Fight Preview: Roy Nelson v. Cheick Kongo
by Jake Plumar
Saturday’s matchup between the 2 heavyweights on Saturday’s card presents an interesting matchup of techniques and styles between two fighters who are trying to make the jump to the top rung of the heavyweight fighters. I am also hard pressed to imagine two fighters that have more drastically different physiques.
If you are hoping to see a technical submission chess match on Saturday night, then you will need to watch at least one other fight. Neither of these blokes are known for their submission skills. Cheick Kongo has not legitimately submitted anyone since 2003 and Roy Nelson’s submission draught goes back almost that far with 2006 being the last year that Roy Nelson submitted anyone.
I believe this fight is going to be more one-sided than people think. Roy Nelson has the ability to stand with Kongo, but Big Country holds the distinct advantage in the wrestling category. No one can forget Kongo’s monster knockout of Pat Barry back in 2011, but aside from that destruction, I haven’t seen the type of premier striking that I think could give Roy Nelson problems. On the wrestling side, you only need to watch a few minutes of Kongo’s 2009 tape against Cain Velasquez to see how much of a disadvantage Kongo has in this area. While Big Country isn’t Cain Velasquez, he can certainly hold his own in the wrestling category and should be able to take Kongo down to the mat with some frequency.
In the end, I see this fight going to Roy Nelson by TKO in the second. It’s interesting to note that Roy Nelson has not won by decision since 2007. His last 10 victories have been either by TKO or KO. In getting to the TKO, Roy Nelson will wear out Kongo by taking him to the mat and then using his high level ground and pound to dominate Kongo.
While appearances alone would give this fight to Kongo in a heartbeat, thankfully for Roy Nelson, the fights occur in the octagon rather than on the pages of US Weekly.
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