Shark Fights 13 preview: Two former breakout stars clash in battle for relevance
One of the more intriguing fights on the Shark Fights 13 card is happening in Amarillo, Texas on September 11. On Saturday night, a light-heavyweight fight will feature two mixed martial arts veterans who were once the hottest commodities in the MMA world.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, often known as the “African Assassin,” scored what is often considered the biggest upset in MMA history when he defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in 23 seconds at Pride’s demise 33 in 2007, having come in as a 16-1 underdog. What was even more shocking was when he did the same thing two months later at Pride 34, scoring another huge first-round upset over Ricardo Arona.
But the holes in his game became apparent only after he went into the UFC, going 1-2 in the promotion. He has gone just 4-3 since then, with some victories over sub-par competition.
Houston Alexander also became a breakout star of 2007. He came in as a heavy underdog against Keith Jardine and defeated Jardine in under a minute in his first UFC fight. Just three months later, he was thrown to the wolves again against Alessio Sakara, and scored another shocking victory, this time in 61 seconds. But since then his fall has been even more spectacular, going 2-5 since his improbable upsets, including four UFC losses in a row.
As Alexander can’t cut much weight due to his having only one kidney, he’ll be coming in as the smaller fighter in this contest. He relies instead on his devastating leg kicks, knees and striking in general to batter his opponents and knock them out, using technique and striking acumen rather than physical power. His big weakness is his ground game, which is best described as non-existent. Once he’s on his back, he’s in big trouble. At 38 years old, he doesn’t have his old natural gifts and speed, so it’ll be interesting to see what he can do about the tough African.
As for Sokoudjou, his physical gifts are apparent to anyone who looks at him. He has big power in his fists, which his shocking upset knockouts can attest to, and is a very strong fighter. He also possesses a fantastic Judo pedigree, being the 2001 U.S open Judo champion.
His problem is, quite simply, that he has never had the training to put all his physical gifts together in the ring. After he became a superstar, he took on fights too big for his experience level, rather than taking the time build up slowly. His style can be awkward, tentative, and worst of all; he is rarely known to use his Judo skills in the ring.
That would be just the ticket to beat Alexander. Sokoudjou can close the distance, clinch, take Alexander down and from there it should just be a matter of time. Whether he’ll actually use this gameplan is the big question. If he’s tentative against Alexander, the 26-year-old might find himself picked apart by leg kicks.
Sokoudjou is coming in as a 5-1 favourite in this fight, but if there were ever two fighters for which the odds don’t matter, it’s these two. The fight is available on Pay-Per-View.
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