The first of two major battles taking place in the somewhat deeper UFC heavyweight division will be a bout between 6’4″ French Muay Thai fighter Cheick Kongo (14-6-1, 7-4 UFC) and Texas-native striker Paul Buentello (27-11, 3-2 UFC). Both men are coming off losses. Kongo was the victim of a heavily motivated Frank Mir at UFC 107 and Buentello dropped a majority decision to Stefan Struve at the same event. Kongo is currently riding a two-fight losing streak as he lost to rising force Cain Velasquez via decision at UFC 99.
The only truly interesting attribute of this fight is in the styles that both fighters bring to the table. As we saw in the Cain Velasquez bout, Kongo isn’t much more than a very lengthy and strong kickboxer in the Octagon. He doesn’t have incredible takedown defense, but he does pack a mean wallop in his punches as he did drop Velasquez in every round of their bout at UFC 99.
Kongo’s primary weaknesses are on the ground, but Paul Buentello has never been known as a fighter who likes to take a fight to the ground. Buentello will more than likely provide Kongo with an opponent who will play into his strengths as a striker, but Buentello does knockout power. Unfortunately, I think Kongo is probably the more well-versed kickboxer, and he will have a definitive edge on the feet with his long reach.
Unlike Stefan Struve, Kongo will have the mustard to put Buentello to the floor in this fight. Buentello was able to wade in the reach of Struve for most of their battle at UFC 107 simply because Struve is a weak puncher and was unable to produce a lot of power in his punches. Kongo won’t be that fighter, and Buentello had obvious problems getting cornered by Struve.
If Kongo can work out a similar gameplan, trap Buentello, and punch for power, this should be a short night of work for Kongo. Buentello’s performance against Struve didn’t inspire a lot of confidence in his conditioning either, but he has had past performances in which he’s gone the distance quite easily. I won’t hold my breath here however. Kongo is going to put a lot of power on Buentello’s legs and chin, and stop Paul Buentello on Sunday night.
With a win, Kongo may once again thrust himself into some relevancy that will hopefully gain him some bouts against a crop of comeback fighters and rising stars. He may gain the loser of Dos Santos vs. Gonzaga. Buentello could be at risk of being cut from the promotion, but I’m going to assume the UFC may give him a chance to clean out any lingering scrap metal at the bottom of the division.