Sokoudjou Released By UFC

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 28, 2008 9:14 AM EST in MMA News

Rameauthierrysokoudjou_medium

Multiple sites are reporting tonight that Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has been released by the Ultimate Fighting Championships. This isn't a huge shock as Sokoudjou has not been overly successful in his time in the UFC racking up a record of 1-2 with losses to Lyoto Machida and Luis Cane.

Sokoudjou's career record now sits at 5-3 and while he has fought a very tough schedule since signing with PRIDE FC back in '07 there is obviously a lot of room for him to grow as a fighter. I've always thought that two flash-ish KO's in his time in PRIDE didn't really give much indication of how good of a fighter he really was. Going to a promotion like Strikeforce and getting a few fights under his belt leading to a possible matchup with Babalu Sobral may be the best possible way for him to get necessary experience and work his way back into a UFC contract.

--Photo via www.teamquestmma.com

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Comments

He should join Sengoku, they are working on a pretty decentt LHW division with Rogerio, King Mo and Xande already in the mix

by smoogy on Nov 28, 2008 12:55 AM EST reply actions

good idea

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 28, 2008 1:07 AM EST up reply actions

Not surprising. He shouldn’t have much of a problem getting picked up someplace else and getting back on track.

by who me on Nov 28, 2008 1:21 AM EST reply actions

This isn't surprising but it is baffling

What I mean by this is that it must be something to do with the way the UFC structures it’s contracts and the pay that they give Sokoudjou that leaves them with little choice to release him. There are tons of crap LHWs that they could release in his place who wouldn’t have the profile of Sokoudjou. Obviously those guys get paid a lot less.

Maybe the UFC should structure it’s contracts in a way that you get paid less next time if you lose your fight. This way the UFC wouldn’t be stuck with paying high earning guys like Vera and Sokoudjou big purses if they keep losing. If there was also a clause that made it clear the UFC wouldn’t release them unless i.e. they lost two in a row then we’d still have many good fighters in the Octagon. I’m going to miss Sokoudjou and I’d love to see him fight a gatekeeper like Jason Lambert to see where he actually stands.

by rainmaker6 on Nov 28, 2008 1:50 AM EST reply actions

I’m not sure many fighters are going to be agreeing to those kinds of contracts.

by Mike Fagan on Nov 28, 2008 2:02 AM EST up reply actions

He was making $40k to show with a $40k win bonus and he lost two of his last three fights. That’s quite a bit of money for a 5 and 3 fighter that didn’t really look all that good in his last bout. He’s young and should have a good future in the sport, I’m sure we’ll see him again in the UFC.

by who me on Nov 28, 2008 6:10 AM EST up reply actions

That was probably bumped up to $45k/$45k or even $50k/$50k given how UFC contracts are usually structured.

by ilostmydog on Nov 28, 2008 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

I forgot to mention that it was probably bumped AFTER he beat KazNak up.

by ilostmydog on Nov 28, 2008 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

Lambert is also gone.
There isn’t a lot of ‘fat’ to trim at LHW. The UFC is cutting fighters that are floundering. I’m a little surprised they cut him because he’s very recognizable but he really hasn’t had a great performance so…

by pr0cs on Nov 28, 2008 9:23 AM EST up reply actions

He’s got talent. However, blowing his wad then gassing after one round is unforgivable. You can’t hang with the elites if you gas after one round.

by cyph on Nov 28, 2008 4:05 PM EST up reply actions

Not so surprising

if this is true. I just think the talent pool was too deep for him. At least for the time being. I’d like to see him string together a few wins outside the UFC before he comes back.

by pud333 on Nov 28, 2008 1:58 AM EST reply actions

come on now… http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2008/11/27/674493/sokoudjou-cut-from-the-ufc

3 hours ago.

by Discman2 on Nov 28, 2008 2:18 AM EST reply actions

Lesson to be learned: don’t post news in the fanshots section, cause nobody pays as much attention as to the fanposts.

by Michaelthebox on Nov 28, 2008 3:11 AM EST up reply actions

There’s a method to the madness. Fairly large news like this is better as a FanPost and much better as an original posting by staff.

by Luke Thomas on Nov 28, 2008 10:38 AM EST up reply actions

I think this is just another sign that the Pride guys by and large ended up with contracts that were way too high for their future performance in the UFC. So far, of the fighters that went straight from Pride into the UFC, Nogueira and Wandy are the only ones who have completely justified their contract, with Hendo remaining to be seen.

I doubt very much we will ever again see the UFC sign fighters from other organizations to big contracts, short of maybe Cung Le. Lawler and Shields would get good money, but nothing like what the Afflictions of the world would pay them. Fortunately, the Afflictions of the world won’t be around much longer.

by Michaelthebox on Nov 28, 2008 3:15 AM EST reply actions

A nice 10 minute preview of UFC 92
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3QiDy2DCbQ

Don’t know if this has been added to any story or anything sorry if it’s a repeat.

by DirtyML on Nov 28, 2008 3:48 AM EST reply actions

Cool

Thanks! Rashad – Forrest is gonna rock.

by ununkvadrium on Nov 28, 2008 6:58 PM EST up reply actions

He’s young. He’ll be back.

by Derek Suboticki on Nov 28, 2008 4:50 AM EST reply actions

too bad. i agree that it makes sense. still would have liked to see him slug it out with houston alexander before he got the pink slip though.

by woooburn on Nov 28, 2008 9:44 AM EST reply actions

The first KO of Lil’ Nog in PRIDE was definitely not a flash KO. He was put down hard.

by Luke Thomas on Nov 28, 2008 10:38 AM EST reply actions

I misspoke with flash.

I meant more of a “quick KO” as in there wasn’t a LONG amount of ring time against those two where he was taken into deep waters…etc. They were legit KO’s…

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 28, 2008 11:56 AM EST up reply actions

I’ve said before, I would always watch any fight with Soko. He is just so explosive that it’s just unbelieable to watch and at least the 1st round is exciting. He will no doubt have some explosive fights against b-level fighters.

by !claw on Nov 28, 2008 11:06 AM EST reply actions

He is very young and has a ton of potential. I’m not saying he needs to change camps, but perhaps a change of scenery could help him out. Train with some different styles, coaches, fighters, etc…

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 28, 2008 11:44 AM EST reply actions

And Babalu would beat him easily at this point, imo. Though i certainly would be interested to see it!

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 28, 2008 11:58 AM EST up reply actions

I actually think Soko is a bad matchup for Babalu — he’s hard to take down and dangerous on the feet, a combination Babalu has had lots of trouble with in the past. If I know Babalu, he’ll get in there and try to mix it up with Soku on the feet. Soku is like kryptonite for good grapplers who are only so-so strikers.

by Kid Nate on Nov 28, 2008 12:19 PM EST up reply actions

interesting points. Definitely a fight I would like to see.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 28, 2008 2:38 PM EST up reply actions

This could be a good thing for Sokoudjou. It gives him a chance to get some experience and become a more complete fighter. He hasn’t been all that impressive in the UFC, but the tools are clearly there. It’s easy to forget how young he is. Soko could easily be back someday.

by Andy R on Nov 28, 2008 12:11 PM EST reply actions