Bellator 280: Accor Arena; Paris, France
To take a belt from a champion, one has to make a big statement. And in front of his Paris hometown crowd, Cheick Kongo didn’t make any statements, save one. He still can’t stop a solid wrestler, let alone an All-American champion. Ryan Bader‘s performance was dominant but not explosive; in doing what a champion needs to do to remain champion. And at times that can be ugly.
Admitting that completely wrestling heavy wasn’t exactly the game-plan post fight to Big John McCarthy; he did give everyone some good advice.
“Get your kids in wrestling.”
And then said he feels that running another fight back should be next for him. That one with Linton Vassell, whom he TKO’d at Bellator 186 in 2017. Since that fight, “The Swarm” is on a four-fight win streak, with three-TKO’s and 4-3 since that meeting. Bader since then is 7-2 with 1 no-contest. Bellator President Scott Coker should have no problems with that, as taking out the number two Kongo, the number three Vassell should be next up.
Dominant But Not Explosive Again
For now the 15th-time in 30-victories Bader has won on the scorecards. This time there’s no arguing the 50-45 across the board scores. He pushed forward keeping Kongo’s back along the fence and grinded him down to the mat over and over again, controlling him on the mat for all five-rounds. And he also threw in some solid driving power double-leg takedowns for good measure too.
Kongo’s only real hope for Hail Mary’s were when referee Jacob Montalvo stood them up. In fact, Kongo landed two-lower leg kicks that started turning Bader’s leg red. And that was the extent of his offense. The 46-year old Frenchman turns 47-next week. While he still has some left in the tank, this third opportunity to wear gold may have been his last.
Coker and the powers that be now might look at him as a gatekeeper. And there’s a young power rising through the heavyweight rankings and is ready to knock at the gate. That’s Steve Mowry, who not only is 10-0 (all finishes); but seven of which are first-round finishes.
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