Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk
Cheick Kongo defeats Antoni Hardonk It was not surprising to see Cheick Kongo walk away with a TKO victory here. It was surprising to see his ground skills on display. It was strange that I didn't consider that scenario because Kongo does has a solid top game. For some reason, I assumed that Kongo would do everything possible to keep the fight standing. It’s true that he would never want to be on his back. However there’s no doubt that he does very well when he’s on top. Although Hardonk was advertised as having a competent guard, he looked fairly helpless when he was on his back. It probably had something to do with the fact that a large Frenchman was beating on him at the time. Kongo was wise not to get into a grappling contest, as it wouldn't have accomplished anything. When hovering over Hardonk, Kongo looked good in maintaining his posture so that his punches had lots of power in them. Hardonk’s highly-praised leg kicks did nothing but invite the takedown from Kongo. Had they stayed standing the whole time, the fight may have gone to a decision. Though, it’s doubtful that it would have been enough to give Hardonk the victory. Still, in the future he’s going to need to work on his takedown defense. Speaking of which, Kongo was fortunate to be fighting a pure kick boxer in this match. He doesn’t match up well with any of the top heavyweight wrestlers in the UFC, such as Carwin, Lesnar, or Velasquez. None the less, it’s time he took a crack at one of them anyway. That way we can see just how much of a complete mixed martial artist Kongo really is. Next Fight:Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann
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