UFC Inks Sokoudjou; “The African Assassin” to Debut vs Machida at UFC 79

This is the official announc,ent from UFC. com that we have been waiting for.

2007 has seen the UFC’s light heavyweight division became the most talent-rich weight class in the world. At UFC 79, which will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on December 29th, fight fans will get a glimpse of the newest addition to the 205-pound ranks as “The African Assassin”, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, makes his UFC debut against unbeaten sharpshooter Lyoto Machida.

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=8674

Tho i am surprised as i said in the other thread i think it makes little sense for the UFC, its exciting for us but IF Lyoto just gets another lacklustre decision then it gets him no further to a title shot AND no more popular with the fans AND it somewhat ruins Soku's debut

he wont be able to pick soko apart, he is too explosive both in his strikes and his judo, we will see just how good machida is after this fight.

Wow, I cannot wait to see this one. This is gonna be a war.

SOKOOOOOO!!!!!! Those are very very exciting news man. 2 of my fav. fighters to start with and they're also both pretty well rounded and they're right in the middle of their prime. Man this is gonna be siiiiiick.

Hmmmm im surprised so many of you are sold on Sokoudjou! Its only 2 fights where he has looked good and the one fight before them he looked very bad against an average opponent, he didnt KO Arona but it was a fair enough stoppage, i agree he has good power and clever hands but Machida has to be a fairly big favourite in this fight imho, id like to see him use his judo to win tho, whether he will is another thing

Its the same situation as Houston imo, in MMA lightning can strike twice but not 3 times so i will wait until after this fight before saying Houston or Soku are the real deals

Im surprised at you guys saying that "Machida will finally get a true test"...

Are you forgetting wins over BJ Penn and Rich Franklin?

Yes, Im excited to see Soko on the big stage, but at the same time, calling him Machida's first big test is silly. Both Penn and Franklin are bigger accomplishments than beating Soko, even with all the hype that surrounds him.

I'd say this fight will help to see if 'Sokoudjou' is the real deal (or as Cornish put it, did lightning just strike twice) rather than Machida.

For what it's worth, I think he is the fighter he is being hyped up to be, but to say this will be a real test for Machida against a top quality fighter in Soko is a bit back to front.

I think I just creamed myself.

This should be a good fight i like both guys so im not sure who imgoing to pick i think i might lean toward machida though

This is great news. I think Sokoudjou has matured outside of the ring/cage and will be a force in the UFC. This should be a great, and interesting, fight.

Rampage better enjoy that title reign now, a couple wins like Soko got in PRIDE and he'll be coming to take the belt! Really excited about this, he's easily one of the best young talents to hit MMA in some time.

I dont understand why people always think Machida has never been tested, he has fought Penn and Franklin!!! ..

but then again I think Soko has proven himself for the most part as well..2 big wins agaisnt top 10(ish) opponents could be a fluke....but not likely...especially because they were fairly dominating/quick fights...

I see Machida winning this .... but I honestly would not be suprised at all if Soko came in a beat him

I thought he signed with K1. What happened to that?

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Posted by nickcuc547

he wont be able to pick soko apart, he is too explosive both in his strikes and his judo, we will see just how good machida is after this fight.

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i agree.. it will be awsome... to watch

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Posted by jtwalker

I thought he signed with K1. What happened to that?

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We all thought he did, more specifically with HERO'S. But articles that first got these rumors going indicated that deal fell apart.

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Posted by rcg916

Im surprised at you guys saying that "Machida will finally get a true test"...

Are you forgetting wins over BJ Penn and Rich Franklin?

Yes, Im excited to see Soko on the big stage, but at the same time, calling him Machida's first big test is silly. Both Penn and Franklin are bigger accomplishments than beating Soko, even with all the hype that surrounds him.

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I think maybe we could say that this is Machida's first real test in the LHW division. Penn fits best all the way down in the LW division, and he took Machida to a decision. And boy was Penn looking chunky in that fight. Franklin fits best right under Machida in the MW division. Although smaller fighters always have the potential to beat larger fighters, they are definatly at a disadvantage.

Sokoudjou is a natural LHW, and probably has more potential talent than any other LHW that Machida has fought previously.

Not saying that any of this will even make any difference, but IMO it will be Machida's biggest test so far.

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Posted by gspfan

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Posted by rcg916

Im surprised at you guys saying that "Machida will finally get a true test"...

Are you forgetting wins over BJ Penn and Rich Franklin?

Yes, Im excited to see Soko on the big stage, but at the same time, calling him Machida's first big test is silly. Both Penn and Franklin are bigger accomplishments than beating Soko, even with all the hype that surrounds him.

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I think maybe we could say that this is Machida's first real test in the LHW division. Penn fits best all the way down in the LW division, and he took Machida to a decision. And boy was Penn looking chunky in that fight. Franklin fits best right under Machida in the MW division. Although smaller fighters always have the potential to beat larger fighters, they are definatly at a disadvantage.

Sokoudjou is a natural LHW, and probably has more potential talent than any other LHW that Machida has fought previously.

Not saying that any of this will even make any difference, but IMO it will be Machida's biggest test so far.

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Agree to disagree bro... I cant get myself to overlook Machida's accomplishments just because Sokoudjou's name is more hot right now.

Well,
"Machida by decision" is a safe bet no matter who he is fighting.

Also, not sure I understand all the hype around him. Sure, he beat BJ (who was giving up a bunch of weight), and he beat Franklin (albeit almost 4 years ago).
Besides that, I see a bunch of wins against lesser opponents that he was unable to finish.

The only reason I think this is a good test for Soko is that we know for sure that Machida can slow the pace of a fight.
I just don't see Machida able to stand toe-to-toe with Soko. And not sure how Machida will take him down unless he can get him off ballance and pull gaurd or something.

This is so awesome I'm at a loss for words, so I'll let my friend Borat express my thoughts.

I can't wait Soko is an exciting fighter and in my opinion he and brock lesnar are the future of MMA

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Posted by MondayNiteMauser

I can't wait Soko is an exciting fighter and in my opinion he and brock lesnar are the future of MMA

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brock for his age isnt establihed enough, id go with GSP, shougon, soko.

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Posted by MondayNiteMauser

I can't wait Soko is an exciting fighter and in my opinion he and brock lesnar are the future of MMA

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i wish we could give negative props...

SOKO vs HOUSTON is what i want to see,

but i still love this match up
but its hard to pick a winner

soko by 1st round KO
or
Machida by unam. dec.

and i still dont know who i am cheering for

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Posted by CwB

soko by 1st round KO
or
Machida by unam. dec.

and i still dont know who i am cheering for

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yeah exactly, i think we will know who the winner is by the end of the 1st round if it lasts that long

if soko can't end machida in the first then i see him losing by decision

it will either be a quick night for machida or a long one for soko

Machida's biggest wins are over people who weren't in natural weight class. His only decent iwns at LHW are Bonnar and Nakamura.

This will be his biggest test. I still can't see him finishing this fight. If Soko don't end it in the 1st or earl second I see Machida capitalizing on a gassed Soko and winning a decision.

The future of the 205 division has arrived all hail soko as he will reign supreme forever!!!!!