The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced the signing of explosive striker Rameau Thierry “The African Assassin” Sokoudjou (4-1). The UFC further announced that he will be making his debut against the undefeated Ryoto “Lyoto” Machida (11-0) at UFC 79 which takes place on December 29, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Sokoudjou is an explosive athlete with heavy hands and great judo who is coming off huge back-to-back knockout wins over two top ten guys in Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Bringing him in just makes the stacked 205-pound division even stronger, and there are endless great matchups for him here in the UFC.”

“Machida needs to fight a guy who will come right after him, keep the pressure on him, and set the pace, instead of Machida setting the pace, Sokoudjou’s that type of guy.”

said UFC President Dana White.

“I’m looking very forward to this fight,” said Ryoto Machida “I know Sokoudjou doesn’t have a lot of fights, but the fights he’s had are big, and he has beaten some very big names in this sport. I think this is going to be a great fight, and I am looking forward to winning this fight, and to moving on and fighting for the UFC title.”

The full press release can be read here.
For the most recent UFC 79 fight card click here and check out our UFC 79 archive.