Fightin' Words

LAS VEGAS - OK, now that was about as vicious a mauling as you could ask for. And it happened right in front of media row. Nice.

Cheick Kongo got Mostapha Al Turk to the ground and hammered away with punches and elbows to Turk's head. Kongo then gained control of one of Turk's arms and held it in such a way as to create an opening to blast Turk in the face with repeated hammer fists.

Referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight with 23 seconds left in the first round, Turk a bloodied mess. How bad was it? The entire ring swarmed with doctors, trainers and other UFC personnel. Turl (6-4) walked out of the Octagon under his own power.

"I moved to the UK [from Paris] to train with the Wolfslair team and I got good training there," Kongo said. "It was tough, but I improved. I work out so much, and have sacrificed, and this is my dream."

Such an impressive performance by Kongo (23-4-1) has to give the UFC some things to consider in the heavyweight division. The Frank Mir-Antonio Nogueria winner later tonight will fight Brock Lesnar for the unified heavyweight championship. Kongo could possibly face the ultimate winner of that down the road in 2009.

Earlier in the first round. both fighters exchanged knees to that part of the body that required an automatic timeout, even in a sport that doesn't have timeouts. Turk struck first, causing a five-minute pause in the bout. Kongo returned fire shortly thereafter.

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