FanHouse RameauThierrySokoudjou

CHICAGO -- While some MMA fans and pundits have proclaimed that Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou doesn't have what it takes to upset Gegard Mousasi on Saturday night, the current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion isn't buying into that notion. Mousasi clearly remembers Sokoudjou's past triumphs over Antonio Rogerio Noguiera and Ricardo Arona in PRIDE, and is intent on not allowing "The African Assassin" to pull off the same kind of magic on CBS this weekend.

FanHouse spoke to Mousasi on Wednesday about the match-up, his newfound fame in America, and a potential fight against free agent Dan Henderson. The full video interview is below.

K-1 event producer Sadaharu Tanikawa and DREAM producer Keiiti Sasahara held a press conference Wednesday in Tokyo to formally announce "Dynamite!! 2009" for New Year's Eve at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Tanikawa said the event will be similar to last year's in that there will be a mixture of K-1 kickboxing and DREAM mixed martial arts bouts to fill out an 18-fight lineup.

A fight between Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Gegard Mousasi failed to materialize in the Dream Super Hulk Tournament in Japan, but it is now expected to take place in Illinois and be broadcast by CBS as part of the Nov. 7 Strikeforce/M-1 Global card.

FanHouse has learned that Strikeforce has submitted the Sokoudjou-Mousasi fight to Illinois' athletic commission, and pending approval, the fight will take place on the undercard of the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers show.

Ikuhisa Minowa and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou were victorious Tuesday at DREAM.11 in Yokohama, Japan and will meet each other in the final of the Super Hulk tournament at Dynamite!! 2009 on New Year's Eve.

The self-described pro wrestler Minowa submitted the seven-foot-two K-1 fighter Hong-Man Choi despite giving up over 125 pounds and 17 inches in height.

The Dream Super Hulk open-weight tournament will resume at Dream.11 on Oct. 6 in Yokohama despite the absence of Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi.

The promotion announced Wednesday for the semifinals that Hong Man Choi (2-2) will face Ikuhisa Minowa (42-30-8) and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-4) will receive an opponent to be determined because Mousasi has withdrawn due to an injury to his left shoulder.

Welcome to the FanHouse live blog of tonight's Affliction: Day of Reckoning pay-per-view undercard, where we'll have live updates and round-by-round scoring of all the fights: Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel, Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort, Renato Babalu Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Kirill Sidelnikov vs. Paul Buentello, Jay Hieron vs. Jason High and Dan Lauzon vs. Bobby Green.

If you just want to know who won the fights and how, check out the Affliction results post. The pay-per-view show and the live blog have started below.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral was once a popular fighter in the UFC, and he challenged Chuck Liddell for the light heavyweight title in the main event at UFC 62.

But Babalu's stock in the MMA world plummeted at UFC 74, when he refused to let go of an anaconda choke after David Heath tapped out. The Nevada State Athletic Commission docked his pay, and the UFC kicked him out of the organization.

Babalu has fought three times for three different organizations since then, and he will fight Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at the Affliction: Day of Reckoning event on January 24. But while Babalu's career isn't in the same place it once was, he says he's content.