5 of the best heavyweight fights in MMA history

Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo | UFC Pittsburgh

So, we’ll be fair here. There’s been a lack of knockouts on this list, and when most people think of heavyweight action, they think of some of the more memorable and vicious knockouts that have ever happened inside a cage or a ring. If you’ve been waiting for one of these KOs on this list and have made it this far, this one’s for you.

Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo, two kickboxing specialists, won’t ever be able to say their careers are as decorated as someone like Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (“Big Nog”), Daniel Cormier or Stipe Miocic. This battle they had in Pittsburgh was not a technical, all-around masterpiece like the former two’s battle, or as high in intensity, drama and high stakes like the latter’s second and third fights were.

But Barry vs. Kongo was most certainly hard-hitting and jaw-dropping for how long it lasted and the events that took place in that span.

Just two minutes into their fight, Barry dropped Kongo with a right hand, swarming him with several powerful shots on the ground. No one would have blamed Dan Miragliotta for stepping in, but he let the fight go on. Seconds later, Barry dropped Kongo with another right, but again, Miragliotta didn’t step in as Kongo got back to his knees, and then his feet.

With Kongo clearly still stunned, Barry went in for the kill. But all of a sudden, Kongo rocked and dropped Barry with a pair of right hands, knocking him out cold, stunning the crowd, the commentators and the world with one of the most insane comebacks and knockouts the MMA world ever laid its eyes on.