Cheick Kongo
Cheick Kongo
Results and notes for “UFC on Versus 4: Kongo vs. Barry”
Pittsburgh – HeavyMMA.com is live and on the scene for tonight’s UFC on Versus 4 event at the CONSOL Energy Center.
We’ll have quick results from each preliminary card bout beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, followed by lengthier results for each of the main card fights.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Michael Johnson d. Edward Faaloloto via TKO, round 1: Johnson pushed a pace that Faaloloto just couldn’t keep up with. He ultimately dropped him to the canvas near the end of the first and finished him off with nasty ground and pound. Johnson displayed drastically improved striking. Good win for the former Ultimate Fighter finalist.
Ricardo Lamas d. Matt Grice via TKO, round 1: Lamas staggered Grice with a nasty switch kick to the face and then followed up to finish the fight. Grice, a former Oklahoma wrestler, looked good until the end, but Lamas was simply too much and too effective.
Charles Oliveira d. Nik Lentz via submission, round 2: This one will be overturned and at least ruled a No Contest. Oliveira drilled Lentz with a clearly illegal knee that led directly to the end of the fight. The first round was one of the best single rounds I’ve seen in a long time and the second was shaping up to be awesome, so it’s a shake things had to end this way.
Rich Attonito d. Daniel Roberts via unanimous decision: Roberts clearly did not work on his cardio issues after he gassed at UFC 129, because he tired early here. He should learn to pace himself, because he pretty much expends all of his energy early and then can’t muster the energy to stay competitive the rest of the way. This is taking nothing away from Attonito, however. He looked good fighting at 170 for the first time.
Joe Lauzon d. Curt Warburton via submission, round 1: This fight should remind you of Lauzon’s best UFC performance to date against Gabe Reudiger, because it was nearly a mirror image of that fight. Lauzon rocked Warburton early against the cage, dropping him to the canvas. From there, he nearly knocked Warburton out with elbow strikes, and ultimately switched to a kimura. He cranked Warburton’s arm nearly behind his head, likely damaging the shoulder before Warburton tapped out. I have no idea why Warburton waited to tap out, because he likely endured much more damage than he had to. His shoulders weren’t level after the fight, which is never a good sign. Great performance from Lauzon.
Javier Vazquez d. Joe Stevenson via unanimous decision: Joe Stevenson just hasn’t been the same since losing to B.J. Penn. He’s lost seven of his last ten fights, and this was his fourth straight loss. He simply doesn’t look good in the cage. It’s hard to imagine Stevenson getting another chance in the UFC; he’s one of the nicest guys in the sport, but four straight losses almost certainly means he’s getting released. Vazquez was effective in the first two rounds, getting takedowns with ease and keeping Stevenson neutralized. It wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world to watch, but for Javier Vazquez, it did the trick.
Tyson Griffin d. Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision: This was a close fight and could have gone either way. Tyson Griffin physically looks better – or at least healthier – at 145 pounds, which is surprising when you consider that he looked like a corpse at the weigh-ins on Saturday. There was nothing notable in this fight; just a close, hard-fought fifteen minutes. Griffin badly needed a win and he got it.
MAIN CARD
Matt Mitrione d. Christian Morecraft via KO, round 2: It was apparent early on that Morecraft wasn’t going to be able to hang with Mitrione for very long on the feet. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t able to get the fight to the ground and keep it there for very long, and he paid the price standing. Mitrione landed a straight left almost at will, dropping Morecraft in the first and then knocking him out with a three-punch combo in the second. Despite the win, Mitrione didn’t quite look ready to make the leap into the next echelon of heavyweight competition. He’s made plenty of improvement since debuting in the UFC and he’ll make plenty more; let’s give him the time he needs to properly develop before throwing him into the deep end.
Matt Brown d. John Howard via unanimous decision: Every so often a fight will make the televised card that makes you shake your head. Sometimes they blow away your expectations. Sometimes they don’t. This fight falls into the latter category. There was nothing memorable about the fight and neither guy truly set themselves apart. That seems to be the theme for this card, at least during the last few fights. But Brown was fighting for his career here, so he did what he had to do. Howard may find himself on the outs after this, his third-straight loss.
Charlie Brenneman d. Rick Story via unanimous decision: This is what makes the sport so unpredictable. On any given night, a guy like Charlie Brenneman – who, when he woke up yesterday was not scheduled to fight – can step into the co-main event against a fast-rising contender like Rick Story and walk away with the upset. Brenneman, a former collegiate wrestling standout, essentially out-worked Story, grinding him into the mat and preventing him from teeing off with those trademark Story power punches. It’s a huge upset for Brenneman and a great story that played out in front of his friends and family in Pennsylvania.
Cheick Kongo d. Pat Barry via KO, round 1: You know that clip of Pete Sell and Scott Smith that constantly plays during UFC highlight packages? That will be replaced by the ending of this fight, which was the most incredible comeback I’ve ever seen in mixed martial arts. Barry had Kongo on the ropes and apparently knocked out several times, to the point where the ref nearly stopped it. But then, in literally one of the greatest knockouts in the history of the sport, Kongo found the mental clarity – I have no idea how, though – to plant his feet and drill Barry with an uppercut. The punch knocked Barry to the canvas, completely unconscious, where he stayed for several minutes after the fight. It was an absolutely stunning ending and probably the best comeback of all time.
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