Rivalries: Cheick Kongo

Cheick Kongo has accomplished much and seen even more during a 44-fight career that spans more than two decades. Now well into his 40s, he continues to chase a prize that has thus far eluded his grasp: a major mixed martial arts championship.

The physically imposing Frenchman will return to the Bellator MMA cage in the Bellator 265 headliner, where he confronts Pride Fighting Championships veteran Sergei Kharitonov on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Kongo, 46, owns a 12-3 record under the Bellator banner, his resume anchored by wins over Alexander Volkov, Augusto Sakai and Tony Johnson . He sports 18 finishes—15 by knockout or technical knockout and three by submission—among his 30 professional victories.

As Kongo makes final preparations for his three-round battle with Kharitonov, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped shape his remarkable journey:

Mirko Filipovic

The 2006 Pride Fighting Championships openweight grand prix winner was as recognizable as anyone in the sport at the height of his power, but Kongo turned him into little more than a steppingstone. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Frenchman introduced himself to a global audience and sprang the upset as a 3-to-1 underdog, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Filipovic in a UFC 75 heavyweight showcase on Sept. 8, 2007 at the O2 Arena in London. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Kongo. He was credited with more than six minutes of control time in the three-round encounter, outlanded “Cro Cop” by better than a 4-to-1 margin in significant strikes and grew increasingly dominant as time passed. Filipovic’s offensive output waned and ultimately became non-existent: Over the final five minutes, Kongo connected with 42 total strikes while absorbing only five in return.

Pat Barry

Kongo appeared to be out on his feet—until he put “HD” to sleep with a short right uppercut. In one of the most improbable comebacks in mixed martial arts history, the Frenchman survived nearly being stopped and flattened Barry with one punch in the UFC Live 4 headliner on June 26, 2011 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The dramatic finish came 2:39 into Round 1, as Barry lay unconscious on the mat, his right leg bent beside him, his open eyes staring blankly into space. The two heavyweights traded heavy leg kicks from the start, with Barry controlling the center of the cage and backing Kongo into the fence. He cracked the Rings alum with a sizzling overhand right that dropped Kongo where he stood and swarmed to finish. Referee Dan Miragliotta appeared close to stopping it and even made brief contact with the two fighters, but he gave Kongo, a proven 24-fight veteran at the time, the benefit of the doubt. With his back to the cage, a still wobbly Kongo unleashed a right hook that knocked Barry off- balance, planted himself and followed it with the uppercut. Kongo trailed his unconscious opponent to the mat and landed a few hammerfists before Miragliotta called him off.

Vitaly Minakov

Takedowns, a smothering top game and punishing ground-and-pound helped the Russian overcome a first-round point deduction for low blows and retain his Bellator MMA heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision over Kongo in the Bellator 115 main event on April 4, 2014 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. All three cageside judges arrived at the same verdict: 48-46 for Minakov. Outside of a lopsided fourth round in which he kept the fatigued champion on his back, Kongo was largely ineffective. Minakov knocked down the Frenchman with a right hand in the first round, wobbled him with another right behind the ear in the second and racked up points from top position in the third. He sealed the deal in Round 5, where grounded Kongo inside the first 10 seconds and neutralized him on the canvas for the remainder of the fight, moving to full mount and unleashing his hands. The two men met for a second time at Bellator 216 in February 2019, as Kongo exacted a measure of revenge and took a unanimous decision in their forgettable three-round rematch. Scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Timothy Johnson

Kongo spoiled the hulking American’s promotional debut, as he cut down his fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran with punches a little more than a minute into their Bellator 208 heavyweight feature on Oct. 13, 2018 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Johnson, who had never before been finished with such haste, succumbed to blows 68 seconds into Round 1. Kongo denied a takedown attempt from the two-time NCAA All-American wrestler, assumed top position with a knee across Johnson’s chest and drew the curtain with a burst of unanswered punches. Their rematch in October 2020 did not go according to plan for Kongo, who failed to gain separation and wound up on the wrong side of a split decision at Bellator 248. All three judges scored it 29-28: Douglas Crosby and Sal D’Amato for Johnson, Jerin Valel for Kongo. Eight months later, Johnson lost a unanimous verdict to Valentin Moldavsky in a Bellator 261 showdown for the interim heavyweight championship.