K-1 'Dynamite 2009' Preview

Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

The Storyline: Basically all Dream wanted to do was put together a fight between Sokoudjou and their former middleweight champion who wanted to move up in weight, Gegard Mousasi. When the promotion was unable to reach an agreement with both camps to have them fight right away, the idea for the “Super Hulk” tournament was born, so they could fight later on should both advance from the first round. When Strikeforce “stole” the Mousasi-Sokoudjou fight from Dream, the whole tournament somewhat lost its meaning.

The Breakdown: Minowaman is MMA’s ultimate David. He has slain numerous Goliaths throughout his career, including Giant Silva, Butterbean, Bob Sapp and most recently 7-foot-2 Korean Hong Man Choi. Although he shows a surplus in heart, he lacks skill, as he has lost almost all non-freak matches in recent memory, coming up short against Tamura, Kin, Funaki and even Shibata. This is a clear proof that his in-ring tactics work best against bigger, more immobile opponents.

Sokoudjou does not fall under that category. Even though the 25-year-old Cameroonian has lost all momentum after starting his career with two huge and promising knockouts of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in 2007, he should still offer too much for Minowa. Even in defeat, the Team Quest standout showed a very good fight against rising star Mousasi in November. If he comes into this bout in similar shape, it will be a short night for the Japanese David and a new beginning for the dreadlocked judoka.

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The Prediction: The “African Assassin” has the size, reach, weight, power and skill advantage on his opponent. Anything can happen, especially in MMA, but unless Minowaman can make use of some previously unseen super powers, Sokoudjou should be able to swarm him and put him away in the first half of the opening round.