Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Posted by Geo

December 25, 2007

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (April 18, 1984) is a Cameroonian mixed martial artist and Judo practitioner, most recently competing in Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships. He is ranked by Nokaut as the number six light heavyweight in the world as of October, 2007.^[2]Sokoudjou was the 2001 US Open Judo champion, and currently trains with Team Quest where he is acting as a kickboxing and MMA instructor. He has a dojo in Mira Mesa, San Diego and used to work with probationary students from a school across the street known as Summit. Sokoudjou is regarded as an extremely taxing training partner, having blown out the knees of both Kit Cope and Frank Shamrock in preparation for their upcoming fights.

In his PRIDE debut at PRIDE 33, Sokoudjou defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via KO in 23 seconds. This fight stands out amongst fans because Sokoudjou was a 16 to 1 underdog.^[3] In his most recent fight he defeated Nogueira’s Brazilian Top Team stablemate Ricardo Arona at PRIDE 34 via KO. On June 21, 2007, Sokoudjou’s team announced that he had come to terms with mixed martial arts organization EliteXC for a four fight contract, though nothing is currently signed.^[4] Recently it was announced that the deal with EliteXC had fallen through and Sokoudjou is expected to sign with K-1 HERO’s. ^[5] However, it was revealed that Sokoudjou is now headed for the UFC, where he will face Lyoto Machida at UFC 79.