Bader vs Kongo

Who won Bader vs Kongo?

Ryan Bader beat Cheick Kongo by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of Bellator 280, on Friday 6th May 2022 at Accor Arena in Paris.

The scorecards were announced as 50-45, 50-45, 50-45 in favor of the winner Ryan Bader.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

This contest was for the Bellator Heavyweight championship.

Bader vs Kongo stats

Ryan Bader stepped into the octagon with a record of 29 wins, 7 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Cheick Kongo made his way to the cage with a record of 31 wins, 11 losses and 2 draws, 15 of those wins coming by knock out and 4 by submission.

Ryan Bader's Bellator record stood at 9-3-0, while Cheick Kongo's came in at 13-4-0.

The stats suggested Kongo had a slight advantage in power over Bader, with a 48% knock out percentage over Bader's 41%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Kongo had a slight advantage over Bader, with a 13% submission rate over Bader's 10%.

Ryan Bader was the younger man by 8 years, at 41 years old.

Kongo had a height advantage of 2 inches over Bader. That also extended to a 8-inch reach advantage.

Bader was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 8 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2007, 5 years and 9 months later than Kongo, whose first professional fight was in 2001. He had fought 13 less professional rounds, 90 to Kongo's 103.

Bader vs Kongo form

Bader had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244 on 21st August 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

Previous to that, his fight against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226 on 7th September 2019 ended in a no contest.

Going into that contest, he had won against Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 214 on 26th January 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at The Forum, Los Angeles.

Before that, he had beaten Matt Mitrione at Bellator 207 on 12th October 2018 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had defeated Muhammed Lawal at Bellator 199 on 12th May 2018 by knockout in the 1st round at SAP Center, San Jose.

Kongo had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he was victorious against Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 265 on 20th August 2021 by submission in the 2nd round at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Timothy Johnson at Bellator 248 on 10th October 2020 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Going into that contest, his fight against Ryan Bader at Bellator 226 on 7th September 2019 ended in a no contest.

Before that, he had won against Vitaly Minakov at Bellator 216 on 16th February 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had beaten Timothy Johnson at Bellator 208 on 13th October 2018 by knockout in the 1st round at Nassau Coliseum, Long Island.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Cheick Kongo had been fighting more than Ryan Bader.

Going to this contest, Ryan Bader had last fought 4 years and 4 months ago, while Cheick Kongo's last outing had been 3 years, 4 months and 1 day ago.

Bader's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 7 months and 9 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 8 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.6 rounds on average.

Kongo's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 2 months and 8 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Bader vs Kongo?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Bader vs Kongo.