By Ben Carey
London’s Mustapha Al-Turk suffered a rude awakening on his UFC debut when he was battered to defeat in the opening round by France’s Cheick Kongo at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Al-Turk, who vacated the (now defunct) Cage Rage British heavyweight title to sign a four-fight deal with the UFC, received a ticking off from referee Steve Mazzagatti for straying low with a knee which Kongo duly returned the favour with the same transgression in a stop-start contest.
Soon after the resumption of the action, Kongo knocked Al-Turk to the mat and pounded the Lebanon man with some vicious forearms and elbows which opened up a nasty gash on Mustapha’s temple. Al-Turk tried to his best to defend himself but was powerless to stop Kongo’s relentless assault as the Frenchman underlined his emerging status as one of the best strikers in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
Following his brutal loss, Al-Turk’s MMA record slips to 6-4 with his immediate UFC future in the balance.
