This Sunday night, June 26, 2011 two heavyweight kickboxers, Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry, will meet in what has the potential to be stand-up war of the year as well as knockout of the year. Cheick Kongo has been fighting with the UFC for many years now….
This Sunday night, June 26, 2011 two heavyweight kickboxers, Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry, will meet in what has the potential to be stand-up war of the year as well as knockout of the year.
Cheick Kongo has been fighting with the UFC for many years now. He won seven of his first nine fights in the organization, then he was given a title eliminator bout against current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez.
Velasquez handily won the fight, but in the fight, Kongo caught Velasquez and rocked him a couple of times. Kongo has the skill to hang with the top guys, but when his mind is not in it, then you never know what you will see. After the Velasquez fight, he fought Frank Mir and lost by the way of submission. In that fight, Mir landed a solid shot and rocked Kongo, which eventually led to Mir locking in a guillotine choke and Kongo becoming unconscious.
Since that fight, Kongo has posted a 1-0-1 record. He defeated Paul Buentello and next took on Travis Browne. In the Browne fight, both fighters were dead even on the score cards going into the third round, but while Kongo controlled and won the round, he was docked a point for continually grabbing the shorts of Browne which led to the round being scored 9-9 and it ending in a draw. So in all truth, this bout with Barry could either be the next step in what may be his final run at a chance to get his shot at the world title, or it could be one step closer to the end of a career.
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Pat Barry is a kickboxer turned mixed martial artist. His MMA record is 6-2. Still young in his career, his biggest weakness is wrestling and submissions. He is working with the DeathClutch Camp, which is filled with wrestlers in the heavyweight division so that he can improve.
In Pat’s last fight, he faced the ultra-tough Joey Beltran. Beltran took everything Pat gave him and kept coming, proving a lot to the fans.
The one thing about Pat is that he is very defensive with his strikes—by that, I mean it appears that he fears being taken to the ground. Once he gets his ground game solid enough, he may end up being one of the best in the world.
When you hear about a matchup like this, you automatically think about a slugfest. That would be very fun to see; odds are Barry would get the best of Kongo in that department, but it would still be very entertaining.
In reality, this is what should be expected. From the start, it will be a feeling-out process. Once each find their range, expect Kongo to immediately press Pat into the cage and attempt takedowns. Kongo knows how risky it is to stand and trade with someone that has the striking ability that Barry has. If successful on these takedowns and the referee doesn’t stand them up, then Kongo should be able to grind out a decision, in a smart game-planned fight.
If Pat has really improved on his wrestling, then it could be a very interesting fight.
Overall, this fight has many possibilities for both men. Overall, Kongo is much more well-rounded, and should be able to dictate the pace of this fight. That being said, I have no choice but to take Cheick Kongo by the way of unanimous decision.
Now, please check out 10 random Pat Barry moments.
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