Sources close to Cheick Kongo have confirmed the Frenchman's next bout will be against TUF 10 winner Roy "Big Country" Nelson, who himself confirmed the news via his own Twitter and Facebook accounts.
After winning TUF 10, Nelson delivered a 1st round KP to Stefan "The Skyscraper" Struve at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Gomi on March 31st, in what was his 19th fight, currently holding a record of 15-4, the four losses coming from Andrei Arlovski, Jeff Monson, Ben Rothwell and Josh Curran. Arlovski delivered Nelson his only ko loss to date. On the show, Nelson Deveated Kimbo Slice, Justin Wren and James McSweeney, before knocking out Brendan Schaub in the finale. His fight with Kimbo was the most viewed mma show in America, with around 3.7 million viewers. The fight itself received 6 million viewers.
Kongo on the other hand, despite coming off 2 losses to Cain Valasquez and Frank Mir, followed by a submission due to strikes victory over paul buentello, recently received a renwed 6 fight deal with the UFC while fellow Wolfslair fighters Rob Broughton, Tom Blackledge and Kurt Warburton were also offered contracts with The Ultimate Fighting Championship. Kongo holds an overall record of 15-6-1, with a respectable UFC record of 8-4.
With the UFC 116 card already expected to feature Lesnar vs Carwin, W. Silva vs Akiyama, Pelligrino vs Sotiropoulus, and now Nelson vs Kongo, fans can expect fireworks on July 3rd, in MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.