Pat Barry doesn't believe that Cheick Kongo is the same striker he used to be according to mmamania.com.

"I wouldn't say he's an elite striker in the heavyweight division anymore. He's a guy that's going to rush you into the cage, pull your feet out from under you, sit on top of you until you either quit or the ref stops the fight. That's what he's been doing his last few fights," Barry said.

Barry cites Kongo's back surgery as the cause of Kongo's change in fighting style. To combat this, Barry has been training at Brock Lesnar's Deathclutch camp. Deathclutch is the home of numerous top level wrestlers who have been helping Barry become a more balanced fighter, a vaunted kick-boxer whose only noticeable weakness is in his ground game.

"I would love to be able to say that we'll see the Cheick Kongo from before he had back surgery; the one who would stand there and be the heavyweight striker that he's known to be. But he's turned into a ground-and-pound guy," Barry said.

Barry and Kongo are set to clash at UFC on Versus 4 on June 26. The two have a combined 14 tko/ko victories over 21 wins. Come Sunday night, their bout will determine if Barry's comments on Kongo's striking abilities are naive or a good observation.

The card is headlined by a welterweight tilt between Rick Story and Nate Marquardt, who is making his welterweight debut after dropping down from middleweight.