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Getbig Misc Discussion Boards => Mixed Martial Arts (MMA/UFC) => Topic started by: LMV on September 08, 2009, 12:29:02 PM
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(http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/articlefiles/9528-MousasiManhoef929Dream6.jpg)
Gegard Mousasi has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled bout with Rameau Thierry Sokodjou in the semifinals of the Super Hulk Tournament at Dream 11, MMAWeekly.com has been told by multiple sources close to the situation. The Japanese promotion is currently trying to find a replacement opponent for the Oct. 6 event, which also features the promotion’s Featherweight Grand Prix Finals.
According to one source, Mousasi may have injured his shoulder during a grappling exhibition with Fedor Emelianenko at M-1: Breakthrough last month in Kansas City.
Less than two weeks prior to the exhibition, Mousasi dazzled in his American MMA debut at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, stopping Renato “Babalu” Sobral in a minute to win the promotion’s light heavyweight title. The 24-year-old Dutch Armenian picked up his first major belt last year when he defeated an impressive field of contenders to take the Dream middleweight belt in September 2008. He vacated the belt shortly after to take fights in the light heavyweight class and beyond.
Mousasi’s manager, Apy Echteld, declined comment on the situation.
Damn, hope he recovers !
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BOB SAPP TO FACE SOKOUDJOU AT DREAM
(http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/articlefiles/9539-BobSappDream9W_0005.jpg)
Bob "The Beast" Sapp (16-5-1) will stand in for an injured Gegard Mousasi to face Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in the semifinals of Dream's Super Hulk Tournament Oct. 6 at Dream 11.
Sapp (16-5-1), who lost to Ikuhisa Minowa in the opening round of the tournament at Dream 9, confirmed the fight to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday.
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Hong Man Choi fills the opposite bracket of the heavily weighted tournament.
The fill-in is just one of four professional engagements Sapp said is either done or close to done on his immediate schedule. The day after his Dream booking, he is set for a kickboxing match against Alain "The Panther" Ngalani in Hong Kong. The weekend after that, he's working on an MMA fight in Texas that is "80 percent done." Then, in late October, he plans to go back to Korea for a pro wrestling engagement, with more globetrotting in the pipeline for November and December.
“I’m getting on being ready to be 35," said Sapp. "I have no UFC dreams nor desires. I just keep on working... get paid and get on working. I definitely know it’s crazy fighting MMA and then kickboxing in another country right afterwards. I’m very well aware of that, but we’ve got to make hay while the horse is hungry, right?”
On Thursday, "The Beast" will head south from his home state of Washington to Lakewood, Calif., for training with Antonio McKee at The Body Shop.
“I’ve been in the (training) mode already," continued Sapp. "(McKee) really pushes me forward on conditioning. That’s who I really need to get me to do something like this.
"Sokoudjou’s a great fighter. Without question, he’s ready to go. He’s kind of on his winning (ways), while I’m on the opposite end, on a losing streak. So I definitely would like to push forward and rebound back.”
If victorious, Sapp will face the winner of Minowa vs. Choi at Dynamite! on New Year's Eve. If not, he hints at another option.
"If Sokoudjou wins... I’ll probably be fighting a celebrity (at Dynamite)," he said.
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Bad, bad move by the organisation. From quality and class to a circus sideshow !