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A heavyweight bout between Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo will go down Oct. 29 at UFC 137 in Las Vegas, sources close to the event confirmed Thursday.
Mitrione (5-0) will be seeking his sixth straight win and third this year. The former NFL player has fought his entire career under the promotion, compiling five knockout wins since December 2009.
His most recent victory came late last month in the form of a second-round knockout over Christian Morecraft at UFC on Versus 4 in Pittsburgh.
Representing his stiffest challenge yet is Kongo (16-6-2), who is coming off one of the most exciting performances in the sport this year. Fighting in the main event of the June 26 card in Pittsburgh, Kongo was knocked down multiple times in the first round by Pat Barry before connecting on a right uppercut that ended the fight.
Since suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career in 2009, Kongo is unbeaten in his last three fights and looks to take another step up in the division with a win.
The fight could hold emotional implications for Mitrione, who trains alongside Barry and will be looking to avenge his close friend's loss.
The bout figures to make the main card portion of UFC 137, which is headlined by a welterweight title fight between Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz.
Mitrione (5-0) will be seeking his sixth straight win and third this year. The former NFL player has fought his entire career under the promotion, compiling five knockout wins since December 2009.
His most recent victory came late last month in the form of a second-round knockout over Christian Morecraft at UFC on Versus 4 in Pittsburgh.
Representing his stiffest challenge yet is Kongo (16-6-2), who is coming off one of the most exciting performances in the sport this year. Fighting in the main event of the June 26 card in Pittsburgh, Kongo was knocked down multiple times in the first round by Pat Barry before connecting on a right uppercut that ended the fight.
Since suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career in 2009, Kongo is unbeaten in his last three fights and looks to take another step up in the division with a win.
The fight could hold emotional implications for Mitrione, who trains alongside Barry and will be looking to avenge his close friend's loss.
The bout figures to make the main card portion of UFC 137, which is headlined by a welterweight title fight between Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz.
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