UFC Live: Kongo vs Barry; What Happens Now?

    UFC Live: Kongo vs Barry took place last night at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The card featured many exciting fights including an amazing come-back victory from Cheick Kongo against Pat Barry that ended when Kongo pulled out a thrilling uppercut that put Barry on the floor. The question now, is what happens next to these fighters?

Kongo

   Cheick Kongo (MMA 16-6-2, UFC 9-4-1): Even with a solid victory like this, Kongo is still not a first-tier heavy-weight fighter in my opinion. He would have no chance against the likes of Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez (already lost to him), Junior Dos Santos, or Frank Mir (also lost to him). The best thing for him to do would be to continue to fight opponents like Barry and get a solid winning streak going, before fighting a first-class heavy-weight again. I would love to see Kongo have a rematch against Travis Browne, which ended in a draw at UFC 120, or fight against Roy Nelson or Matt Mitrione.

Barry

   Pat Barry (MMA 6-3, UFC 3-3): Even after a disappointing defeat, Barry still shows a lot of promise. He too, is certainly not a first-class heavy-weight, but would still put up a good fight against anyone. Barry's kickboxing was phenomenal and I still am extremely surprised that the fight against Kongo was not stopped in his favor. Barry is still young and can still improve, which makes his stock high. I would love to see him fight Stefan Struve or friend, Matt Mitrione.
  

Stevenson

   Joe Stevenson (MMA 31-14, UFC 8-8): After a defeat via decision against Javier Vasquez in his debut in the feather-weight division, Stevenson now has a four fight losing streak. I hate to say it because Stevenson is such a talented fighter, but his days are becoming numbered in the UFC. Do not be shocked if he were to be cut by the UFC sometime this week. I do not know how likely this is, but I think the best choice for Stevenson is to go back to light-weight and see if he can go to Strikeforce to compete in its' lightweight division until he can earn a spot back into the UFC.
 

Griffin

    Tyson Griffin (MMA 15-5, UFC 8-5): Defeating Manvel Gamburyan via decision snaps a three fight losing streak for Griffin. This fight marked his debut in the feather-weight division. Griffin needs to remain in the feather-weight division because he is one of the bigger fighters in the weight class, has excellent wrestling skills, and could find a lot of success in that weight class. Griffin may not be in the same class as Jose Aldo or Kenny Florian yet, but I would love to see him take on Mark Hominick, who just recently lost to Aldo in April, to see where he sizes up in the feather-weight division.

Mitrione

   Matt Mitrione (MMA 5-0, UFC 5-0): Knocking out Christian Morecraft in round two, now puts Mitrione on a five fight win streak in the UFC. Mitrione still can improve tremendously and I feel he too, like Kongo, is not a first-class heavy-weight. This would mean a fight between Mitrione and Kongo would be perfect and win against Kongo could mean much better competition for him later on. I would also love to see him fight his good friend Pat Barry, and this could happen. I met Mitrione in March at Arnold Fest in Columbus, Ohio, and asked him if he would ever fight Barry, and he said although they have trained together in the past, if the money was there he would do it. I would love to see them fight and see how Mitrione does with a kick-boxer like Barry.