Cheick Kongo (born May 17, 1975) is a French mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who fights in the Heavyweight division.

Born to a Burkinabé father and a Congolese mother, Kongo began training in martial arts when he was 5 years old, learning Kendo and Karate.

At the age of 23 he learned Pencak Silat Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate under the tutelage of Charles Joussoat and Franck Ropers, who learned it from C. N. Hardjono Turpijn, the pioneer of Pencak Silat PSHT in Europe.

Kongo fought at UFC 92 on December 27, 2008, where he beat former Cage Rage British Heavyweight champion Mustapha al-Turk by TKO.

Then fired on a vicious ground and pound attack, Kongo pounced on al-Turk with elbows and punches, opening up a big cut above the eye.

[5] Kongo replaced Heath Herring on three weeks notice at UFC 99 to face the up-and-coming Cain Velasquez in the co-main event.

It had been rumoured that if he was to defeat Velasquez, Kongo would earn a title shot against the winner of the UFC 100 Heavyweight Championship between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir.

[6] Kongo defeated Paul Buentello on March 21, 2010, at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones by submission due to elbows.

Kongo repeatedly grabbed Browne's shorts and had 1 point deducted in the final round.

[11] His fight against Barry became the main event since Nate Marquardt was not medically cleared for his welterweight debut against Rick Story.

Visibly rocked, Kongo got back to his feet but was dropped again seconds later by another hard punch.

Despite being dropped twice, Kongo was able to knock Barry out with a hard overhand right to the ear, followed by an uppercut to the chin to secure a win midway through the first round.

He won the fight via unanimous decision by utilizing his reach with his jab and securing multiple takedowns.

[22] On May 4, 2013, Kongo stated that he is on good terms with the UFC and was quoted saying: "Don't believe he said-she said stories.

[27] He was then expected to face Vinicius Queiroz in the tournament finals, on November 2, 2013, at Bellator 106.

[30] However, Queiroz was later forced to withdraw from the bout due to a knee injury[31] and was replaced by Peter Graham.

In the third round, Kongo was dropped by a right hand, however, he was able to recover and win a split decision.

[41] Kongo faced Javy Ayala at Bellator 199 on May 12 in San Jose, CA.

[45] Kongo faced Vitaly Minakov for a second time on February 16, 2019, at Bellator 216[46] He won the fight by unanimous decision.

[48] The bout ended in a no contest at 3:52 of the first round after an accidental eye poke from Bader rendered Kongo unable to continue.