Cheick Kongo Thinks Bellator Heavyweight Title Should Go Back on the Table

Cheick Kongo spoke with MMAjunkie about his fight with Vinicius Queiroz at Bellator 150 and more. Check out the highlights:

On Vitaly Minakov not having defended the title in two years: “It’s really difficult because he hasn’t defended in years. The title should go back on the Bellator table so we can get the next one. If he doesn’t want to fight at this time, it should go on to someone else. If he comes back, for sure, he used to be the former champion and never lost – he can fight again to get it. For myself, he lost the belt two years ago. He hasn’t been defeated by anyone, but the time he’s gone he lost it. The belt should be back on the table. That’s the only thing I know now. It doesn’t make sense. He shouldn’t be able to come back and say, ‘I’m still the champ.’ You’re still the champ, but you should fight to get it.”

On his eight-month layoff since his last fight: “During the time I got a really good moment to improve myself, to push the pace and reset just to be a good performer. It was kind of big deal because it was really hard for me to spar and improve and get better at the game (with the busy schedule), but we made it work well and today I’m a new guy. So I can’t wait to fight and just see how I react.”

On prepping for his fight with Queiroz: “I’ve improved and honestly I’ve spent a lot of time working with my partners. My partners put me in bad positions to get me better and today I’ve seen the results. Will I say I’m the better guy? No. But at my age I’m better than when I was younger. When I was younger I was injured and it took time to heal properly and get the right people around me. The way I perform today without those issues, I will be really, really happy.”