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Steve Cofield from Yahoo! Sports and ESPN Radio in Las Vegas is reporting
that last night’s post-UFC 87 press conference at the Target Center in
Minneapolis, Minn. was a buzz about the UFC possibly looking to match Brock Lesnar in his next fight vs. Cheick Kongo.
“The word swirling around the media room was that UFC may try to make a Cheick Kongo-Lesnar fight next,” writes Cofield.
Lesnar evened his UFC record to 1-1 following a three-round unanimous decision over Heath Herring
in one of the night’s featured attractions. In an undercard match that
was moved to the pay-per-view broadcast on a tape-delay basis, Kongo
finished UFC newcomer Dan “The Viking” Evensen off via TKO towards the end of round 1.
Kongo and Herring actually fought each other this past March, with Herring winning their UFC 82
matchup via split decision in a fight where both competitors looked
impressive. Despite losing to Herring, Kongo would pose an intriguing
test for Lesnar. Kongo is still relatively new to MMA and would be
vulnerable on the ground. However, he could possibly dominate the
standup portion of the fight.
An accomplished kickboxer, Kongo is a
more versatile striker than Herring and his leg kicks could create
problems for Lesnar. You also have to take into consideration that on
some levels, Kongo would be able to match him athletically. Simply put,
Lesnar would not have the same physical skill advantage he had last
night vs. Herring.
A more sensible matchup for the emerging mega-star might be former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman, Lesnar’s original opponent for UFC 87 before pulling out with an injury.
From a box office standpoint, Lesnar vs. Coleman has a lot of
potential. Lesnar resorted to some pro wrestling tactics last night by
trying to embrace the role of a “bad guy” with some of his antics aimed
at Herring. The 43-year old Coleman, a professional wrestler in Japan,
could easily assume the role of “good guy” as a past-his-prime veteran
trying to prove himself one last time against the cocky newcomer. A UFC
Hall of Famer, Coleman has strong credentials that can earn him
credibility with a novice fanbase if he is marketed properly.
However, it remains to be seen whether it’s a fight Coleman is still
even interested in. There have been recent rumblings that Coleman might
be looking to cut down to light heavyweight for a possible rematch in
December against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. However, Rua
was just recently quoted on a video appearing on YouTube that his
December opponent could instead of former UFC light heavyweight
champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Regardless, after last night’s effort, does it make sense for the
43-year old Coleman to try and test himself against Lesnar after he’s
already proven himself multi-times over? It would appear that Kongo is
as good of an option as any as Lesnar’s next opponent.
Posted by
Sam Caplan
From: fiveouncesofpain.com
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