2012/09/09

SFL announce new signings including Jeff Monson


SFL announce new signings including Jeff Monson

Super Fight League Announce New Signings



Super Fight League (SFL) has announced that they have signed Jeff Monson, Satoshi Ishii, Rameau Sokoudjou and Michael Page. All four  fighters are signing 4-fight exclusive deals.

Heavyweight Monson (46-13-1) has had a busy 2012 since his decision loss to Fedor Emelianenko late last year. He beat Alexey Oleinik (M-1 Challenge 31) in March before fighting in 3 bouts in the space of just over a month. First, a draw against Chaban Ka on May 11 (100% Fight 11) and then a mere week later beating Jim Yorke by unanimous decision at Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) 21.

His most recent fight was a quick submission victory over Denis Komkin at M-1 Global – Fedor vs. Rizzo on June 21. Expect Monson to fight either Todd Duffee (7-2) who defeated Neil Glover at SFL 2 or James Thompson (18-14-1) who is on a 2 fight win streak in SFL after beating Bob Sapp in SFL 1 and Bobby Lashley at SFL 3.

Another possibility is that they make two fighters whose last losses are to Fedor Emilianenko fight each other; pitting Monson against Satoshi Ishii (4-2-1). Ishii is an up-and-coming Japanese fighter who got thrown into the lion’s den at DREAM’s New Year’s Eve 2011 event on Dec 31 where he got owned byThe Last Emperor. Of course, either of them could also fight Bobby Lashley.

Rameau Sokoudjou (12-10) was a rising star in PRIDE, with two first round knockouts of Ricardo Arona and “Little Nog“. When UFC bought PRIDE, Sokoudjou found himself unable to compete with the top UFC talent. He left UFC with a 1-2 record including a loss to future UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

Since then, Sokoudjou has found form hard to come by. He’s performed well at smaller promotions but has been unable to perform on the big stage, losing fights at Affliction and Strikeforce. Sokoudjou lost his last two fights and will see SFL as a chance for a fresh start.

SFL CEO Ken Pavia has confirmed Sokoudjou will make his debut at SFL 5 in Chennai.

“There has never been such a thing as a boring Sokoudjou fight. We are in the entertainment business and he personifies entertainment. As many have found out, he has one and done power so don’t blink. I can’t wait to see him in his October debut with the SFL,” he said.

Finally, British welterweight Michael Page (2-0) is a relative unknown but has had two wins at Ultimate Challenge MMA (UCMMA), with both fights ending in the first round.

It is currently unclear how the match-ups will work as SFL have a packed end of year schedule with an event every month from September to December. I think it’s fair to say we should expect a few more signings by the SFL 4 hits us in September.

View the full press release here (via MMAmania).

For thoughts and discussions on MMA, follow The Sandman at @MsianGooner on twitter.

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