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Opinion & Analysis
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Staff Editorials
KIMURA COLUMN: Post-Fight Breakdown - Herring vs. Kongo from UFC 82
By Matt Kimura, MMATorch Writer
Mar 4, 2008, 02:19
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Here’s what I expected out of Cheick Kongo’s fight against Heath Herring:
Herring pushes the action with wild punches and haymakers. Kongo puts him down with precise straights, crosses and knees.
My prediction for the fight was Herring KO’d in the second round. The fight would’ve been very entertaining with Bruce Buffer picking up Herring’s jock after being knocked out of it.
My reasoning: “Well…you wouldn’t challenge a surgeon to a knife fight, would you?”
I can’t say I was disappointed with the fight. In fact, I was rather intrigued. Kongo pushed the action on the floor and actually gave Herring a good fight in the process. Who would’ve thought it? I’m sure the guys that cornered Kongo had no idea, though. Where does this fight put both guys in the title picture?
For Kongo, it’s a few spots back in the waiting line. I don’t think it’ll be as long of a wait as for someone like Cro Cop, but he’ll have to prove himself worthy with at least two more fights. Of course his striking is devastating. If you need proof, look at the tail end of his fight against Assuerio Silva. When his flurries connected, it made babies wince. And they can’t even comprehend what they’re watching, yet.
And while his grappling has improved immensely, it’s nowhere near the level that it needs to be to take someone like Anotonio Noguiera, or even Tim Sylvia, out. In another six months I’ll probably eat those words. He’s surrounded himself with the right guys in Rampage and Michael Bisping, but it’s a long road ahead. For his next opponent, I’d love to see him fight Andrei Arlovski. Both guys are on the rise and in need of a big win.
Herring is in another boat. He might be ready for a title fight, but the problem is that he has three losses to Big Nog. The other thing that may hurt him is his aggression. There’s an appropriate time to turn it up, and then there are times to try and get the win. Against Kongo, Herring had a few opportunities to go for a submission. Instead, he threw knees and punches. Whether it was him wanting to dish out some more pain, or wasn’t confident enough in his techniques, is anyone’s guess.
One positive that can be said about Herring, though, is that he is capable of fighting with a great gameplan. Bullrushing Kongo was genius in that it neutralized his freakish reach and striking ability. He was aggressive, but didn’t try to stand up with Kongo. With the exception of the knees, Herring stuck to what he knew he could excel with. Due to “Noguiera v. Herring IV” not likely to happen anytime soon, a fight with Gabriel Gonzaga (Tim Sylvia may be too soon) may be just what Herring’s looking for in order to jump up to the top spot on the card.
Regardless of who you rooted for between the two, it’s going to be exciting to see how they both fare in their next fight.
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