Sokoudjou's Camp Says DREAM.9 Fight With Gegard Mousasi Is "Possible"

by Kid Nate on Mar 28, 2009 8:27 AM EDT in MMA News

As expected, the reported Mousasi vs Sokoudjou fight has not been signed. From Sherdog:

Word that Dream middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will face Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in a light heavyweight tilt for Dream 9 in May was news to the Team Quest fighter’s management and camp on Friday.

...

"It’s possible, but we really haven’t talked about it with Dream yet," said the Team Quest rep Heath Sims. "We’ve talked about fighting, but we’ve [also] talked about fighting other opponents."

Sims said logistics, such as purses and a date for the event, have not been discussed. Mousasi and others were suggested in a proposed matchup against the athletic Cameroon fighter for Dream 7 on March 8 in Japan, but talks never went further, said Sims.

And I was relieved to hear this bit of good sense from the Team Quest camp:

"It’s a big fight and it’s a tough guy," said Sims. "Thierry’s really looking to re-build his career, so I’m not sure that’s a fight we really want to take at this point," said Sims.

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Good. Sokoudjou could one day be a monster if he hits the reset button on his career now.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Mar 28, 2009 8:30 AM EDT reply actions

Other DREAM stuff...

- Jacare return pushed back to DREAM.9 (Tatame)
- Possible tug of war brewing with WVR over Gono’s services (MMA Fighting)

Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com

by Chris Nelson on Mar 28, 2009 9:00 AM EDT reply actions

Too bad Gono missed the opening round of DREAM’s Welter Weight Grand Prix. He would’ve been pretty radical in there.

I think Gono will probably end up with WVR, considering his association with Grabaka.

by AnonymousA on Mar 28, 2009 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Great to hear from Soko's camp....

He does need to slow down and rebuild for a bit.

Mousasi, even being smaller, is a much more skilled fighter.

by Dexerion on Mar 28, 2009 11:24 AM EDT reply actions

After his KOs of Little Nog and Arona, he looked like the next big thing. Several losses later, his bad ground game has been exposed. IMO Mousasi would take him down and tap him out rather easily. With more work on his ground game, Sokoudjou could be a legit top 10 LHW, but for now he is just an above average LHW. Mousasi is currently one of the best fighters in the world and has an excellent submission game. No need to throw Soko into the deep end. . . again

by GroundNPound561 on Mar 28, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Guess you were more or less correct, Nate. Propers to you.

by AnonymousA on Mar 28, 2009 11:47 AM EDT reply actions

thanks

very sporting of you to say so.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on Mar 28, 2009 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Sokoudjou's

His striking is flashy and exciting to watch but not very effective. He also seems to gas out quickly as a result. His ground work was very unimpressive against Babalou. The best thing Skoudjou has got for him is his amazing judo sweeps. He hasn’t quite refined his other skills in order to actually utilize his judo effectively yet.

by Bandaka on Mar 28, 2009 1:05 PM EDT reply actions

I think

Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira would beg to differ about his striking.
Clearly his game is limited, but he does have KO power, just not a great deal of sophistication about how to use it most effectively.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on Mar 28, 2009 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions

That sort of sounds like the Team Quest MO lately..

"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."

by AJB on Mar 29, 2009 3:15 AM EDT up reply actions

He’s also got a pretty solid sprawl (under the condition that he isn’t gassed).

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Mar 28, 2009 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions

good...

I think one moment that sums up Soku very well happened in his last fight in the UFC. I’m not sure if you guys remember but he did some sort of jumping high kick, which LOOKED very impressive. Goldberg was like WOW another example of Soku’s amazing striking. Joe Rogan called it like it was though: very flashy, but ineffective and an inefficient use of energy.

Soku needs to settle down and slow down his career.

by ruckus on Mar 28, 2009 1:59 PM EDT reply actions

This will be the true test of Gegard. His K1 fight at lhw was not a good enough indication of whether he will do good at lhw in MMA.

by Bandaka on Mar 28, 2009 3:34 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, this was a great match for Mousasi, and a terrible one for Soku unless he won. Mousasai would be beating a bigger guy, with a name and reputation still intact. A guy who is entertaining but with serious holes in his game. Soku would be losing to a relatively unknown smaller previously middleweight, and a 5-5 record.

by Dooda on Mar 28, 2009 4:00 PM EDT reply actions

He definitely doesn’t need to be fighting Mousasi right now. Give him some B-/C+ level LHWs to get him back on the horse.

by ilostmydog on Mar 28, 2009 4:51 PM EDT reply actions

So...

Can someone please explain the big hype around Gegard? His best wins at MW are Kang, Manhoef, and Jacare? So all of a sudden he’s a world beater cuz he won a Grand Prix? Shit if Alan Belcher beats Akiyama he’d have a better resume (actually his win over Santiago is bigger than any other win Gegard has), and I don’t think anyone would be putting him in the top 5 in the division, and would prolly call his victories fluke since they were over top foreign fighters…

Does his hype circle around the fact that he’s outside of the UFC, and associated with the Red Devil Fight Club? I just don’t see the hype…

by Loot on Mar 29, 2009 9:00 AM EDT reply actions

Its definitely from the tourny win

contributing factors are the transference of PRIDE hype to DREAM; the upset win over Kang; the back to back wins over very the dangerous if one dimensional Manhoef and Jacare — both of whom are consistently hyped themselves.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on Mar 29, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Yea...

“Hardcores” are full of it when it comes to rankings though. The argument about the LW division is “the foreign scene is full of legit guys who all fought each other, and therefore have more quality wins against "top” competition" yet any flavor of the month that comes along in other divisions gets more credit for the same type of wins that fighters in the UFC get…

In fact it’s not just foreign fighters… another example would be Robbie Lawler

by Loot on Mar 29, 2009 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Aka non-Zuffa fighters. Certain sectors of the community are susceptible overvaluing said fighter’s accomplishments. The opposite is true too, but Mousasi is certainly of the former category.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Mar 29, 2009 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Yea...

I think Zuffa fighters benefit from the best hype machine on the planet, but usually when they rise in the rankings they have to have atleast a huge win, or a few good wins combined against top competition. I think beating Manhoef, Jacare, and Kang is good, but none of those guys have proven to be top 10 (Kang may have an argument a while back), and a guy like Belcher is talked about like a can, but he has victories over Santiago, and Kang also…

by Loot on Mar 29, 2009 6:23 PM EDT up reply actions