Renato Sobral

Renato (IPA: [ʀ̥e.ˈna.tu]) "Babalu" Da Cunha Sobral (born September 7, 1975 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a mixed martial arts fighter from Brazil who is noted for his aggressive style, grappling prowess, and high-caliber submissions. He is the current 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 Combat Team and has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr. Some of his MMA achievements include defeating fighters Trevor Prangley, Mauricio Rua, and Jeremy Horn in a single night at IFC's Global Domination tournament.

MMA career

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.

UFC

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

Sobral's next fight was at UFC 74 against David Heath. The first round consisted of Sobral ground and pounding Heath, opening a cut which bled profusely. In the second round, Sobral secured another takedown and then worked to an anaconda choke. Heath quickly tapped out, but Sobral continued to hold the 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 color analyst Joe Rogan that he was aware that Heath had tapped, but "he (Heath) has to learn respect. He deserved that. He called me 'motherfucker'." 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

After the termination of his deal with the UFC, 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 has 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 has recently signed with Affliction Entertainment's MMA promotion and appeared at Affliction: Banned on July 19, defeating Mike Whitehead by unanimous decision. In his next fight on October 11 he rumored to be going up against former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at Affliction: Day of Reckoning, the promotions second event. This fight has not yet been confirmed however, and Tito has stated he has not yet been signed by Affliction. Affliction officially announced that Babalu will be facing Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Affliction: Day of Reckoning on January 24, 2009 in a Middleweight fight.

Sobral's next fight would be against Bobby Southworth in San Jose, California on 21 november for the StrikeForce promotion. Babalu would go on to defeat Southworth via TKO due to a cut over the right eye in between Round 1 and 2, Babalu is now the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.

Babalu's next fight was for Affliction against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Affliction: Day of Reckoning on January 24, 2009 in a Middleweight fight. The fight ended in the second round when Babalu submitted Sokoudjou with an anaconda choke.

Personal life

Renato and his wife Natasha have a daughter named Maria Fernanda and are currently expecting their second child in April 2009.

His nickname comes from a brand of bubblegum that he used to chew.

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 southern California.

MMA record

Professional record breakdown

39 matches	32 wins	7 losses
By knockout	3	3
By submission	17	1
By decision	12	3

Record	Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Method	Round	Time	Location	Notes
31-7	1/24/2009	Win	Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou	Affliction: Day of Reckoning	Submission (anaconda choke)	2	2:36	Anaheim, California, USA
30-7	11/21/2008	Win	Bobby Southworth	Strikeforce: Destruction	TKO (Cut)	1	5:00	San Jose, California, USA	For the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion
29-7	7/19/2008	Win	Mike Whitehead	Affliction: Banned	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00	Anaheim, California, USA
28-7	12/9/2007	Win	Rodney Faverus	Ring of Fire	Submission (5 Hits To The Groin)	1	N/A	Manila, Philippines
27-7	8/25/2007	Win	David Heath	UFC 74: Respect	Submission (anaconda choke)	2	3:30	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	N.S.A.C fined Babalu $25,000 for initially refusing to release the hold. These actions resulted in Babalu's release from the UFC.
26-7	3/3/2007	Loss	Jason Lambert	UFC 68: The Uprising	KO (Punch)	2	3:36	Columbus, Ohio, USA
26-6	8/26/2006	Loss	Chuck Liddell	UFC 62: Liddell vs Sobral	TKO (Punches)	1	1:35	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	For UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
26-5	2/4/2006	Win	Mike Van Arsdale	UFC 57-Liddell vs Couture 3	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	1	2:21	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
25-5	10/7/2005	Win	Chael Sonnen	UFC 55-Fury	Submission (Triangle Choke)	2	1:20	Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
24-5	4/16/2005	Win	Travis Wiuff	UFC 52-Couture vs Liddell 2	Submission (Armbar)	2	0:24	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
23-5	2/26/2005	Win	Pierre Guillet	Cage Rage 10-Deliverance	Submission (Strikes)	1	1:57	London, England, UK
22-5	11/27/2004	Win	Cyrille Diabate	Cage Rage 9-No Mercy	Submission (Choke)	1	3:38	London, England, UK
21-5	10/23/2004	Win	Jose Landi-Jons	JF 3-Jungle Fight 3	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00	Manaus, Brazil
20-5	9/6/2003	Win	Jeremy Horn	IFC-Global Domination	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00	Denver, Colorado, USA	IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Final
19-5	9/6/2003	Win	Mauricio Rua	IFC-Global Domination	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	3	3:07	Denver, Colorado, USA	IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final
18-5	9/6/2003	Win	Trevor Prangley	IFC-Global Domination	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00	Denver, Colorado, USA	IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final
17-5	7/31/2003	Win	Marcelo Azevedo	Heat FC 1-Genesis	Decision	3	5:00	Natal, Brazil
16-5	11/22/2002	Loss	Chuck Liddell	UFC 40-Vendetta	KO (Head Kick)	1	2:55	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
16-4	7/13/2002	Win	Elvis Sinosic	UFC 38-Brawl at the Hall	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00	London, England, UK
15-4	1/11/2002	Loss	Kevin Randleman	UFC 35-Throwdown	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00	Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
15-3	8/11/2001	Loss	Fedor Emelianenko	RINGS-10th Anniversary	Decision (Unanimous)	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
15-2	6/15/2001	Win	Tsuyoshi Kohsaka	RINGS-World Title Series 2	Decision (Majority)	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
14-2	2/24/2001	Win	Kiyoshi Tamura	RINGS-King of Kings 2000 Final	Decision (Majority)	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
13-2	11/17/2000	Win	Maurice Smith	UFC 28 - High Stakes	Decision	3	5:00	Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
12-2	10/9/2000	Loss	Valentijn Overeem	RINGS-King of Kings 2000 Block A	Submission (Toe Hold)	1	2:19	Tokyo, Japan
12-1	10/9/2000	Win	Tariel Bitsadze	RINGS-King of Kings 2000 Block A	Submission (Armbar)	1	2:58	Tokyo, Japan
11-1	6/15/2000	Win	Hiromitsu Kanehara	RINGS-Millennium Combine 2	Decision (Unanimous)	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
10-1	5/20/2000	Win	Jacob Zobnin	RINGS Russia-Rings Russia	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	1	3:20	Tokyo, Japan
10-1	4/20/2000	Win	Travis Fulton	RINGS-Millennium Combine 1	Submission (Armbar)	1	4:49	Tokyo, Japan
9-1	2/26/2000	Loss	Dan Henderson	RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Final	Decision (Majority)	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
9-0	2/26/2000	Win	Kiyoshi Tamura	RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Final	Decision (Majority)	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
8-0	2/26/2000	Win	Mikhail Illoukhine	RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Final	Submission (Armbar)	3	0:40	Tokyo, Japan
7-0	1/15/2000	Win	Brad Kohler	World Extreme Fighting - 8-Goin' Platinum	KO (Soccer Kick to the head)	2	0:50	Rome, Georgia
6-0	10/28/1999	Win	Lee Hasdell	RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Block A	Decision (Unanimous)	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
5-0	10/28/1999	Win	Zaza Tkeshelashvili	RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Block A	Submission (kimura)	2	1:11	Tokyo, Japan
4-0	7/24/1999	Win	Dario Amorim	BVF 14-Circuito Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 5	Submission (Punches)	1	2:14	Brazil
3-0	7/24/1999	Win	Pedro Otavio	BVF 14-Circuito Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 5	Submission (Punches)	1	4:34	Brazil
2-0	7/24/1999	Win	Augusto Menezes Santos	BVF 14-Circuito Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 5	Submission (Keylock)	1	0:56	Brazil
1-0	1/20/1999	Win	Fernando Cerchiari	IVC 8-The Road Back to the Top	KO (Punches)	1	4:41	Aracaju, Brazil

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
• Mixed martial arts

External links

• Professional MMA record for Renato Sobral from Sherdog