With his sixth Bellator headliner rapidly approaching, Cheick Kongo said he’s on board with the company adjusting its policy when it comes to the length of main event fights.

Kongo (24-10-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA), who will look to move one step closer to fighting for the vacant heavyweight championship at Bellator 161 when he participates in his third consecutive main event bout, this time against Tony Johnson (10-2 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), is open to the company following the UFC and moving to five-round non-title fights.

The Frenchman has gone the distance in all but one of his main event bouts with the promotion. He’s come out on the winning end all but once. However, if he had two rounds and 10 more minutes of cage time to work with, he believes there would be more opportunity for a definitive result.

“It would be good (to move to five rounds) but I have no problem with three,” Kongo told MMAjunkie. “Three, five-minute rounds, we have to figure out how it goes for the best plan. More time would be better. But for me, it’s just a fight no matter how long. It’s still a fight.”

Bellator 161 takes place Friday at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas. Kongo vs. Johnson headlines the Spike-televised main card following prelims on MMAjunkie.

At 41 and with more than 15 years in the sport, Kongo is still going strong and working to keep relevant in the heavyweight division. Many believed his time as a notable fighter was over when his 18-fight UFC tenure came to an end following a knockout loss to Roy Nelson at UFC 159 in April 2013. He signed with Bellator after that, though, and has won six of eight fights thus far.

Meanwhile, Johnson, 30, is much younger in his career but has made a splash in just two fights with Bellator after beating former champ Alexander Volkov in his debut and scoring a third-round TKO of Rafael Butler in his sophomore appearance.

Johnson targeted Kongo as an opponent and specifically asked for the matchup. Kongo said he’s not a fan of that approach, but as a veteran of nearly 40 pro fights has seen it all by this point. With that said, he would like to show Johnson some humility on fight night.

“I expected this fight because he called me out and put himself in position to make it happen,” Kongo said. “I want to make a statement. This guy wants to prove and show he is a contender, but he will be surprised, and I will get the shot for the title. It kind of pissed me off because he talked too much. I know it’s the way to promote the fight, but you need to be respectful to make the fight. But it’s a good matchup.”

Although Johnson has won six of his past seven fights, he has struggled to rally much in the way of fan support because of a less-than-riveting fighting style. Johnson takes a wrestling-heavy approach to the fight game, routinely attempting to press his opponents against the cage and grind them out with clinch work and takedowns.

Kongo said he’s encountered this type of fighter before, though, and has even implemented the same strategy himself from time to time. Because of that, he said he’s confident he knows how to stop it.

“He will try to grab me and take me down; that’s what he’s going to try to do,” Kongo said. “If you look at his previous fights, that’s what he did before. He won’t stand up with strikers. He will do the same with me – that’s what I am expecting. Nothing can surprise me. On my way I’ve fought the best in my division. He’s going to try and take you down and lay on you, but if I win, I won’t do that. I won’t lay on you.

“I won’t be surprised by him,” he continued. “If he surprises me, it will be because he will show some skills he hasn’t shown before, but all his fights in Bellator, they are the same. My job is to avoid his situation and make it a striking fight.”

Getting past Johnson at Bellator 161 would be a significant moment for Kongo because it would likely put him at the front of the queue to fight for the vacant heavyweight belt, which was stripped from Vitaly Minakov earlier this year. The organization hasn’t announced any formal plans for the championship at this point, but if Kongo is routinely picking up wins in main event fights, he sees no way he would be excluded in the fight to determine the next champion.

“It would be nice to be in line right away,” Kongo said. “To fight for the title would be – wow, it would be awesome. I want to fight for it not just for myself but for the fans. If they want to put me in position, they will see me win.”

For more on Bellator 161, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.