Ht/Wt: 6’1/205 lbs.
Age: 33
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fighting out of: Costa Mesa, Calif.
Record: 31-7
The stakes: Long regarded as one of the light heavyweight division’s more talented fighters, Sobral fell out of the public eye after a messy divorce with the UFC that included a high-profile war of words with the always verbose UFC President Dana White. Now under the Affliction banner, Sobral has a chance to set himself up as the promotion’s premier light heavyweight, a distinction that repeatedly eluded him in the UFC.
The breakdown: While Sobral cannot keep up with Sokoudjou’s army of fast-twitch muscle fibers, what we’ve seen of the young Cameroonian thus far suggests that he wilts when he meets an opponent who won’t fold under the pressure of his opening bell offensive salvos. As long as Sobral can avoid striking exchanges and keep Sokoudjou on the mat, he’ll have the upper hand.
Rameau “The African Assassin” Thierry Sokoudjou Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 6’0/205 lbs.
Age: 24
Hometown: Hom’la, Cameroon
Fighting out of: Temecula, Calif.
Record: 5-3
The stakes: When Sokoudjou entered the UFC, he was regarded as a light heavyweight phenom set to blitz the division’s elite. Now an Affliction acquisition, he’s regarded as an overhyped talent who was thrown to the wolves well before he was ready. The latest wolf is Sobral, and unless Sokoudjou plans on being Affliction’s gatekeeper, he’d better not end up playing the victim here.
The breakdown: It’s easy to forget that Sokoudjou holds dominating knockout wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona, and he must rediscover that former to survive as a legitimate light heavyweight contender. Against Sobral, that means using his slick judo to keep the Brazilian from scoring takedowns at will and employing a more measured approach on the feet.
The bottom line: Waiting around for Sokoudjou to start splitting wigs again has cost a lot of people a lot of money, and the KRS-1 impersonator turned would-be MMA phenom won’t be figuring things out at Sobral’s expense. Talent’s a wonderful thing, but when it hasn’t been honed, it’s about as useful as Donovan McNabb in an NFC Championship game. In other words, Sobral will anticipate Sokoudjou’s blitzkrieg and counter with an early takedown, followed by the usual display of dominating jiu-jitsu.