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Bellator 280 Results: Ryan Bader defeats Cheick Kongo (Highlights)
Tonight’s Bellator 280 event is headlined by a heavyweight title fight rematch between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo. Bader (30-7 MMA) and Kongo (31-12-2 MMA) first met at Bellator 226 in September of 2019, with the bout ending in a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke. Since then Ryan Bader has gone 2-2, with […]
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Cheick Kongo hopes win over Sergei Kharitonov earns him a rematch against Ryan Bader: “I’ll fight him in the street, I don’t care”
Cheick Kongo still believes he should’ve gotten an immediate rematch against Ryan Bader. At Bellator 226 in September of 2019, Kongo fought Bader for the heavyweight title and the fight ended in a No Contest due to an eye poke. Since then, Kongo has only competed once losing a split decision to Tim Johnson last […]
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Cheick Kongo will earn Ryan Bader rematch with impressive win over Tim Johnson, confirms Scott Coker
Bellator president Scott Coker says that Cheick Kongo will get a rematch against Ryan Bader with an impressive win over Tim Johnson. Kongo and Bader first met last September at Bellator 226, but the fight ended in controversial fashion when Kongo was unable to continue due to eye pokes. The bout was ruled a No […]
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Cheick Kongo expects to finish Tim Johnson again, says Ryan Bader getting KO’d was “karma” for eye pokes in their fight
Cheick Kongo thought he would be having an immediate rematch with Ryan Bader. Kongo and Bader fought at Bellator 226 for the heavyweight title. It was a very intriguing matchup but the fight ended due to eye pokes from Bader and was ruled a no-contest. Yet, Bader claimed he never poked Kongo in the eye. […]
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Tim Johnson “excited” to get Cheick Kongo rematch after “fluky” first fight, believes win earns him title shot
Tim Johnson will finally get the rematch with Cheick Kongo he has been calling for. In Johnson’s Bellator debut, he fought Kongo and lost by TKO in just 68 seconds. Yet, Johnson wasn’t happy with the stoppage and wanted the rematch ever since and at Bellator 248 he will get his wish. He will also […]
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Bellator to host first major MMA event in France, fans will attend
France has approved the practice of mixed martial arts and has placed the sport under the supervision of the French Boxing Federation (FFB). With these recent government approvals, Bellator is pleased to announce that it will become the first promotion to hold a major MMA event in France with a monumental show on Saturday, October […]
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Cheick Kongo opens up on controversial Ryan Bader fight
Cheick Kongo was fighting for the heavyweight title against Ryan Bader in the main event of Bellator 226. It was a chance for the 44-year-old Frenchman to win a major MMA title, something that has eluded him thus far in his career. Unfortunately for Kongo and his team, things didn’t go as planned. Instead, the […]
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Bellator 226 salaries: Victorious Emmanuel Sanchez earns top payday
On Saturday night, Bellator MMA returned to our screens with Bellator 226. This stacked card was topped by a heavyweight title fight between reigning champ Ryan Bader and Bellator staple Cheick Kongo. Elsewhere on the card, we witnessed four of the quarterfinal bout for Bellator’s 16-man Featherweight World Grand Prix, in addition to a number […]
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Ryan Bader believes Cheick Kongo used the eye poke to get out of the fight
Ryan Bader was looking for the first title defense of his heavyweight belt when he took on Cheick Kongo in the main event of Bellator 226. Yet, he did not get to defend his title but did not lose it either. Instead, the fight was ruled a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke from […]
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PHOTO | See Cheick Kongo’s eye after No Contest ending at Bellator 226
Cheick Kongo’s teammate Quinton “Rampage” Jackson posted a picture of his teammate’s injured eye following a disappointing conclusion to Bellator 226. Kongo’s fight against Ryan Bader ended with a No Contest in the first round after Bader was deemed to have accidentally poked his opponent in the eye, which led to the doctor stopping the […]
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Pros react to Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226
Ryan Bader put his heavyweight title on the line against Cheick Kongo in the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 226 event in San Jose. Bader (27-5 MMA) had captured the promotions vacant heavyweight title this past January at Bellator 214, defeating MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko by first round knockout. ‘Darth’ entered tonight’s Bellator 226 main event […]
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Bellator 226 Results: Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo ends in a no-contest
Ryan Bader puts his heavyweight title on the line against Cheick Kongo in the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 226 event in San Jose. Bader (27-5 MMA) captured the promotions vacant heavyweight title this past January at Bellator 214, defeating MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko by first round knockout. ‘Darth’ will enter tonight’s Bellator 226 main event […]
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Cheick Kongo shoves Ryan Bader at Bellator 226 weigh-ins (VIDEO)
Cheick Kongo has won eight fights in a row heading into his heavyweight title opportunity against Ryan Bader at Bellator 226, yet has stayed relatively under the radar. That certainly changed as the two headliners for Saturday night’s event went face-to-face for the final time. At the Bellator 226 ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday evening in […]
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Bellator 226 | Pro fighters make their picks for Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo title fight
In the main event of Bellator 226, Ryan Bader looks to defend his heavyweight title for the first time when he takes on Cheick Kongo. The champion is currently a -350 favorite at 5Dimes while the challenger is a +250 underdog. Ahead of this Bellator 226 fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to […]
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Cheick Kongo: win over Bader makes me ‘the best heavyweight in the world’
Cheick Kongo will soon have a chance to become a heavyweight champion in a major promotion for the first time in his career. The 44-year-old Frenchman will take on Ryan Bader in the main event of Bellator 226 this Saturday. The training camp preparing for Bader has not been an easy one for Kongo. He […]
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Ryan Bader booked to defend heavyweight title against Cheick Kongo
Ryan Bader, Bellator‘s resident two-division champ, is now set to defend his heavyweight strap. Bader, who also owns the light heavyweight title, will make this defense opposite fellow UFC veteran Cheick Kongo. The fight will go down at Bellator 226 on September 7 inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California. This card will also […]
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Cheick Kongo and Ryan Bader get heated over potential title fight
When Cheick Kongo handed former Bellator champ Vitaly Minakov his first loss on the main card of Bellator 216 on Saturday night, he earned himself a shot a reigning Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader. He did not hesitate to call Bader out at the Bellator 216 post-fight press conference. “I had a great performance and […]
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Cheick Kongo sends ominous threat to Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader
Cheick Kongo is now the number-one contender in the Bellator heavyweight division. The hulking Frenchman earned that honor with a workmanlike defeat of the formerly undefeated former champ Vitaly Minakov at Bellator 216 on Saturday night. Cheick Kongo has been chasing a Bellator heavyweight title shot for years, and can now look forward to a […]
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Bellator 216 Results: Cheick Kongo defeats Vitaly Minakov
A heavyweight rematch between Cheick Kongo and Vitaly Minakov took place on the main card of tonight’s Bellator 216 event in Uncasville, Connecticut. Minakov had previously defeated Kongo via unanimous decision back in 2014. Cheick Kongo (29-10-2 MMA) entered tonight’s contest on a seven-fight winning streak, his latest being a first-round knockout victory over Timothy […]
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Bellator 208 Results: Cheick Kongo TKO’s Timothy Johnson (VIDEO)
A heavyweight bout between former UFC fighters Cheick Kongo and Timothy Johnson took place during tonight’s Bellator 208 main card. Kongo (28-10-2 MMA) enters tonight’s contest on a six-fight win streak, his latest being a first-round knockout victory over Javy Ayala at Bellator 199. Meanwhile, Timothy Johnson (12-4 MMA) will be making his promotional debut […]
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Bellator 172 Results: Cheick Kongo defeats Oli Thompson
Bellator 172 Results: Cheick Kongo vs. Oli Thompson A heavyweight scrap between Cheick Kongo and Oli Thompson served as the co-main event of tonight’s Bellator 172 event in San Jose, California. Round one begins and Thompson starts off quickly with a leg kick. Oli is utilizing a lot of movement early. He presses forward and […]