On Friday, Bellator returned to London, England with a night full of intriguing MMA matchups.
In the main event of Bellator 179, former UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald makes his Bellator debut when he fights Paul Daley.
Bellator 179 also featured a major heavyweight battle as UFC veteran Cheick Kongo fought Augusto Sakai.
Both fighters were hesitant to engage at the start of the fight. It took over a minute for either fighter to throw a strike. Both fighters were calm and tried to pick their spots. Sakai threw leg kicks as an attempt to keep Kongo away. For the first half of the first round, only Sakai’s leg kicks landed. Towards the end of the round, Kongo landed his first clean strike when he threw a leg kick. After the strike landed, Kongo pushed his opponent to the cage and held him in his clinch. Eventually, Sakai reversed the position and held Kongo up against the fence for the remainder of the round.
Both heavyweight fighters landed a few punches to start the second round. The moment Kongo got his opponent close to the cage, he went for the takedown. After struggling, Kongo eventually landed the takedown. Sakai did not stay down long before getting back to his feet. However, Sakai could not get out of Kongo’s clinch. Kongo later landed a second takedown. After resting on the ground, Sakai got back to his feet, but again, he could not get out of Kongo’s clinch. Eventually, the referee separated the two fighters. Kongo once again got Sakai up against the cage and ended the round in that position.
The final round started with Kongo once again pushing Sakai up against the cage. However, this time, Sakai was able to get off the cage. Kongo waisted little time before getting Sakai in another clinch. This time, Sakai reversed the position and got Kongo’s back on the cage. Sakai could not hold the position and Kongo again got Sakai up against the cage. The referee later separated the fighters after neither fighter was producing damage. At the end of the round, Sakai fell to the ground and Kongo jumped on top of him. The fight ended with Sakai working his way back to his feet. In the last 10 seconds, the fight paused due to Kongo getting poked in the eye. Once the fight restarted, nothing happened.
Official Result:
Cheick Kongo def. Augusto Sakai by via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
