On this day in 2011, an instantly iconic UFC main event took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Joe Rogan has had a front-row seat to some of the most memorable moments in MMA history as a long-time commentator for the UFC.
Rogan has seen devastating knockouts galore but even all of his experience couldn’t prepare him for what went down on June 26 in 2011.
On the same night where Charles Oliveira’s win over Nik Lentz was overturned following the devastating illegal knee that ‘Do Bronx’ landed, two strikers with dynamite in their hands met in the final bout of the night.
What followed was a shootout for the ages where one fighter was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
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Joe Rogan still can’t believe that Cheick Kongo was able to knockout Pat Barry in one of the UFC’s greatest comeback wins
With both men having a good track record for putting opponents away, Cheick Kongo vs Pat Barry always had the potential to produce fireworks.
After the fight was elevated to the main event spot, there were still some questions surrounding whether Kongo in particular would look to lean on his grappling to avoid standing and trading with another dangerous striker.
Whatever game plan either man had went out of the window after Barry ended their trading of leg kicks by dropping his opponent heavily twice in quick succession.
Both Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg on commentary claimed that Kongo was out but somehow, with some leniency from the referee, he was able to get back to his feet where his foundations were still incredibly unsteady.
Kongo backed up to the fence where, as Barry started to walk him down, he fired back with two big right hands that sent Barry crashing to the canvas.
Several follow-up shots was all it took for Kongo to complete what is arguably the greatest comeback in UFC history, leaving Rogan and Goldberg stunned.
Unsurprisingly, Kongo’s win earned several accolades, winning the UFC’s knockout of the year and comeback of the year at the World MMA Awards in 2011.
Joe Rogan reflects on Cheick Kongo’s iconic comeback win over Pat Barry
During an episode of the JRE MMA Show where he was joined by Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Joe Rogan reflected on the incredible ending to Cheick Kongo vs Pat Barry.
To this day, Rogan can’t believe that Kongo was even able to survive the big shots that he took, let alone turning the fight around in the blink of an eye.
“Remember that fight with Pat Barry. That is one of the craziest comebacks in the history of the sport. Pat Barry was just swinging, and Pat Barry was a good kickboxer, man. Real good kickboxer and Pat Barry had him badly hurt and a lot of people could have stopped that fight, and he went down a couple of times. Then, he clipped him with one shot. Boom.”
To win knockout of the year in 2011, Kongo’s win beat out some other iconic finishes, including Anderson Silva’s front kick KO over Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.