Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
In a matchup between two of the top Light Heavyweights in the world outside of UFC, Renato “Babalu” Sobral will face Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in what should be an explosive and competitive fight. Sobral -145 /Sokoudjou +115
The big question in this one is which of the two Sokoudjous will show up. Will it be the explosive killer or the timid rookie?Sokoudjou burst onto the worldwide MMA scene with a bang in PRIDE Fighting Championships. After two unimpressive wins in smaller shows and a loss to Glover Texeira, Sokoudjou made his impact felt, destroying top 10 Light Heavyweights Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Noguiera within 2 minutes each. After two such impressive destructions, Sokoudjou’s stock was understandably high when he made his debut in the UFC.
In three performances, however, he failed to impress, garnering only one victory by injury against middling competitor Kazuhiro Nakamura. Making matters worse, he was crushed by both Lyoto Machida and Luis Arthur Cane. In both fights he looked totally lost, completely overwhelmed by his opponents.
Babalu Sobral is almost definitely the best Light Heavyweight outside of UFC. Released from the world’s largest promotion after holding a choke too long against David Heath, Babalu has continued his winning ways against the best competition available. An underrated striker with extremely good jiu jitsu, Babalu can hold his own with anyone in the world.
Sokoudjou has proved that any punch he throws could end a fight, so Babalu will probably be looking to take this fight to the ground. Sokoudjou is an accomplished judo black belt, so taking him down is hardly automatic, but if Babalu can get him down he has a clear advantage in the submission game.
Babalu by submission, round 2.
