Heavyweights Cheick Kongo, Augusto Sakai to Square Off at Bellator 179 in London

Cheick Kongo will lock horns with Augusto Sakai at Bellator 179 in London on May 19.

A promotion official confirmed the heavyweight pairing with Sherdog.com on Tuesday following an initial report from Gazeta Do Povo. Bellator 179 takes place at Wembley Arena in London and is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Rory MacDonald and Paul Daley.

A former Bellator heavyweight title challenger, Kongo has won six of his last seven outings within the California-based promotion. Most recently, the 41-year-old Frenchman outpointed Oli Thompson at Bellator 172 on Feb. 18. The UFC veteran also owns notable wins over the likes of Alexander Volkov, Lavar Johnson, Shawn Jordan, Matt Mitrione and Mirko Filipovic over the course of his 38-bout professional career.

Sakai has yet to taste defeat in 10 professional outings, although he did battle Dan Charles to a majority draw in his most recent appearance at Bellator 155. Prior to that, the 25-year-old Brazilian had won his first four promotional appearances, finishing three of them by knockout or technical knockout.