Freakshow Fight of the Week: Jan Nortje vs. Sokoudjou

MMA has come a long way since its inception; it has grown from being a gritty toughman-esq competition that just wanted to find out what martial arts style was the best, into a true sporting event and martial art all its own. MMA today looks nothing like it did in the early days and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to reminisce about the good ole’ days.

The one part of MMA we truly miss in its modern form is the “Freakshow Fight”. For those of you who don’t know, a “Freakshow Fight” is a fight that pits two fighters against each other that have no business fighting; generally there is a crazy size difference between the fighters.

So in honor of our love for “Freakshow Fights”, we at The MMA Corner will share our favorite videos of our favorite fights that had no business ever taking place.

This week we travel back to Dream 9 on May 26, 2009, for the opening round of Dream’s Super Hulk Grand Prix; arguably the greatest “Freakshow” MMA tournament of all-time. The tournament featured “Freakshow” staples Bob Sapp and Hong Man Choi, former MLB MVP and juicer legend, Jose Canseco, and of course the giant killer, Ikuhisa Minowa.

With several great bouts to choose from, the one that really jumps out is the matchup between South African giant Jan Nortje vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

Sokoudjou has always been a streaky fighter; when he is on he can be devastating but when he is off he is terrible. At Dream 9, Sokoudjou was on and he destroyed Nortje in the very first round.

It’s wasn’t without controversy though as Sokoudjou received a lot of flak for throwing strikes after the referee stepped in to stop the action.

Enjoy!