Cheick Kongo

Cheick Kongo
Born	Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo May 17, 1975 (1975-05-17) (age 36) Paris, France
Nationality	French
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	234.4 lb (106.3 kg; 16.7 st)
Division	Heavyweight (265 lb)
Reach	82 in (208 cm)
Style	Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Savate, Wrestling
Fighting out of	Paris, France
Team	Wolfslair MMA Academy
Trainer	Anthony McGann
Rank	blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active	2001–present (MMA)
Kickboxing record
Total	23
Wins	21
By knockout	12
Losses	2
Mixed martial arts record
Total	25
Wins	17
By knockout	10
By submission	3
By decision	4
Losses	6
By knockout	1
By submission	1
By decision	4
Draws	2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: October 17, 2010

Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo^[1] (born May 17, 1975), more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He currently trains with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Michael Bisping at the Wolfslair MMA Academy, and holds notable wins over Mirko Filipović, Paul Buentello, Antoni Hardonk, Matt Mitrione, and Pat Barry. He is also the only fighter to have ever gone to a decision with current heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez.

Early life

Born to a Burkinabé mother and a Congolese father, Kongo began training in martial arts when he was 5 years old, learning Kendo and Karate. As he grew older, he began to expand his repertoire and trained in Muay Thai, kickboxing and Greco-Roman wrestling. At age 19, he learned of Pencak Silat, an Indonesian martial art, and was coached by Charles Joussot and Franck Roppers.^[2] He's also a cousin of rugby star Fulgence Ouedraogo, the french back-rower. Cheick is also a columnist for the French MMA magazine, Top Fight.

Mixed martial arts career

On June 10, 2001, Kongo began his professional career by knocking out Doog Ward. Kongo then followed up that win with a TKO over Dave van der Veen. He then lost his third professional MMA fight to Rodney Faverus by decision. He trained with Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva in the early days of Pride Fighting Championships. Kongo's MMA record actually stands at 27-6-2.^{[citation needed]}

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Kongo entered the UFC to fight Gilbert Aldana at UFC 61, whom he beat by TKO due to a doctor stoppage. Kongo followed up with a win over UFC newcomer Christian Wellisch by KO due to a knee strike, before losing to UFC newcomer Carmelo Marrero at UFC 64. Then, Kongo defeated Assuerio Silva by majority decision at UFC 70. At UFC 75 on September 8, 2007, he defeated Mirko Filipović by unanimous decision. He fought against Heath Herring at UFC 82, losing by split decision. At UFC 87 he fought against UFC newcomer Dan "The Viking" Evensen, whom he defeated by first-round TKO.

Kongo fought at UFC 92 on December 27, 2008 where he beat former Cage Rage British Heavyweight champion Mustapha Al Turk by TKO. Kongo dropped Al Turk with two right hands. Then fired on a vicious ground and pound attack, Kongo pounced on Al Turk with elbows and punches, opening up a big cut above the eye.^[3] Referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight after 4:37 of the first round.^[3] In his next fight he then defeated Antoni Hardonk at UFC 97^[4] by second-round TKO.

Kongo replaced Heath Herring on three weeks notice at UFC 99 to face the up-and-coming Cain Velasquez in the co-main event. It had been rumored that if he was to defeat Velasquez, Kongo would earn a title shot against the winner of the UFC 100 Heavyweight Championship between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. This was not to be, as Kongo lost to Velasquez by unanimous decision in a one-sided affair. He did however, manage to drop Velasquez on two occasions with straight punches. To this date, Kongo is the only fighter to have fought Cain Velasquez to a judge's decision.

Kongo was then booked to face Frank Mir at UFC 107. During the pre-fight talk, Mir stated that Kongo had no ground game, so at the weigh ins Cheick Kongo turned his back to Mir, to be disrespectful. Mir won the fight by a submission. After connecting with a left overhand punch that dropped Kongo, Mir finished him with a guillotine choke, rendering Kongo unconscious just 72 seconds into the first round.^[5]

Kongo defeated Paul Buentello on March 21, 2010 at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones by submission due to strikes.^[6]

Kongo was expected to face The Ultimate Fighter 10 winner Roy Nelson on July 3, 2010, at UFC 116 but a back injury to Kongo has caused the cancellation of the fight.^[7]

Kongo's next fight was against undefeated Travis Browne at UFC 120.^[8] The fight was a unanimous draw.

Kongo fought Pat Barry on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4.^[9] His fight against Barry became the main event since Nate Marquardt was not medically cleared for his welterweight debut against Rick Story.^[10] During the bout Kongo was dropped by a looping right hand. Visibly rocked, Kongo got back to his feet but was dropped again seconds later by another hard punch. Despite being dropped twice, Kongo was able to knock Barry out with a hard right hook and uppercut to secure a win midway through the first round.

Kongo faced Matt Mitrione on October 29, 2011 at UFC 137^[11] He won via unanimous decision.

Championships and achievements

Kickboxing

• 2005 World Champion Federation King of the Rings
• 2005 King of Colosseum tournament champion
• 2005 Rings World champion
• 2004 King of the Ring Heavyweight champion
• 2004 Muay Thai World champion
• 2003 Intercontinental Muay Thai champion
• 2002 Rings European champion
• 2001 Rings European Vice champion
• European Savate champion

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Knockout of the Night Honors (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
25 matches	17 wins	6 losses
By knockout	10	1
By submission	3	1
By decision	4	4
Draws	2

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	17–6–2	Matt Mitrione	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 137	02011-10-29 October 29, 2011	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	16–6–2	Pat Barry	KO (punch)	UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry	02011-06-26 June 26, 2011	1	2:39	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States	Knockout of the Night.
vDraw	15–6–2	Travis Browne	Draw (unanimous)	UFC 120	02010-10-16 October 16, 2010	3	5:00	London, England	Kongo had a point deducted for holding onto Browne's shorts.
Win	15–6–1	Paul Buentello	Submission (elbows to the body)	UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones	02010-03-21 March 21, 2010	3	1:16	Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Loss	14–6–1	Frank Mir	Technical Submission (guillotine choke)	UFC 107	02009-12-12 December 12, 2009	1	1:12	Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Loss	14–5–1	Cain Velasquez	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 99	02009-06-13 June 13, 2009	3	5:00	Cologne, Germany
Win	14–4–1	Antoni Hardonk	TKO (punches)	UFC 97	02009-04-18 April 18, 2009	2	2:29	Montreal, Quebec
Win	13–4–1	Mostapha Al Turk	TKO (elbows and punches)	UFC 92	02008-12-27 December 27, 2008	1	4:37	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	12–4–1	Dan Evensen	TKO (verbal cuts)	UFC 87	02008-08-09 August 9, 2008	1	4:55	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Loss	11–4–1	Heath Herring	Decision (split)	UFC 82	02008-03-01 March 1, 2008	3	5:00	Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win	11–3–1	Mirko Filipović	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 75	02007-09-08 September 8, 2007	3	5:00	London, England
Win	10–3–1	Assuerio Silva	Decision (majority)	UFC 70	02007-04-21 April 21, 2007	3	5:00	Manchester, England
Loss	9–3–1	Carmelo Marrero	Decision (split)	UFC 64	02006-10-14 October 14, 2006	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	9–2–1	Christian Wellisch	TKO (knee)	UFC 62	02006-08-26 August 26, 2006	1	2:51	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	8–2–1	Gilbert Aldana	TKO (doctor stoppage)	UFC 61	02006-07-08 July 8, 2006	1	4:13	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	7–2–1	Dave Dalgliesh	TKO (punches)	RINGS Holland: Men of Honor	02005-12-11 December 11, 2005	2		Utrecht City, Utrecht
Win	6–2–1	Gabor Nemeth	KO (punches)	King of the Ring	02005-06-04 June 4, 2005	2		Zagreb, Croatia
Loss	5–2–1	Gilbert Yvel	TKO (punches)	It's Showtime 2004 Amsterdam	02004-05-20 May 20, 2004	2	4:40	Amsterdam, North Holland
Win	5–1–1	Joop Kasteel	KO (punch)	RINGS Holland: World's Greatest	02004-04-04 April 4, 2004	1	4:31	Utrecht City, Utrecht
Win	4–1–1	Dave Vader	Decision (unanimous)	RINGS Holland: The Untouchables	02003-09-27 September 27, 2003	3	2:00	Utrecht City, Utrecht
Win	3–1–1	Hans Nijman	Submission (armbar)	It's Showtime 2003 Amsterdam	02003-06-08 June 8, 2003	2	0:59	Amsterdam, North Holland
vDraw	2–1–1	Michael Knaap	Draw	It's Showtime – As Usual / Battle Time	02002-09-29 September 29, 2002	2	5:00	Haarlem, North Holland
Loss	2–1	Rodney Faverus	Decision (unanimous)	RINGS Holland: Saved by the Bell	02002-06-02 June 2, 2002	2	5:00	Amsterdam, North Holland
Win	2–0	Dave van der Veen	TKO (flying knees)	RINGS Holland: Some Like It Hard	02001-12-02 December 2, 2001	2	1:25	Utrecht City, Utrecht
Win	1–0	André Tete	Submission (heel hook)	RINGS Holland: No Guts, No Glory	02001-06-10 June 10, 2001	1	3:20	Amsterdam, North Holland

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

21 wins (12 KO's), 2 losses Result Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes Win Mladen Brestovac Decision (split) King of Colloseum 2005 02005-11-25 November 25, 2005 3 3:00 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina Loss Glaube Feitosa Decision (unanimous) Ichigeki Paris 2005 02005-03-19 March 19, 2005 3 3:00 Paris, France Win Marcin Rozalski TKO (knees) 02011 3 Paris, France Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists
• List of male kickboxers

References

1. ^ "UFC 61 Results". Boxing.nv.gov. 2006-07-08. http://boxing.nv.gov/2006Results/07-08-06%20MMA.pdf. Retrieved 2006-07-08. 
2. ^ English – Cheick Kongo. Team-kongo.over-blog.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-04.
3. ^ ^{a b} UFC 92 Play-by-Play
4. ^ The Huffington Post – UK News and Opinion. Mma.fanhouse.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-04.
5. ^ "Penn Dominates, Finishes Sanchez at UFC 107". SHERDOG.com. 2009-12-12. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Penn-Dominates-Finishes-Sanchez-at-UFC-107-21501. Retrieved 2010-04-12. 
6. ^ "Cheick Kongo vs Paul Buentello booked for UFC on Versus 1". mmamania.com. http://www.mmamania.com/2010/1/18/1257523/cheick-kongo-vs-paul-buentello. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
7. ^ "Cheick Kongo: injured, no confirmation on Roy Nelson matchup nor UFC 116 return". RIDDUM.com. 2010-05-04. http://riddum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=716:cheick-kongo-injured-no-confirmation-on-roy-nelson-matchup-nor-ufc-116-return&catid=50:ufc-news&Itemid=122/. Retrieved 2010-05-02. 
8. ^ Marrocco, Steven. (2010-07-02) Heavyweights Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne targeted for UFC 120. MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-04.
9. ^ "Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo on tap for UFC on Versus 4 in June". mmajunkie.com. 2011-03-14. http://mmajunkie.com/news/22827/pat-barry-vs-cheick-kongo-on-tap-for-ufc-on-versus-4-in-june.mma. 
10. ^ "Nate Marquardt Scratched From "UFC On Versus," Released From UFC". SB Nation. 2011-06-25. http://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/6/25/2244264/nate-marquardt-released-from-ufc-cut-scratched-ufc-on-versus-4-live. Retrieved 2011-06-25. 
11. ^ "UFC 137: Cheick Kongo vs Matt Mitrione fight booked for Oct. 29 in Las Vegas". mmamania.com. 2011-07-14. http://www.mmamania.com/2011/7/14/2276315/ufc-137-cheick-kongo-vs-matt-mitrione-fight-booked-for-oct-29-in-las. 

External links

• Official UFC Profile
• Official Cheick Kongo MySpace
• Professional MMA record for Cheick Kongo from Sherdog

Persondata
Name	Kongo,Cheick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1975-05-17
Place of birth	Paris, France
Date of death
Place of death