UFC 144 Predictions: Keys to Victory for Cheick Kongo

Cheick Kongo wants to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship and then retire. At the age of 36 and averaging only two fights per year, time is certainly not on his side.

Going into tonight's bout with PRIDE veteran Mark Hunt, Kongo is going in as the betting favorite. While I agree that he should be, it is very important that Cheick follows a proper game plan. Otherwise, the Land of the Rising Sun will end up being the place where Cheick Kongo blew his last shot at the belt.

This is an in-depth look at the proper game plan to defeat Mark Hunt.

Get It to the Ground

A kickboxer like Hunt wants to keep this fight standing; it’s where his chances are best. Cheick is a powerful wrestler who has taken down one-dimensional strikers in the past.

His bout with Paul Buentello should be a blueprint for this bout. However, a wrestler like Ben Rothwell had a surprisingly difficult time taking down the Super Samoan Hunt in their last bout—scoring on only two of 14 attempts.

That means that putting Hunt on his back won’t be as easy as it used to be.

Use Your Reach Advantage Wisely

While Hunt’s specialty lies in his striking, Kongo does come in with an impressive eight-inch reach advantage. Utilizing distance and making Hunt chase could take the PRIDE veteran out of his game plan.

Matt Mitrione commented on his bout with Kongo that he expected more aggression and had planned on counter-striking more. When those opportunities didn’t present themselves, he was too far behind on the scorecards to do anything about it.

Respect Hunt's Power

Any man in the world can wake up looking at the lights in a bout with Mark Hunt. As the winner of the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix, Hunt has made a living by knocking out other strikers like Jerome Le Banner.

While Kongo hasn’t officially lost any bouts due to strikes, Pat Barry, Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez have already shown the world that the lights can go out on the big Frenchman.

Prepare to Sprawl

Mark Hunt surprised fight fans when he chose to utilize takedowns on Big Ben Rothwell in their September 2011 bout.

Scoring in both the second and third rounds with attempts to get it to the ground, Hunt found success while on top. He parlayed that success into a decision victory in a fight that he was widely expected to lose.

I’m not suggesting that Hunt will try to outwrestle Kongo for the whole bout, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him shoot in to test the water. Considering that he kept Ben Rothwell on his back for most of Round 2 and a good portion of Round 3, it may be a smart strategy to employ once again.

Take Him into Deep Water

While the Denver climate plays an important factor in the conditioning of all fighters, Mark Hunt was exhausted in the later rounds of his most recent bout. The grappling-intensive matchup with Ben Rothwell took the wind out of his sails.

Kongo’s conditioning is far superior to that of Ben Rothwell, so it would benefit him immensely to tire out the Super Samoan and hope to capitalize on it in the latter part of the fight.