Browne gasses; Kongo loses point and fights himself into a draw at UFC 120
At 6-foot-7 and 251 pounds, Travis Browne is a heck of an athlete, but he's also a relative pup when it comes to applying that explosiveness to his fight game. Cheick Kongo, a veteran of 22 fights, let Browne tire himself out, then chopped down the tree in the second only to make a stupid mistake in the third to cost himself the win. Kongo, rolling to a victory over the exhausted Browne, got a point deducted for constantly grabbing the big man's shorts. The result was a frustrating draw, 28-28 on all cards, between the two big heavyweights in the second fight of the televised card at UFC 120 in London.
The grabbing of the trunks was inexplicable on the part of Kongo. He was warned by referee Marc Goddard early in the final round. Less than 30 seconds later, Kongo did it again and lost a point. Kongo (15-6-2, 8-4-1 UFC) played with fire when he again grabbed the shorts on several occasions down the stretch.
Browne (10-0-1, 1-0-1 UFC) hurt his chances for a win by not managing his stamina in the opening round. He came out bouncing all over the ring and awkwardly charging Kongo. Browne landed a few good punches and leg kicks to win the stanza but by the end of the round, he was breathing with his mouth wide open.
Kongo took advantage in the second by clinching with the more stationary Browne and moving the action to the cage. The tired Browne was more than happy to rest along the cage but took a ton of Kongo knees to the inside of his right knee. In the final round, he could hardly put weight on his right leg. But Kongo refused to go in for the kill. It cost him a win.
Browne was fortunate to come out of the fight with a draw, but he's clearly a guy worth watching down the road. At 28 years old, he's only been fighting since February of 2009. He's training with a good camp, Alliance Training Center in San Diego. With better game-planning and more composure, he could be very dangerous down the road.
