Two former UFC heavyweights will get it on at Bellator 208 when Cheick Kongo battles Timothy Johnson, as reported by ESPN.
43-year-old Cheick Kongo has been fighting for 17 years now, and has been with Bellator MMA for coming on five years now, making his debut in 2013 with a victory over UFC heavyweight Mark Godbeer. Though Kongo exited the UFC on a loss to Roy Nelson in 2013, he has found enormous success in Bellator and is currently on a six-fight winning streak, including over current UFC heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov. Most recently, Kongo picked up a KO victory over Javy Ayala at Bellator 199 in the very first round. Kongo looks to continue to prove that age is nothing but a number as he takes on another UFC veteran 10 years his junior in Timothy Johnson.
Timothy Johnson has significantly less MMA experience with only 16 professional fights compared to Kongo’s 40 but is an All-American Division II wrestler out of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After kicking off his MMA career at an impressive 8-1, Johnson would make his UFC debut in a victory over Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC Fight Night: Mendes over Lamas. The remainder of Johnson’s UFC run was a template of inconsistency, as his final record in the promotion would come out to 4-3. Johnson would leave the promotion on his own terms following a unanimous decision victory over Marcelo Golm at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Anders. This fight will mark the Bellator debut for Johnson.
Bellator 208 takes place from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in East Garden City, NY on October 13, 2018 and will be headlined by Fedor Emelianeko and Chael Sonnen.
What is your prediction for this heavyweight contest?
