Shane Carwin and Cheick Kongo: Hell of a fightCheick Kongo “In the Mix”, Close to Title Shot

At UFC 97, Cheick Kongo (19-4) racked up his third consecutive victory in the UFC at heavyweight, his seventh in the UFC, and upped his win streak to three fights, the most he’s accrued in one streak since he joined the ranks at UFC 61 in 2006.

At the post-fight press conference, Dana White was happy to acknowledge the strides that Kongo has made up to this point, calling him a contender, but stopped short of calling him the next one to get a shot at the title.

Following the fights, Dana was asked by a reporter at the press conference if Dana considered him a top contender at this point.

“Yeah I think he is," White said in response to the reporter’s question. "I think Cheick Kongo's win [against Antoni Hardonk at UFC 97], you know, he's in the mix. Getting the next title shot, I can't answer that question right now. But there's no doubt he's in the mix."

A title shot for the Parisian would be quite the accomplishment at 34 years of age (Cheick will turn 34 on May 17th of this year). However, questions remain about other contenders in the division, one of which includes the behemoth Shane Carwin (11-0).

With his victory at UFC 97, Cheick Kongo (full name: Cheick Guillaum Ouedraogo) adds Antoni Hardonk to a UFC kill chart that includes Mostapha Al-Turk, Dan Evensen, Mirko Filipovic, Assuerio Silva, Christian Wellisch, and Gilbert Aldana. Cheick has lost to both Heath Herring (split decision) and Carmelo Marrero (split decision) in close fights during his UFC tenure, and has lost to both Gilbert Yvel (TKO) and Rodney Faverus (unanimous decision) outside of the UFC.

Carwin’s only had three fights in the UFC, however not only of Carwin’s opponents has made it past the first half of the first round, as Carwin’s finished every single one of his opponents swiftly and convincingly. At UFC 96, he added Gabriel Gonzaga to a list that so far includes Neil Wain, and a mutual opponent to Carwin and Kongo, Christian Wellisch.

At UFC 62, Cheick impressively KO’ed Wellisch with a knee to the face, ending their contest at the 2:51 mark of the first round.

Carwin socked Wellisch in the face, and ended their fight the same way… in forty-four seconds.

Kongo’s question mark all along has been his ground game, and it’s hard to say that we’ve seen much improvement on that front. Many of his opponents disposition themselves towards stand-up exchanging, and that trend has lent a favorable factor to Kongo’s impressive 7-2 UFC run thus far.

His wins over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Antoni Hardonk and Gilbert Aldana prove his propensity for striking thoroughly. However, his losses to Heath Herring and Carmelo Marrero leave opponents with plenty of tape to watch on effectively neutralizing Kongo’s striking range and efficiency.

To Kongo’s credit, few so far have been able to do that, tape considered.

Carwin has yet to see a test beyond the first round, and the possibility that a fight of his may last any longer than that, at this point, is hard to conceive. Carwin brings to the table tremendous strength, enough power in either hand to knock someone out from any position, as proven in his recent win over Gonzaga. His base style is also founded upon Kongo’s greatest weakness: his ground game.

Consider their conquests

While Carwin hasn’t necessarily been thrown into the cage with world-beaters in every instance of competition up till now, his win over Gonzaga seals a victory over a fighter who beheaded Cro Cop with his own signature left high-kick, and remains one of the most relevant heavyweights on the UFC roster despite losing recently.

Carmelo Marrero was able to stalemate Kongo’s striking enough to earn a split decision victory at UFC 64. Gonzaga was able to armbar Marrero in the very first round of their fight at UFC 66. This factor can be considered in anticipating the factor that Gonzaga’s ground game may present in a match-up with Kongo, where Carwin’s strength ruled the day in his match with “Napao” regardless of technical aptitude, standing or grounded.

Carwin has sealed his validity as one who’s making a run at Brock Lesnar’s title via his brutal knockout win over the heavyweight grappling machine, Gonzaga. It’s hard to say that a win over Antoni Hardonk (8-5) validates anyone in the UFC’s heavyweight division as a legitimate contender to the title, but without a doubt, the string of wins Kongo’s put together recently, combined with his list of felled opponents, puts him about a fight away if he’s matched properly in his next outing.

Consider matches against either Gonzaga or Carwin the most logical next-step for Kongo if the UFC is looking to seriously cement a contender for the belt while testing their athletes and foregoing protectionism. Without question, a bout against the latter is clear-cut title shot implications, as we could expect to see the emerging victor in that contest fighting Lesnar for his UFC Heavyweight Championship title by the end of summer.