Sokoudjou

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Nkamhoua (; born April 18, 1984), mostly billed simply as Sokoudjou, is a Cameroonian-French former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2006 to 2017, Sokoudjou is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion, and has also competed for PRIDE, the UFC, WEC, Affliction, Strikeforce, K-1, DREAM and Bellator.

Background Born and raised in Cameroon, Sokoudjou began training in judo at the age of five and was talented, winning three consecutive junior national championships from 1997 to 1999 in his home country. Growing up, he had actually wanted to get involved with boxing or kickboxing but his parents would not allow it because they thought the competition was too violent. Sokoudjou moved to the United States in 2001 to pursue his career in judo.

Mixed martial arts career PRIDE Fighting Championships In his PRIDE debut at PRIDE 33, Sokoudjou fought Brazilian fighter Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and the much-less experienced Sokoudjou was a 16-1 underdog. To start the match, the Cameroonian threw a series of high kicks before landing an excellent combination that knocked out "Lil Nog" at just 23 seconds into the first round in a shocking upset. This made Sokoudjou the first fighter to finish the younger Nogueira brother. Sokoudjou's victory is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history, as well as arguably the biggest win of Sokoudjou's career to date.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Sokoudjou was released from the UFC on November 28, 2008.

Independent Promotions Sokoudjou defeated the South-African kickboxer Jan Nortje at Dream 9 by TKO (strikes) in round 1 of the Dream Super Hulk Tournament. Sokoudjou was heavily criticized for his post-fight actions where he landed a barrage of extra punches after the referee had already stepped in to stop the fight. Sokoudjou did, however, express remorse for his actions, and apologized to Nortje for the incident. Sokoudjou was slated to face Gegard Mousasi in the semifinals at Dream 11, however, due to an injury, Super heavyweight Bob Sapp stood in for Mousasi.

Sokoudjou fought Ryan Jimmo for the MFC Light Heavyweight Championship at MFC 31 on October 7 at the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton, Canada, losing by a controversial unanimous decision.

Sokoudjou fought Heavyweight prospect Konstantin Erokhin at Fight Nights: Battle Of Moscow 14, on December 7, 2013. He lost via KO in the first round.

Strikeforce Sokoudjou was defeated by former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi via second-round TKO due to ground and pound on November 7, 2009, at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.

KSW and others Sokoudjou faced European prospect Jan Błachowicz at KSW XV for the KSW Light Heavyweight Championship, After two rounds Sokoudjou landed 12 leg kicks, making Błachowicz unable to continue the fight.

Bellator MMA

In June 2015, it was revealed that Sokoudjou was released from the promotion.

Kickboxing career

Sokoudjou faced Maxim Grishin in a kickboxing match on February 23, 2013, at Fight Nights 10 in Moscow, Russia. He lost via split decision(29–28, 28–29, 28–29).

Personal life Sokoudjou speaks French, as well as a few dialects in his home country of Cameroon. He currently lives in Southern California and has a brother. Before becoming a professional mixed martial arts fighter, Sokoudjou worked as a bouncer.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts ADFC 2010 ADFC Openweight Grand Prix Semifinalist DREAM DREAM Super Hulk Grand Prix Runner-Up Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki KSW Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) Fight of the Night (One Time) Shark Fights Fight of the Night (One Time) Australian Fighting Championship AFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time, current)

Mixed martial arts record Win

Jamie Abdullah TKO (punches) AFC / Kunlun Fight - Kunlun Fight MMA 16

Melbourne, Australia Won the AFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Loss

Sergei Kharitonov KO (punch) M-1 Challenge 80: Kharitonov vs. Sokoudjou

Harbin, China Heavyweight bout. Loss

Łukasz Jurkowski Decision (majority) KSW 39: Colosseum

Warsaw, Poland Win

Marcelo Tenorio TKO (punches and elbows) Australian FC 18: Night 1

Shanghai, China Loss

Thiago Silva TKO (punches)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Loss

Tomasz Narkun TKO (punches) KSW 36: Materla vs. Palhares

Zielona Góra, Poland Win

Matt Hamill KO (punches) Venator FC 3: Palhares vs. Meek

Milan, Italy Loss

Paul Buentello KO (punch) Abu Dhabi Warriors 3

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Heavyweight bout. Loss

Linton Vassell TKO (punches) Bellator 134

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Malik Merad TKO (elbows) Bellator 127

Temecula, California, United States Win

Terry Davinney Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 121

Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States Loss

Konstantin Erokhin KO (punches) Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 14

Moscow, Russia Loss

Evgeny Erokhin TKO (punches and elbows) Pankration: Mayor Cup 2013

Khabarovsk, Russia Win

Seung Bae Whi Decision (unanimous) Road FC 011

Seoul, South Korea Win

Denis Komkin KO (head kick) Pankration: Battle Of Empires 2

Khabarovsk, Russia Loss

Jan Błachowicz Decision (unanimous) KSW 17: Revenge

Łódź, Poland Loss

Ryan Jimmo Decision (unanimous) MFC 31

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Roy Boughton Decision (unanimous) Score Fighting Series 1

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Win

Jan Błachowicz TKO (leg injury) KSW 15: Contemporary Gladiators

Warsaw, Poland Win

Valdas Pocevicius Decision (unanimous) Israel FC: Genesis

Tel Aviv, Israel Loss

Shamil Abdurakhimov TKO (punches) ADFC: Round 2

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Loss

Houston Alexander TKO (punches) Shark Fights 13: Jardine vs Prangley

Amarillo, Texas, United States Win

Joaquim Ferreira TKO (punches) Impact FC 1

Brisbane, Australia Return to Light Heavyweight. Win

Dave Herman DQ (illegal knees) ADFC: Round 1

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Loss

Ikuhisa Minowa TKO (punches) Dynamite!! 2009

Saitama, Japan Loss

Gegard Mousasi TKO (punches) Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers

Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States Light Heavyweight bout. Win

Bob Sapp TKO (punches) DREAM 11

Yokohama, Japan Win

Jan Nortje TKO (punches) DREAM 9

Yokohama, Japan Loss

Renato Sobral Submission (brabo choke) Affliction: Day of Reckoning

Anaheim, California, United States Loss

Luiz Cané TKO (punches) UFC 89

Birmingham, England Win

Kazuhiro Nakamura TKO (leg injury) UFC 84

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Lyoto Machida Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC 79

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Ricardo Arona KO (punches) PRIDE 34

Saitama, Japan Win

Antônio Rogério Nogueira KO (punch) PRIDE 33

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Glover Teixeira KO (punches) WEC 24: Full Force

Lemoore, California, United States Win

Paul Weremecki TKO (head kick and punches) SF 17: Hot Zone

Portland, Oregon, United States Win

Gary Padilla Decision (split) Total Combat 15

San Diego, California, United States Kickboxing record

Legend:

Bare-Knuckle Boxing Loss

Mighty Mo TKO (punches) VKB-Valor Bare Knuckle 1

New Town, ND, USA, 4 Bears Casino and Lodge Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Finals