After learning of Nate Marquardt's sudden absence from the main event in what was expected to be his welterweight debut, UFC on Versus 4 featured a main event between Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry.
What seemed to be a loss for Marquardt fortunately turned out to be an empathic victory for not only for Kongo, but the UFC as well.
The French kickboxer was on the brink of defeat after a right hand from Barry stunned him. However, Kongo, who was still visibly hurt, remained in the bout. He grabbed a hold of Barry's leg, but Barry dropped him once again and nearly finished the fight.
Following the onslaught of strikes, Kongo retreated back to his feet and clipped his opponent on the side of the head as he got inside of his range, later landing an uppercut that left Barry unconscious.
“I didn’t see anything. I couldn’t imagine what’s going on,” Kongo told Sherdog.com, regarding his bout with Barry.
“I just remember saying, ‘Whoa, OK, he dropped me down, so something happened.’ So, I had to come back quickly.”
Kongo came back in a dramatic fashion. The knockout is already considered one of the most remarkable and greatest comebacks in UFC history. Kongo relishes the victory, but he also considers luck to be a part of it.
“I can say it was lucky, but I just worked all the defense I could do for this fight," he said. "The good thing was I have a good chin.”
What's even more remarkable is that Kongo was returning after an eight-month hiatus due to back surgery.
Following the win, Kongo said he was not 100 percent prior to the bout, but he intends to quickly recover and re-enter title contention.
"I’m not scared about anything, just a little bit pressured, ‘cause eight months off, away from the fight, that’s something pretty odd,” he told UFC.com.
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