next round of Bellator’s heavyweight tournament.
The same can’t be said for Lavar “Big” Johnson. Cast aside from the UFC for failing a drug test — to say nothing of possessing one of the least imaginative nicknames in a sport rife with them — Johnson was essentially fed his opponent Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz in his Bellator debut upon returning from his suspension. The expectation was that Johnson, a one-dimensional heavy-hitter, would have no problem dispatching Queiroz in a spectacularly violent fashion. Queiroz, it was reasoned, could offer trouble on the ground, but the fight wouldn’t last long enough to get there. If you’re familiar with ironic foreshadowing, you’ve probably figured out what happens next.
(Cheick Kongo relaxing before his fight, presumably listening to high-quality audio of groin shots. / Screen-cap via Chris Nelson)
After nine years in the UFC, Cheick Kongo found himself fighting for another promotion last night. The French heavyweight probably found the experience a little disconcerting, and yet entirely familiar. The cage was there, there was a man inside it, and he was tasked with disposing of him. Yet there is something less about the entire experience for a fighter competing in a lower-tier organization, deprived of the possibility of reaching the glory he once sought. For Kongo and fellow UFC cast-off Lavar Johnson, Friday’s Bellator 102 event in Visalia, California, was the beginning of the end of the road. Both are fighters on the way down, fighting not for what they once strove for, but simply because this is what they know how to do. It’s rarely a road that ends well. All they can hope for is to reclaim the one thing that doesn’t change — the euphoria of victory. Because if you can’t get that, what’s the point anymore?
Kongo was, at least, able to make the best of his opportunity against Mark “The Hand of” Godbeer. His most formidable challenge on the night came from his pre-fight water bottle. Unfortunately, Godbeer wasn’t capable of offering such a test. If there’s one thing Kongo is known for, it’s probably his knee strikes. If there’s another thing he’s known for, it’s probably that those knee strikes tend to find his opponent’s testicles a little too often. Fortunately for almost everyone involved, Kongo managed to keep himself in Cheick tonight. (I’m so sorry.) He battered Godbeer with knees from the clinch throughout the fight, and finished him in the second round with a monster right knee followed by an uppercut against the fence. Able to stave off the reaper for another few months, Kongo advances into the next round of Bellator’s heavyweight tournament.
The same can’t be said for Lavar “Big” Johnson. Cast aside from the UFC for failing a drug test — to say nothing of possessing one of the least imaginative nicknames in a sport rife with them — Johnson was essentially fed his opponent Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz in his Bellator debut upon returning from his suspension. The expectation was that Johnson, a one-dimensional heavy-hitter, would have no problem dispatching Queiroz in a spectacularly violent fashion. Queiroz, it was reasoned, could offer trouble on the ground, but the fight wouldn’t last long enough to get there. If you’re familiar with ironic foreshadowing, you’ve probably figured out what happens next.
The fight started and Queiroz fired a counter-right over Johnson’s lazy hook that staggered Johnson, who attempted to recover only to faceplant on the mat. Whatever hope Johnson had of a career recovery was snuffed out in 23 seconds. Meanwhile, Queiroz received the satisfaction of proving his doubters wrong, and can now look forward to a modicum of respect. Though he’ll probably get knocked out when he faces Kongo. Oh well.
If this recap sounds a little depressing or pessimistic, that’s what happens when your primary talent for a card consists of aging fighters who have recently been released by the UFC. Bellator has solid, younger fighters; the fight between Brennan Ward and Joe Pacheco was a good fight while it lasted, as Ward secured the victory with a modified guillotine. Rafael Silva looked impressive as he earned a title shot with a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Leone. Bellator, however, put all of its promotional stock in fighters whose stocks are on the decline. Even Kongo’s victory is but a halt in his inexorable descent. By tying their image to fighters like him, it only serves to reinforce the perception that Bellator is being led down the same road they are. Maybe it will work for now. But inevitably it won’t end well.
Full Bellator 102 Results
MAIN CARD
– Cheick Kongo def. Mark Godbeer via TKO, 2:04 of round 2
– Vinicius Spartan def. Lavar Johnson via KO, 0:23 of round 1
– Rafael Silva def. Anthony Leone via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Mikkel Parlo def. Jason Butcher via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Brennan Ward def. Joe Pacheco via submission (guillotine choke), 2:41 of round 2
PRELIMINARY CARD
– Scott Cleve def. Isaac de Jesus via TKO, 3:14 of round 2
– Javy Ayala def. Thiago Santos via KO, 5:00 of round 1
– Brandon Girtz def. Poppies Martinez via submission (armbar), 1:20 of round 1
– Stephen Martinez def. Bryan Travers via technical submission (guillotine choke), 0:56 of round 1
– Cain Carrizosa def. Juan Quesada via submission (triangle choke), 4:41 of round 2
– Brandon Cash def. William Richey via TKO (exhaustion), 5:00 of round 2
Friday night’s Bellator 102 event was heavy on UFC veterans and nasty finishes. In the night’s main event, former long-time UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo knocked out Mark Godbeer with knees and punches in the second round. Kongo used a dirty clinch in the first to wear down Godbeer and then started to lay into him with knees in the second before dropping him and forcing the stoppage.
The card’s other heavyweight UFC veteran Lavar Johnson did not fare so well. Johnson was knocked out in just over twenty seconds of the first round by Vinicius de Queiroz. The Brazilian now advances to this season’s heavyweight tournament finals against Kongo.
Quick Results for the Rest of the Bellator 102 Card:
Rafael Silva beat Anthony Leone by unanimous decision
Mikkel Parlo won a unanimous decision over Jason Butcher
Brennan Ward scored a guillotine submission win over Joe Pacheco in the second round
Scott Cleve beat Isaac de Jesus in the second round by TKO
Javy Ayala defeated knocked Thiago Santos out in the first round
Brandon Girtz won with an arm bar submission in the first over Poppies Martinez
Stephen Martinez choked out Bryan Travers in the first round with a guillotine choke
Cain Carrizosa beat Juan Quesada with a triangle choke in the second round
Brandon Cash scored a second round TKO win over William Richey
Friday night’s Bellator 102 event was heavy on UFC veterans and nasty finishes. In the night’s main event, former long-time UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo knocked out Mark Godbeer with knees and punches in the second round. Kongo used a dirty clinch in the first to wear down Godbeer and then started to lay into him with knees in the second before dropping him and forcing the stoppage.
The card’s other heavyweight UFC veteran Lavar Johnson did not fare so well. Johnson was knocked out in just over twenty seconds of the first round by Vinicius de Queiroz. The Brazilian now advances to this season’s heavyweight tournament finals against Kongo.
Quick Results for the Rest of the Bellator 102 Card:
Rafael Silva beat Anthony Leone by unanimous decision
Mikkel Parlo won a unanimous decision over Jason Butcher
Brennan Ward scored a guillotine submission win over Joe Pacheco in the second round
Scott Cleve beat Isaac de Jesus in the second round by TKO
Javy Ayala defeated knocked Thiago Santos out in the first round
Brandon Girtz won with an arm bar submission in the first over Poppies Martinez
Stephen Martinez choked out Bryan Travers in the first round with a guillotine choke
Cain Carrizosa beat Juan Quesada with a triangle choke in the second round
Brandon Cash scored a second round TKO win over William Richey
One thing is certain after watching 
