Cheick Kongo had to suffer, a lot at Bellator 265. A comeback to which he is accustomed gave him the victory in the stellar fight of the night. Scommitted Sergei Kharitonov in the second round, who saw how he missed a great opportunity to look at the title. The 46-year-old Frenchman I haven’t won since February 2019, but with that win he adds nine wins from his last eleven bouts (he made a void against Bader and fell to Johnson in his last two fights). With this triumph, Kongo is waiting. If Bader, as everything points, cannot be seen with interim champion Moldavsky before the end of the year … maybe he will jump on the train of that secondary belt. Have to wait.
The combat was vibrant. In the first round Kharitonov was better. He knew how to shorten the gaps for Kongo, who he was punishing little by little (the Frenchman even fell to the ground after a blow). In the second the dynamic was repeated, but in the middle of the round the French managed to reverse what was being seen. With good blows he managed to damage (especially with a knee) to Kharitonov, whom he decided to take down. The image, and the sound, was tremendous. Two heavyweights falling like that you don’t see every day. Already on the ground, Kongo tried to find the back of the Russian, who tried to roll, but could not. Left the neck uncovered and the French closed a tremendous guillotine that gave him the victory within a second of the end of the second round.