How Far Can Kongo Go in a Heavyweight Division Full of Grapplers?
It has always been interesting that different weight classes in the UFC seem to have different personalities, as it were. The welterweight ranks have usually been ruled by wrestlers, as the great Matt Hughes has now given way to strong grapplers such as Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck. Meanwhile, while the light heavyweight ranks have always included good wrestlers, such as Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, it has been the powerful strikers, such as Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, that made it the money division of the UFC (and even Pride, while it lasted). Then, look at the lightweight division, which has plenty of speed and punching power but is ruled over by a prodigious jiu-jitsu black belt and features wrestlers and submission masters such as Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, and others.
The heavyweight division in the UFC has always struggled to find its own identity. The heavyweight that was in the title picture the most often since the new era of MMA began, Tim Sylvia, still was never truly the face of the division. Just as elite-level heavyweights such as Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Frank Mir have tried (and failed) to tame the division for long enough to call it their own, the division itself has been home to strikers, wrestlers and jiu-jitsu specialists, with very few competitors who would be called among the best in all of the disciplines. There is no Anderson Silva or Georges St. Pierre in the UFC heavyweight ranks.
This lends to a lot of belt changes and admittedly, excitement and unpredictability, as there is often a fairly clear blueprint for any UFC heavyweight to beat another. Brock Lesnar has not developed the submission acumen to fend off an experienced fighter like Frank Mir for long. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is not going to be submitted, but has replaced what was some pretty solid striking with a puzzlingly complacent approach where he simply eats punches to the face. And then there is Cheick Kongo, who has out-struck everyone he has faced, including Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, but remains somewhat of a fish out of water on the ground.
Undoubtedly, Kongo has worked hard on his ground game, which has led to improving performances inside the octagon. Also, it’s not as if his opponents have capitalized that well on his striking-heavy style…he has not been submitted in his MMA career, and his two losses in the UFC were both by split decision. However, if Kongo is able to ascend to the top level of the division, to where he will be fighting against the likes of Lesnar, Mir, Nogueira, Couture, or even Gabriel Gonzaga, he had better be prepared to end up on the mat.
The question then becomes not only whether Kongo can merely survive on the ground with these fighters, but more so, whether he could win there. Without the wrestling skills to defend the takedown attempts of a fighter like Lesnar or Couture, Kongo will be at the mercy of his opponent when it comes to where the fight takes place. It is hard to imagine either man deciding that they want to test the striking of Kongo, rather than taking him to where he is at least somewhat less comfortable.
Kongo will face fellow striker Antoni Hardonk at UFC 97, in what could be a fight of the year candidate. While the fight is one that hardcore fight fans have been drooling over since it was first rumored weeks ago, it will do little to answer questions about whether Kongo is developing the type of well-rounded skill set that he will need when he reaches the top of the division, which he appears primed to do. A win over Hardonk could put Kongo in the title picture, but we won’t know whether he will be able to prosper there until he faces someone who can really test his ground game.
by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com
Tags: Anderson Silva, Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, Frank Mir, Gabriel Gonzaga, Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Matt Hughes, Randy Couture, Sean Sherk, Tim Sylvia, Tito Ortiz, UFC, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva
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