Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 10 Champion Roy Nelson (15-4) will continue his climb up the ranks of the UFC heavyweight division against yet another hard-hitting striker when he tangles with Cheick Kongo at UFC 116 on July 3 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"Big Country" confirmed an earlier report by Fighter's Only through his official Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Nelson endeared himself to casual MMA fans (not really) by pounding out Kimbo Slice during the Spike TV reality show. After airmailing Brendan Schaub back to Denver at last December's TUF 10 Finale, the portly powerhouse put Stefan Struve on queer street at UFC Fight Night 21 just last month.
He continually talks about moving on to bigger and better things -- and Kongo certainly fits that bill.
The hulking Parisian suffered a disappointing submission defeat to Frank Mir at UFC 107 back on Dec. 12. The loss was his second straight and all but knocked him out of the running for a future division title shot.
Unfazed, Kongo went back to doing what he does best -- beating people up. His first victim was Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello, who was mugged for the better part of two rounds, eventually succumbing to strikes early in the third frame.
Kongo appears to be back on track -- but will Nelson abandon his newfound striking attack to exploit Kongo's submission defense?
Should be an interesting match-up.
UFC 116 is set to be headlined by returning heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, as he tries to quell the uprising of undefeated division contender Shane Carwin. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Wanderlei Silva will also square off in a battle of sexy vs. psycho.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for future updates on this still-developing fight card.
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