Inside Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Lyoto Machida

Even with the drop of Matt Serra on the UFC's upcoming UFC 79 card, there are still some promising matchups. Of all of these matches, it seems like the one with the least history might be the most entertaining.

On a card that includes the third installment of Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes and the promising war between striking legends Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell, the most promising looks to be the fight between "The African Assassin" Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (4-1-0) and Lyoto Machida (11-0-0).

Machida is an undefeated, promising fighter who has already worked himself into title contention by beating Sam Hoger, David Heath and Kazuhiro Nakamura by decision. His shotokan karate backround is something unconventional in the sport, and presents alot of problems for the very technical strikers in the division.

Sokoudjou, though, is not a conventional striker. He exploded on to the scene in a way that no one expected him to, being signed by Pride Fighting Championships as a stepping stone opponent for the return of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In that fight, Sokoudjou did the unthinkable, and became the first man ever to stop either of the Nogueira brothers, knocking Rogerio out in 23 seconds.

In his second fight, he fought another Pride veteran in Ricardo Arona, who was another ground fighter expected to give Sokoudjou's judo backround a test, but the fight never got that far. Sokoudjou put Arona to sleep at the two minute mark in their fight.

Of all of the matchups on this card (including the dynamic matchup of Hughes v St. Pierre and the much anticipated matchup of Silva v Liddell) Sokoudjou and Machida is going to be the most interesting.

For starters, it is Sokoudjou's first fight in the UFC, and the "Octagon shock" fact has been pretty tough on some of his fellow Pride veterans who have come to the organization. There's the question of whether Machida will be able to capitalize on his surroundings and control Sokoudjou.

Then there is the issue of Machida being the first real standup opponent Sokoudjou has faced on a major event card. After all, Arona and Nogueira were both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters.

It should be an interesting matchup, I'm personally taking Sokoudjou on his ability to finish fights (something that we haven't see from Machida in his last 3 matches), but it will definitely be a war and Machida's karate always makes for an exciting fight.