Renato Sobral, Masakazu Imanari announced for action at ONE FC 4
Rising Asian promotion ONE FC positioned itself for another show featuring a respectable blend of area talent and well-known fighters after announcing two fights slated for their June 23 card. Most notable in the quartet of competitors was Renato “Babalu” Sobral, a light heavyweight with roots in the UFC who also held the Strikeforce title during his stint in the promotion. The 36-9 veteran will... [Read More...]
“Babalu” talks training with Rua, credits Silva with MMA’s popularity in Brazil
Renato Sobral hasn’t been seen in the cage since a December 2010 loss to Dan Henderson but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t kept himself busy. In addition to teaching the next generation of fighters at his gym in Cerritos, California, “Babalu” also spent some time working with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in preparation for his bout this weekend against Forrest Griffin. In a recent conversation with... [Read More...]
Dan Henderson: “’Babalu’ is not close to the same style as Jake Shields. He has an exciting style and he is well-rounded.”
If there’s one thing iconic Mixed Martial Artist Dan Henderson wants to make clear about his December 4th match-up with Renato “Babalu” Sobral, it seems to be letting people know they shouldn’t expect the same fighter who fell to former Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields this past April. As fans likely remember, Henderson started out incredibly strong against Shields and nearly finished... [Read More...]
Henderson vs. Sobral, Herschel Walker officially scheduled for December 4th Strikeforce event
PRESS RELEASE / ST. LOUIS, MO (Sept. 27, 2010) – Mixed Martial Arts legend Dan Henderson will face former Strikeforce light heavyweight cham Renato “Babalu” Sobral when Strikeforce returns to St. Louis on Saturday, December 4th, at Scottrade Center, Live on Showtime (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast). Football legend and unbeaten MMA fighter Herschel Walker will also return to the cage... [Read More...]
Dan Henderson likely fighting Renato “Babalu” Sobral this December in St. Louis
It appears former PRIDE double-division champion Dan Henderson will make his return to the Strikeforce cage on December 4th in St. Louis against 36-8 Renato “Babalu” Sobral. The long-rumored pairing should be announced on Monday, September 27th, at a planned press conference along with additional news relating to the card. Heisman Trophy winner, and newly turned Mixed Martial Artist, Herschel Walker... [Read More...]
Gegard Mousasi puts a beating on Renato “Babalu” Sobral to claim Strikeforce 205 pound title
New Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champion, Gegard Mousasi Make it thirteen in a row for the Dutch-Armenian sensatiion that goes by the nickname “The Dreamcatcher”. ‘Wow! Gegard Mousasi is the real deal’, is the sentiment currently rippling throughout the world of mixed martial arts as the M-1 Global signed fighter put a vicious beating on Renato “Babalu” Sobral... [Read More...]
Babalu vs. Mousasi for Strikeforce light heavyweight championship on Aug. 15
Great news fight fans! The bout pitting Gegard Mousasi up against Renato “Babalu” Sobral has been salvaged, and this time it’s for all of the marbles. Strikeforce has recently announced that Babalu will be defending his light heavyweight championship against Mousasi on the live broadcast portion of “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg“. The event is scheduled for August 15... [Read More...]
Gegard Mousasi: ‘My Opponents Can’t Hurt Me’
Gegard Mousasi is hands down one of the least talked about top talents in the sport today. Widely regarded my many of the MMA hardcore as one of the very best pound for pound fighters in the world, Mousasi plans on taking his respect as he prepares for the most high profile bout of his twenty eight fight career to date. The extremely dangerous Dutch-Armenian will be looking to celebrate his twenty... [Read More...]
Tito Ortiz close to signing four-fight deal with Strikeforce, possible first bout with Babalu in October
It’s been over a year since we last saw “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) compete in an MMA fight. After losing to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 in May of 2008, Ortiz decided to part ways with the UFC and hasn’t seen any action since. According to Ortiz, he’s about to become the latest member of the Strikeforce family. The former UFC light heavyweight champion... [Read More...]
Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral expected for Affliction III
After some mild trash talk on the parts of Gegard Mousasi and Vitor Belfort over the last week it seems as if Belfort has been scratched as the former DREAM middleweight champion’s opponent at Affliction III: Trilogy after all. A report released by www.M-1Global.com this afternoon suggests that Renato “Babalu” Sobral will very likely be the man to face Mousasi on August 1. M-1 Global... [Read More...]
Report: Strikeforce light heavyweight title fight between Babalu and Feijao now off
A Strikeforce light heavyweight title defense by Renato “Babalu” Sobral against Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante that had been scheduled for June 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO has been postponed. According to a report by MMA Weekly Radio, the Sobral vs. Cavalcante match was called off several weeks ago due to the fact that Sobral’s wife is scheduled to give birth... [Read More...]
Sokoudjou confirms matchup vs. Sobral for Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning”
Affliction Entertainment has added a light heavyweight bout between Renato “Babalu” Sobral and former UFC and PRIDE star Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou to its “Day of Reckoning” event set for Jan. 24. FiveOuncesOfPain.com spoke with Sokoudjou on Friday during the weigh-ins for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he stated that he had signed the bout agreement to face... [Read More...]
Sobral and Lindland now set to face different opponents at Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning”
A planned catchweight bout between Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral and former Olympic Greco-Roman silver medalist Matt Lindland has been scrapped from Affliction Entertainment’s next pay-per-view event scheduled for Jan. 24. FiveOuncesOfPain.com was alerted about the change by a source speaking on the condition of anonymity. We then contacted Richard... [Read More...]
Sobral: Ortiz is still my dream fight
After defeating Mike Whitehead at the last Affliction show, Renato “Babalu” Sobral made it very clear who he wanted to fight next. He publicly stated that Tito Ortiz is his dream fight. Ortiz appeared destined to sign with Affliction after finally parting ways with the UFC. However, to this day, Ortiz and Affliction have not come to terms on a contract. Sobral has still not wavered on a... [Read More...]
Babalu prepares for return
Renato “Babalu” Sobral planned to fight Bobby Southworth during last weekend’s Strikeforce show. Unfortunately, that fight did not take place. Sobral pulled out of the fight due to a knee injury. “I had a torn meniscus,” said Sobral, “the surgery is already done. I will recover well.” Sobral hopes the recovery is quick. He is planning to fight in just a couple... [Read More...]
Babalu to fight … Southworth?
Renato “Babalu” Sobral may be a very busy man over the next couple of months. Sources have confirmed that Babalu is set to face Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth on Saturday, September 20. The September 20th date is only three weeks prior to the second Affliction show where Babalu is supposed to be facing Tito Ortiz. It’ll be very interesting if both organizations... [Read More...]
Report: Tito Ortiz vs. Babalu Sobral could co-headline next Affliction event
A light heavyweight clash between former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and former UFC light heavyweight title contender Renato “Babalu” Sobral is close to being added to the card of Affliction’s next show, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports’ Steve Cofield. The proposed Ortiz vs. Sobral bout would co-headline Affliction’s Oct. 11 show at the Thomas &... [Read More...]
Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown, Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen, and Mark Munoz vs. Steve Steinbeiss set to headline Sept. 10 WEC event
After the WEC announced several months ago that its Aug. 3 event in Las Vegas would be headlined by three title defenses, it was thought that following up the Summer fight card would be a tough act to top. With preliminary plans coming into place for its Wednesday, September 10 event, it appears as if the Zuffa-owned fight promotion might have outdone themselves. The event, which is expected to take... [Read More...]
Filho vs. Sonnen II expected at WEC’s Sept. event
The long-anticipated rematch between WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen is now slated to take place during the WEC’s September 10 event. The report comes from print version of the June 23 edition of the Wrestling Observer. Filho and Sonnen had been scheduled to rematch this past March but the fight was postponed after Filho checked himself into a Brazilian rehabilitation center... [Read More...]
Report: Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen to rematch at WEC 36
MMA Junkie, by way of Tatame, is reporting that WEC middlweight champion Paulo Filho will rematch Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 in September. Filho just did a stint in rehab due to depression and chemical dependency and is back to training and focusing on fighting. The two were originally supposed to have a rematch in March but Filho pulled out due to these personal reasons. The first bout ended in a bit... [Read More...]
