Cheick Kongo was signed by Bellator last year after his UFC contract expired and ended up winning the season nine heavyweight tournament to secure a title shot against Vitaly Minakov.
His chance to claim Bellator gold will go down tonight when he places Minakov in the main event of Bellator 115 from the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
Kongo (20-8-2) admitted that his win over Peter Graham in the tournament final at Bellator 107 was just another victory, but his fight against Minakov is a difference story.
“My fight with Peter Graham was just another win,” Kongo said. “I’m very picky and I judge myself over what I do. For sure, that was a good fight because I won. But it was just another fight. It was good for the exchanges and people really liked the fight. I just said to myself, ‘OK .. wow. That was good.’ But now I have Vitaly Minakov! Whooooo. That will be good. That’s what I think about.”
Minakov has been compared to Fedor Emelianenko, who many people consider as the best MMA heavyweight of all time. Minakov has a sambo background like Fedor and has opened his career with thirteen straight victories. He has won all of his fights in Bellator by TKO and Kongo is firmly aware of the skills that his opponent has in his right hand.
“I think Minakov has good right hands,” Kongo stated. “He beats people with his right hand. I think he will try to catch me with that over right hand or grab me in the clinch. Whatever he tries, I’m totally prepared for that; for whatever he tries to do. He’s a good guy. He’s young. But I won’t give up for anything and he has to be prepared for that. It’s going to be a real battle; a war. And I always win the war.”
When observers of the sport break down this fight, people wonder how Kongo will plan to attack Minakov. While Kongo would not go into detail on what his plan will be tonight in Reno, he did maintain that he is ready and this fight is going to be crazy.
“I don’t know what everyone should expect from this title fight,” Kongo explained. “What I expect, myself, is a big change. A big change. I’ll be ready for the fight, ready, crazy, and have all the tools to win. It’s going to be crazy. I’ve trained many hours, many days, many years, many miles or whatever. I think I deserve it. Yeah … I deserve it. I have to think to myself about all the crazy work I did. I love to work hard to get it and now I just hope for the satisfaction. I have all the resources to make the fight go my way.”
If Kongo is victorious tonight, he will become the fourth heavyweight champion in Bellator history and it would mark the first time he has won three fights in a row since 2009 in the UFC.