In the fifth fight of the seven-fight UFC 144 main card, Mark Hunt continued his unexpected run with a solid TKO win over Cheick Kongo in the first round. This is Hunt's third win in a row, and suddenly sets up him as an unlikely contender in the thin UFC heavyweight division. Kongo started quickly with leg kicks and an attempted takedown against the fence, but Hunt shrugged him. Hunt landed a nice counter that dropped Kongo, but he let him up and continued his assault on the feet until Kongo crumpled in the corner, finished. The bout was halted at 2:11 of the first round.

Kongo was the highest-ranked guy Hunt has defeated in his three-fight win streak, and it should earn Mark a fight against a contender next time out. Kongo's four-fight unbeaten streak was ended with the loss. The bout was the only heavyweight fight on the card

What was the high spot of this fight?

The finish. Hunt is a boss when he has someone hurt, and this was no different. He took his time and landed some crushing blows to finish Kongo.

Where do these guys go from here?

As stated above, Hunt will likely get a top-level opponent next time out. He actually wants to fight next weekend on the Australia card, but Dana White said that wasn't happening. Dana also said how much he respected Hunt's will to fight, and made it clear that he's a fan. Me too. Who will his next opponent be? Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira? Probably not, but a bout with Mike Russow makes sense.

Kongo is definitely going to fall a few spots in the rankings, but his standing in the company probably won't be affected very much. A bout between Kongo and Dave Herman would probably be fun, but Herman probably hasn't done enough to earn it. Facing the loser of the Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell fight could work.

Watch it now, later or never?

Now. Mark Hunt knocking people out is awesome. Stop reading this and go watch!

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