Cheick Kongo

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Cheick Kongo is a French heavyweight mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He was born on May 17, 1975 in Paris. From a young age he trained in several martial arts, earning black belts in Karate and Kendo, and later adding boxing, Muay Thai, Savate and Greco-Roman wrestling. At 23 he learned Pencak Silat and eventually moved into Shootfighting, which led to his professional MMA debut in 2001. He fights with a tall, reach-heavy style and competes at around 242 pounds.

Kongo spent many years in the UFC, where he faced some of the era’s top heavyweights. Notable moments include defeating Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 75, and facing fighters like Cain Velasquez, Heath Herring, Dan Evensen, Mostapha Al‑Turk, and Paul Buentello. He left the UFC in 2013 with an 11-6-1 record. That same year he joined Bellator MMA, where he has fought a string of high-level opponents and earned several wins. He challenged for the Bellator Heavyweight Championship in 2022 against Ryan Bader, a bout that ended in a no contest due to an accidental eye poke. In 2020 he signed a multi‑fight contract with Bellator and has continued competing into the 2020s.