OK, some of you like Heath Herring (Pictures)'s hair and Cheick Kongo (Pictures) isn't really 27 feet tall, but this matchup still has a "Game of Death" sort of feel to it, and I'm not complaining.
With the added cache of Kongo (11-3-1) establishing himself as a legitimate contender in the UFC heavyweight division, all you non-Bruce Lee fans out there still have a reason to tune in. An unusual turn of events for Kongo, who was seemingly exposed by Carmelo Marrero (Pictures) as another European kickboxer with the grappling ability of well … a European kickboxer.
Defeat turned out to be the springboard to a personal renaissance for Kongo. He rebounded with a surprising win over a takedown-minded Assuerio Silva (Pictures), and then came a match with Croatia's premier kickboxer/Pomeranian enthusiast, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
In his best performance to date, Kongo outclassed Filipovic on the feet for three rounds straight and quite literally sent the UFC's most ballyhooed acquisition back to Japan. Insert Joe Silva "This isn't Japan" joke here.
A flight to Japan may be in Herring's future as well should he continue racking up losses inside the Octagon.
Sporting an unsightly 1-2 UFC record, Herring (27-13, 1 NC) cost himself a shot at title contention in his last bout against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures). Having already lost twice to the Brazilian heavyweight ace, he finally managed to land one of those trademark high kicks on Nogueira but wasted his golden ticket faster than Augustus Gloop.
An only partially recovered Nogueira managed to cobble together a decision win while Herring was left to wonder what could have been. With an earlier loss to Jake O'Brien having already eroded much of his goodwill in the UFC, Herring knows more about dire straits right now than the Knopfler brothers.
Unfortunately, Herring is matched with an opponent who will hardly hand him money for nothing and is more than likely to hand him another UFC loss.
Given Herring's inexplicable propensity for banging it out on the feet, Kongo may have once again run into the ideal opponent to put his kickboxing to good use. The potential monkey wrench is if Herring decides to turn this into a grappling match, but he has never done anything to earn a reputation as a good wrestler and typically reverts to relying on big strikes when the tide turns against him.
Kongo should have no problem dictating the pace on the feet and keeping Herring at bay with push kicks and jabs. Rinse and repeat for three rounds, as Kongo takes home a one-sided unanimous decision from the Texas Crazy Hair … errr, Horse.
Chris Leben (Pictures) vs. Alessio Sakara (Pictures)
The first of two middleweight scraps on the main card, the clash between Roman tattoo advertisement Alessio Sakara (Pictures) and "Ultimate Fighter" drama-machine Chris Leben (Pictures) will certainly sate the appetite of anyone who just wants to see some real life rock ‘em sock ‘em robots.
The rock ‘em part of the equation has always come naturally to Sakara (12-6, 1 NC), whose amateur and professional boxing background is apparent anytime he lets his hands go. It's when opponents start to sock ‘em that Sakara runs into trouble. Both Drew McFedries and Houston Alexander (Pictures) proved that he doesn't react well to opponents turning the tables on him, as they scored first-round stoppages at the Roman's expense.
If Sakara is to find any success at his new weight of 185 pounds, he'll have to learn how to handle the return fire he will undoubtedly face in a division loaded with bombers.
The incumbent kamikaze pilot of the division is Leben (17-4), who consistently stretches the "take two to give one" credo to its logical limits. Known for absorbing punishment in the name of delivering his own, that approach may be starting to wear on Hawaii's favorite adopted Oregonian.
Going back to his ego- and face-crushing loss against Anderson Silva, Leben has struggled to rediscover the form that saw him win his first five UFC bouts. The possibility that he may have never been the high-ceiling prospect so many considered him to be is rapidly becoming more fact than perception. A move to Hawaii under the Icon Fitness banner has sharpened his once suspect grappling, but Leben's last bout with Terry Martin (Pictures) proved that when push comes to shove, he'll always revert to the Iron Head Heyward approach.
That may be the perfect approach to take against Sakara, who lacks the conditioning to maintain the torrid pace he often sets early in his bouts while Leben always appears most comfortable digging himself out of his own holes.
The plot and climax of this bout will be more predictable than an episode of "Law & Order." Sakara builds an early lead, and Mike Goldberg compares his hand speed to Meldrick Taylor's. Then just as Joe Rogan lets out an audible groan, Leben lands a fight-ending overhand right from the heavens.
Dick Wolf would tune in and watch it himself, but he's too busy trying to recycle plots for the 18th season in a row.