The already stacked UFC 156 looks like it might get just a little bit better. After a friendly suggestion from a fan on Monday night, Heavyweights Stefan Struve and Cheick Kongo are angling to fight on the Super Bowl weekend card.
On Monday, a fan took to Twitter to suggest the fight to Kongo and Struve as well as UFC executives Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta:
When's @stefanstruve next fight? Him and @kongo4real should throw it down! @danawhite @lorenzofertitta @ufc
— Troy D. (@TroyD93) November 19, 2012
It didn't take long for the near 7 foot Struve to co-sign the suggestion saying, "sounds good to me! What do you think Cheik?! :)". Kongo also seemed excited about the potential match and responded, "It would be very exciting 4 the fans & a great challenge for both of us. UFC156 Lets do it!"
Typically, the UFC is supportive of fighters taking the initiative and setting up their own matches publicly. This case may be a bit different though. Following UFC 154, Dana White was pretty critical of Cheick's decision to turn down a short notice fight against Roy Nelson in December. It's possible that Dana will seek to "punish" Kongo and deny the requested match.
Both Struve and Kongo have been on pretty good streaks recently. Kongo is 4-1-1 since losing to Frank Mir at UFC 107. The only blemish on his record since then is a first round knock out loss to Mark Hunt. He's coming off an incredibly dull decision win over Shawn Jordan at UFC 149. Skyscraper is currently on a 4 fight streak with four finishes. In his last fight, he knocked out the formerly undefeated Stipe Miocic halfway through the second round at UFC On Fuel TV 5.
UFC 156 is scheduled for February 2, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. The card is already looking very strong. Take a look for yourself:
Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar
Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva
Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia