Cheick Kongo Believes a KO of Ryan Bader Will Prove Him The Best Heavyweight In The World

Cheick Kongo is hoping to knock out Bellator MMA dual-division champion Ryan Bader on Saturday night and cement himself as the best heavyweight in the world.

The 44-year-old veteran heavyweight will attempt for a second time to capture the belt after losing his first title fight to Vitaly Minakov back in April 2014 at Bellator 115.

Kongo spoke to BJPenn.com ahead of the fight and said he has brought in a number of world-class wrestlers to combat the threat of Bader’s takedowns and is confident the training camp will pay off during the fight:

“My training camp was good. We brought in a lot of wrestlers for this camp, like world-class wrestlers,” Kongo said. “They have been giving me a hard time. But, it made me better, I’m stuffing takedowns, I’m ready to go. I’m confident in my skills.”

Kongo explained that he predicted he will knock Bader out and that the victory would be extra sweet as it will prove all his doubters wrong:

“I expect this fight to end by knockout. Hopefully, it is me knocking out Ryan Bader,” he says. “But, I don’t focus on that. Just fight my fight, and want a good ending.

“I can do it. Age means nothing. It will show them that I am the best heavyweight in the world,” he explained. “People have doubted me, gave up on me, I wasn’t in the grand prix, this will show and prove them all wrong.”

Kongo faces off against Bader in the main event of Bellator 226 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.