This is the UFC 120 live blog for Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne, a heavyweight bout on tonight's Spike TV event from the O2 Arena in London, England.Kongo (15-6-1)'s last fight was a win over Paul Buentello in March. Browne (10-0) made his UFC debut in June, stopping James McSweeney.
The live blog is below.
Round 1: Browne comes out swinging early, but Kongo avoids getting hit. Kongo scores with a few hard leg kicks. Browne lands a hard kick to the body. The crowd starts a "Let's go Kongo" chant, but Browne is the man moving forward early. Kongo moves in but Browne puts him on wobbly legs with a left. Kongo backs up and Browne lands another hard punch. Browne grabs a Thai clinch and lands a few knees to the body. Browne throws a home run right hand, Kongo partially deflects it. They clinch against the fence but Browne breaks free. Kongo lands his best punches of the round near the final horn, but MMA Fighting scores the round for Browne 10-9.
Round 2: Kongo tries to come out quicker this round with some early kicks. Kongo lands a 1-2 that scores. Near the fence, a Kongo knee lands below the belt and the ref calls for time. Kongo seems to be timing Browne's attacks better now, as he times a counterstrike off a wild right. Weird sequence as Brown literally pushed Kongo backwards about 15 feet, Kongo fell to his back, then got up holding his eye as though he'd been gouged, but the ref did not call timeout. Browne hung back though and gave Kongo a second to compose himself. Kongo pushes Browne against the fence and landed a few knees to the legs and body. The ref broke them up after a short period of inactivity. They clinch again moments later, and Kongo follows the same pattern with knees. They break with about 30 seconds left. Browne scores a takedown just one or two seconds before the horn but MMA Fighting scores it for Kongo 10-9.
Round 3: The round begins with a quick tie-up as Brown pushes him against the cage. Kongo is warned about grabbing Browne's shorts as Browne tries for a takedown. A moment later, the ref calls a timeout and deducts a point for another illegal grab. That's a huge penalty. Kongo tries a takedown moments later but Browne stops it. Incredibly, he grabs Browne's shorts again, but the ref just warns him instead of deducting another point. They jockey for position on the cage. Browne is slowing down a bit but Kongo's knees to the legs aren't going to win the fight after the point deduction. With two minutes left they break up. With 90 seconds left Kongo lands a hard right. Browne is breathing hard and his legs are a bit unsteady after all the knees. Kongo would have won the round but the point deduction makes it 9-9 and it may be a draw.
Decision: Fight ruled a unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
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