Immediately after one fight, another challenge was placed in front of Ryan Bader. It was announced Saturday night that Bader will meet Cheick Kongo for the second time on May 6th, headlining a Bellator card from the Accor Arena in Paris, France.
This announcement came right after Bader defended his Bellator Heavyweight Championship against Valentin Moldavsky with a unanimous decision result. The fight was Bader’s return to the division after spending the previous two years down at light heavyweight.
Bader and Kongo first met on a Bellator card in 2019. Their title fight had an anti-climactic ending, as an accidental eye poke forced the bout to end in the first round.
Kongo, 46, has fought twice since then. In late 2020, he lost a split decision to Timothy Johnson. He bounced back from that result in August of last year, submitting Sergei Kharitonov in the main event of a card.
Kongo will have a home-court advantage in the bout, as he represents France.
The upcoming event will mark Bellator’s second trip to France since MMA was legalized in the country. They made their debut there in 2020 with a 10-fight card.
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