UNCASVILLE, Conn. – “IT’S A BULL(EXPLETIVE)!”
Interviews with Cheick Kongo (29-10-2 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) don’t usually include this language. Heck, the Bellator heavyweight rarely speaks above a whisper when he’s talking fights. The title picture apparently brings it out in the big guy.
A second after his outburst, the 43-year-old laughed. Underneath that tough exterior, he’s a mischievous guy.
“In some ways, it’s great – finally,” he told MMAjunkie in advance of his rematch with ex-champ Vitaly Minakov (21-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) at Bellator 216, which takes place Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. “But when you’re used to spending four years without a champ, for me, it’s a big mess.”
Kongo is referring, of course, to the Bellator heavyweight division. Until light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader knocked out Fedor Emelianenko to win the promotion’s grand prix, it was without a champion.
Kongo served as the first and only title defense of Minakov, who subsequently went AWOL to fight overseas and was eventually stripped of the belt.
Almost five years later, Kongo and Minakov are fighting again to potentially determine the Bader’s first defense at heavyweight.
That is, if Bader doesn’t go AWOL at heavyweight. With two straps around his waist, he’s asked for more money to fight the big guys, and from Bellator’s boss, it’s unclear which title he’ll defend first.
In other words, a mess.
“It makes me laugh,” Kongo said. “But we have somebody. Honestly, I don’t give a (expletive). He fought in January, so he normally should (defend) his title around June or July. I’m not going to wait for seven months, 10 months for him to be ready.
“If it’s going to be me or Minakov, I don’t care. (If) they try to push the fight back, it’s more than disrespectful. Not for me, but for everyone who’s coming for (the belt).”
Don’t get Kongo wrong – he professes to give no (expletive) about Minakov. He’s just tired of all the uncertainty, and he wants a clear schedule instead of vague promises about his future.
There’s not much time left, after all, in a career that’s gone on a lot longer than many might have imagined. When he first burst onto the scene in the UFC, he was a striker with a weakness against wrestlers. Hard training turned him into a well-rounded threat, but even that didn’t prevent setbacks.
Years after making a new home in Bellator, Kongo has won nine of his past 10 fights. That’s nothing to sneeze at. But let him say it more succinctly.
“I’m the (expletive) best,” he said. “Unfortunately, I let guys have success because I was in bad shape. But I’m probably more mature today at 43 years old about my health. I bring everything to be healthy before the cage and after the fight. So yeah, whatever. I’m here, so let’s do it.”
For more on Bellator 216, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
