The latest addition to the UFC's light heavyweight division, Sokoudjou, recently spoke to FightHype.com about his upcoming clash with Lyoto Machida at UFC 79. Check out what he had to say as he talks about the fight, his eagerness to make his UFC debut and his thoughts on Dan Henderson taking on Anderson Silva. You don't want to miss it!
PC: How did your seminar in Houston go this past weekend?
ST: It was pretty interesting; pretty nice. They like my teaching out there and they want me back for another seminar so it was pretty interesting.
PC: People are wondering what kind of shape you are in and what you've been doing in your down time?
ST: I've been training getting ready for 2 fights that fell through. I was supposed to have at least 2 fights by today, but none of them ever came to completion. I've been training a lot, getting ready for fights, but never fought.
PC: Are you afraid of having cage rust at all at UFC 79?
ST: What do you call cage rust? Usually what happens is when a guy gets injured, he's out for a long time. I've neverÂ…I mean, I've had some bruises and stuff, but I've never been out for a long time due to an injury. I've been training a lot for fights that never happened, but it allowed me to go through training camps. I've been improving my technique and I don't think cage rust will be a factor for me.
PC: How frustrated was it for you to train for all of those fights and none of them go through?
ST: I'm used to it because even before my Pride fights, I had a bunch of fights that fell through. I've been through guys pulling out of fights a day or two before the fight to guys that just didn't want to fight me. If you would count all of those fights today, I would have like 25 fights; a ton of fights. I've been in the position before and I learn from it, keep training and I've learned to keep my head up and I'll eventually be fighting some time.
PC: I know I've wanted to see you in the UFC for a while now. How does it feel to finally have that deal done man?
ST: I'm pretty excited. The 205 division in the UFC is one of the toughest in the world and to be a part of it, I just can't wait to be in the cage next month.
PC: You've fought in the cage before your Pride days. Do you feel like a cage is better suited for your style?
ST: To tell the truth, I kind of like the cage more than the ring. I had a harder time getting used to the ring rather than the cage. In the ring, you have all of the rope grabbing, people sliding through the ropes, but the cage is solid. In the gym, you have the walls around the mat and I've been training with the walls forever so training in the ring was harder than actually training in the cage.
PC: You are a very aggressive fighter and Machida has more of a counter attack style. What do you think will separate you two on the 29th of December?
ST: Well, I know he likes to run away and be a counter puncher so I'm going to make sure that I tuck my chin in and chase him. I will run after him and make sure he doesn't catch me with one of those head kicks. He's a good fighter. He has won some big fights. I just have to make sure I don't get caught in his games.
PC: How long had you been in talks with the UFC again about signing with them because it seemed to happen rather quickly?
ST: I signed a contract with them pretty much overnight. Since the first time we've been in talks with them, they said they had a contract waiting for us any time we felt like we wanted to come in with the UFC. They told us the contract was there and waiting for me so once my manager decided that the UFC was the place for me to be, I got excited. It didn't take a long time for me to sign the contract. It pretty much happened overnight and I was pretty stoked. I was excited.
PC: Where were you when you got the news that you were going to be in the UFC?
ST: Actually it was Friday night and I was going to the movies and I couldn't even watch the movie because I just started fighting in the cage for the UFC. I'm already in the cage fighting.
PC: So he called you and said it looks like you would be fighting in the UFC?
ST: Yes sir!
PC: You had a fight lined up as soon as you signed and that isn't always the case. How important was it for you to get a fight in before 2008?
ST: I'm not sure on how things went because I was not really keeping track with my management on the contract. I got a call on Friday and they were saying the UFC had me a contract. I haven't had a chance to ask how I got the opponent and all of that. I was pretty excited to be fighting this year. I haven't fought for freaking 6 months at least and that was my goal, to fight as many times as I can this year. At least I'll have 1.
PC: I know the first negotiation, you strictly wanted to fight the best. Are you happy with your first opponent?
ST: I'm really happy with it. Machida, true a lot of people think he's boring, but if you look at his record, he's beat a bunch of good fighters out there. He's never lost and he's a pretty solid 205 contender and I'm honored that the UFC let me fight him because that tells me that they think I'm at the elite level. He is boring, but he wins in the end. He knows what he's doing and he's pretty good at it.
PC: He has come on record saying that your style is perfect for him and it will make him look good. How do you see the fight playing out?
ST: (laughing) All I'm going to say is he likes to fight running away off of his back foot and then throw that big left kick and then run into the clinch with his head down. I'll be looking for that and hopefully it will make him look good like he said, but in the end, we'll see how he's going to look (laughing). I'm used to fighting guys that run away because some of the guys I train with think I'm going to try and hurt them so all they do at practice is run away. I've been training for this fight before I even knew about it because after my 2 fights in Pride, most people think training with me would be a war and I'll be hitting them hard so they've been running away from me. I've been training with those guys for a long time now so I don't think it would be hard to adjust to him.
PC: A lot of people were comparing you to UFC light heavyweight contender Houston Alexander. Did you see his fight this past weekend?
ST: I saw the fight and he wasn't that aggressive in the fight. He was being cautious. Unfortunately for him, he got taken down and he didn't have any ground game. I know I wouldn't make the same mistakes coming from a Judo background. If worst comes to worst, I know how to get myself out of trouble on the ground. He's a good fighter. I like the guy, but I won't make the same mistake that he made. Thiago is a good striker and they both had respect for each other's power. They were kind of afraid of each other's knockout power.
PC: Do you feel like the pressure is on you my man with a lot of the Pride guys struggling in the UFC?
ST: I don't see the Pride guys not doing good in the UFC. Everybody loses some day. Whether you jump from one promotion or the other, a loss is a loss. I don't look at it like Pride guys losing to the UFC because if you want to look at it like that, you could look back in the day when UFC fighters were going over to Pride and getting destroyed by their fighters. It's not about fighting in a different organization, it's just about a fight and you show up and do your thing and go home with a win or a loss. I don't feel any pressure. I'm a fighter and I go anywhere to fight to the best of my abilities and go home with the win.
PC: When you were a free agent, were the other organizations just not stable enough for you to sign with them?
ST: If I told you all of the crazy offers I had on the table, you wouldn't believe me. When you look, in the long run, I just didn't think they could do what the UFC could do for me. I know myself and when I don't have the competition, I tend to slack around and get lazy. In the UFC, I will barely sleep and I'll be in the gym training because I do know if I do skip practice, I could get myself in trouble.
PC: Looks like your teammate, Dan Henderson, is going back down to fight Anderson Silva. What's your opinion of that fight?
ST: I think Anderson is known for his clinch work and he hasn't fought someone as strong and skillful as Dan in the clinch. Dan is coming from a Greco Roman background and that's all they do every day, all day is clinch work. I don't think Anderson will beat him in the clinch. I don't think Anderson is stronger than him. I do know Anderson has some fancy knees and fancy kicks, but I would be surprised if any of those could hurt Dan. I don't think he has the power to hurt Dan, so I don't see him beating Dan anyway.
PC: Do you miss Pride FC and if it was possible, do you wish Zuffa could've kept Pride in Japan?
ST: I miss Pride. To tell you the truth, sometimes I will just throw in a Pride DVD and watch them. Like I said, I'm coming from a Judo background and I've always been impressed by the Japanese culture, language and the way they do things. That was attracting to me and I will miss Pride for sure. I was hoping to the last day that Pride would still be around and I would still be fighting for them, but that's not the case.
PC: What can the fans that have never seen Sokoudjou Thierry fights expect from you on the 29th?
ST: They can expect a good show. I will give them good fights where they could go home and say, "That guy is ugly, but he could fight!" I can promise them that I will put up a good show and a good fight and they will like it.
PC: I can't wait to see your UFC debut. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
ST: I'm looking forward to December 29th. I'm looking forward to fighting Machida. I respect him, but that day, I will make sure I show up and do my job. I would also like to thank Combat-Clothing for all of the support that they've given me so far. You could go to combatclothing.com for all of the latest gear from them. Thanks!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]