Renato Sobral Youtube Videos
Renato Sobral Bio
Renato da Cunha Sobral (Portuguese pronunciation: [Êeˈnatu soˈbɾaw]; born September 7, 1975), also known as "Babalu", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Sobral previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he posted a 6–4 record. He is a member of the Gracie Barra Cerritos and has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr. Some of his MMA achievements include defeating fighters Trevor Prangley, MaurÃcio Rua, and Jeremy Horn in a single night at IFC's Global Domination tournament. Sobral also holds wins over Chael Sonnen, Robbie Lawler, Elvis Sinosic, Lee Hasdell, Kazuyuki Fujita, Kiyoshi Tamura(2x), Mikhail Ilyukhin, Maurice Smith, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Jose Landi-Jons, Travis Wiuff, David Heath, Rodney Glunder, Mike Whitehead, Bobby Southworth, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Tatsuya Mizuno, and Cyrille Diabaté.
Mixed martial arts career [edit]
Sobral's background is in wrestling. Before joining the Gracie Barra Combat Team he was a Brazilian national wrestling champion and was trained in Ruas Vale Tudo, a martial arts system developed by Marco Ruas.
Ultimate Fighting Championship [edit]
At UFC 62, Sobral was defeated by Chuck Liddell in a bout for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The match was stopped as a technical knockout at 95 seconds into the first round. Following his loss to Liddell, Sobral faced Jason Lambert at UFC 68. Sobral was knocked out in the second round.
UFC 74 controversy [edit]
Sobral's next fight was at UFC 74 against David Heath. The first round consisted of Sobral ground and pounding Heath. In the second round, he opened a cut on Heath's forehead which bled profusely. Sobral secured another takedown and then worked to an anaconda choke. Heath tapped out, but Sobral continued to hold the anaconda choke, ignoring referee Steve Mazzagatti's commands and resisting his attempts to break the hold. Sobral did not release the choke until Heath passed out from hypoxia. During his post-fight interview, Sobral told UFC commentator Joe Rogan that he was aware that Heath had tapped, but "he (Heath) has to learn respect. He deserved that. He called me mother-fucker." In his dressing room after the fight, Sobral spoke to Las Vegas Journal-Review columnist Ed Graney. Sobral then mocked the crowd for booing him, saying "The crowd didn't like it? Who cares? At least they had a reaction."
On August 30, 2007, Sobral was released from his contractual obligations by the UFC due to his actions at UFC 74. UFC President Dana White called Sobral's actions "completely unacceptable. This is the fight game and shit happens. But no way can you do what he did." White also supported the fans attitude towards Sobral after the fight. "I think you saw the response from the fans. Babalu was a fan favorite. They turned on him immediately." Additionally, the Nevada State Athletic Commission withheld $25,000 of Sobral's $50,000 fight purse and convened a hearing to deal with both his holding the choke and ignoring Mazzagatti's orders.
Strikeforce and Affliction [edit]
After the termination of his deal with the UFC, Renato Sobral was courted by numerous promotions looking to sign him. During the September 29 Strikeforce event at the Playboy Mansion it was announced that Sobral had signed a non-exclusive deal with Strikeforce. It has since been revealed that he signed two more non-exclusive deals with Hardcore Championship Fighting and Xcess Fighting. Sobral also later competed in an event for the Ring of Fire promotion, defeating Rodney Faverus by submission (arm triangle choke).
Sobral was scheduled to fight fellow UFC veteran Vernon "Tiger" White in a match to crown the first WCO Light Heavyweight Champion. However, because the show's promoters were unable to secure adequate funding to pay the fighters, the show was canceled at the last minute by the California State Athletic Commission.
Sobral then signed with Affliction Entertainment's MMA promotion and appeared at Affliction: Banned on July 19, defeating Mike Whitehead by unanimous decision. Sobral's next fight was against Bobby Southworth in San Jose, California on November 21 for the Strikeforce promotion. Babalu defeated Southworth via TKO due to a cut over the right eye in between round one and two, making him the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
Sobral next fought his second fight for Affliction, this time against Sokoudjou at Affliction: Day of Reckoning on January 24, 2009 in a light heavyweight fight. The fight ended in the second round when Babalu submitted Sokoudjou with a D'arce/Brabo choke. After his victory he showed an interest in fighting former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Tito Ortiz.
Sobral was set to fight fellow Brazilian Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante at the past event Strikeforce Presents: Lawler Vs. Shields in St. Louis, Missouri on June 6, 2009, but the bout was scratched. The bout would have been for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.
Sobral was next set to make his third appearance for Affliction in a fight against Gegard Mousasi at Affliction: Trilogy, but the event was canceled after losing its main event. The fight was then moved to Strikeforce's August 15 card, Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg and changed into a bout for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship with Sobral as the titleholder. Sobral lost the title to Mousasi via knockout in the first round.
Sobral last fought Robbie Lawler in a 195 lbs Catchweight bout on June 16, 2010 at Strikeforce: Los Angeles. Renato Sobral won via unanimous decision.
After defeating Robbie Lawler it was believed that Sobral would face Muhammed Lawal for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title. However, in his post-fight interview Sobral stated that he would not fight Lawal and instead requested a rematch with Dan Henderson who he fought over ten years ago.
Sobral's request was later fulfilled and he fought Dan Henderson at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II on December 4, 2010. Sobral was knocked out in the first round.
ONE Fighting Championship [edit]
In late December 2011, After one year of inactivity Sobral signed an exclusive deal with Singaporean MMA promotion One Fighting Championship also known as ONE FC, ONE FC officials stated that Sobral has "global exclusivity" with the promotion. Sobral was slated to fight Melvin Manhoef on March 31, 2012 at ONE Fighting Championship 3 which was to be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore but the two sides were unable to agree on a weight and he instead became the wrestling coach in Wanderlei Silva's team on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
Sobral returned to action in the main event of OneFC 4 on June 23. He defeated Tatsuya Mizuno at ONE FC: Destiny of Warriors in Kuala Lumpur, via an armbar submission in the first round. The stoppage came less than a minute in to the first round.
Bellator Fighting Championships [edit]
Sobral faced Combat Sambo Russia National Champion Mikhail Zayats on January 17, 2013 at Bellator 85. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Despite the loss, Sobral will compete in Bellator's Light Heavyweight summer series tournament on Spike. He will face Jacob Noe in the opening round of a 4-man tournament at Bellator 96 on June 19, 2013.
Personal life [edit]
Sobral and his wife Natasha have two daughters named Maria Fernanda and Sophia, who was born in May 2009. He has both their names tattooed on him.
His nickname comes from a brand of bubblegum that he used to chew (Bubbaloo).
Sobral was arrested on July 14, 2007 for misdemeanor battery and trespassing at the Seminole Indian Reservation Casino after allegedly spitting on a bouncer outside a club.
In October 2008 he opened his own gym, Gracie Barra Cerritos, in Cerritos, California.
Appeared in the video Still I Rise by the American heavy metal band Shadows Fall.
Championships and accomplishments [edit]
Mixed martial arts [edit]
- Strikeforce
- Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
- Fighting Network RINGS
- 1999 RINGS King of Kings Tournament Runner-up
- International Fighting Championships
- IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner
Amateur wrestling [edit]
- International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
- 2001 Pan American Championships Senior Freestyle (6th Place)
- Confederação Brasileira de Lutas Associadas
- Brazil Senior Freestyle National Championship (1998)
Mixed martial arts record [edit]
See also [edit]
- List of male mixed martial artists
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Mixed martial arts
References [edit]
External links [edit]
- B.I.G. (Babalu's Iron Gym)
- Professional MMA record for Renato Sobral from Sherdog
MMA Shirts
