Renato Sobral

From CageWiki

1 Profile
2 Professional Debut and Rings
3 Early UFC Career and Other Notable Bouts
4 Return to the UFC
5 Post-UFC Career
6 Mixed martial arts record
7 Gallery
8 External links

Profile

Renato "Babalu" Sobral (born September 7, 1975) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former UFC light heavyweight title contender.

He stands 6 ft. 1 in. (185 cm) tall and weighs approximately 205 lbs.. He is currently contracted to Affliction and Strikeforce.

His nickname "Babalu" means bubblegum in Portugese.

Professional Debut and Rings

Renato Sobral made his professional mixed martial arts debut on January 20, 1999 against Fernando Cerchiari. He defeated Cerchiari via KO 4.41 into round 1.

Sobral next entered a one night eight man tournament at Brazilian Vale Tudo Fighting 14. He won all three encounters to take the tournament, defeating Dario Amorim via submission due to punches at 2.14 of round 1.

Next for Babalu was a long tenure in the Rings organization. He participated in the 1999 Rings - King of Kings 32-man tournament. The tournament was held over two nights, with the first two rounds taking place on October 28th, 1999 and the final three rounds taking place on February 26th, 2000.

Sobral made it to the final of the tournament after defeating Zaza Tkeshelashvili and Lee Hasdell via kimura and decision respectively in the opening rounds. In the final three rounds, Babalu defeated Mikhail Illoukhine via arm bar, Kiyoshi Tamura via decision before losing in the final to Dan Henderson. The Henderson fight marked Sobral's first professional loss.

Valentijn Overeem marked Babalu's second professional loss, a bit over 7 months and four fights later. Overeem submitted Babalu with a toe hold 2.19 of round 1.

Early UFC Career and Other Notable Bouts

With a 13-2 record, Sobral got a call up to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He faced off against former UFC heavyweight champion, Maurice Smith in his UFC debut and defeated the former champ via decision.

After the UFC victory he returned to the Rings organization for three more bouts, winning decisions over Kiyoshi Tamura and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka before losing a decision to Fedor Emelianenko.

Sobral headed back to the UFC where he lost a unanimous decision to Kevin Randleman at UFC 35. He then defeated Elvis Sinosic via unanimous decision at UFC 38 before being knocked out by a highlight reel headkick by future UFC light heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell in a No. 1 contender's bout at UFC 40.

After the loss to Liddell, Sobral left the UFC to fight on a number of smaller promotions. One such promotion was the IFC, who were holding a one night 8-man light heavyweight tournament which was packed with stars both present and future.

The tournament featured the likes of, Renato Sobral, Jeremy Horn, Forrest Griffin, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Chael Sonnen, Trevor Prangley, Eric Wanderlei and Mikhail Avetisyan.

Babalu defeated Trevor Prangley in the opening round via unanimous decision, Shogun in the semi finals via third round guillotine choke and Jeremy Horn via unanimous decision to win the tournament.

After the tournament, Babalu defeated Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons, Cyrille Diabate and Pierre Guillet to earn a return to the UFC.

Return to the UFC

Sporting a 7 fight win streak, Babalu returned to the UFC at UFC 52 against Travis Wiuff. Babalu disposed of Wiuff in the second round with an arm bar.

Sobral's next bout came at UFC 57 against Team Quest's Chael Sonnen. After catching Sonnen in a number of submissions he eventually finished Sonnen with a triangle/arm bar in the second round.

At UFC 57, Babalu scored his third successive UFC submission victory when he defeated Mike Van Arsdale with a rear naked choke 2.21 into round 1. After the fight, Babalu mounted the Octagon cage motioning his desire for the UFC light heavyweight title.

His wish was granted by the UFC management when he was given a shot at 205 lbs. champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 62. Sobral's 10 fight winning streak came to an end, once again by Liddell as Sobral was knocked out 1.35 into round 1.

Sobral suffered another KO loss in his next bout, this time at the hands of light heavyweight gatekeeper, Jason Lambert. After dominating the first round Sobral was laid flat in the second round by Lambert.

In Babalu's most controversial fight to date, he faced David Heath at UFC 74. In a bloody, bloody fight Sobral latched onto an anaconda choke midway through the second round. Sobral refused to let go of the hold after Heath tapped, only letting go once Heath was unconscious. The act was said to be out of punishment to some statements made by Heath pre-fight. Babalu's actions in the bout earned him a dismissal from his UFC contract and fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Post-UFC Career

Following his dismissal from the UFC, Sobral signed to a number of other promotions. Including Affliction Entertainment and Strikeforce.

His first bout after leaving the UFC was in the Ring of Fire organization against Rodney Faverus who he defeated by choke.

Babalu's next bout came at Affliction Entertainment's inaugural show, Affliction: Banned. He faced TUF 2 veteran Mike Whitehead, whom he defeated via unanimous decision.

Babalu is next scheduled to face TUF 1 veteran, Bobby Southworth for the Strikeforce light heavyweight title in late November. This fight took place on Friday Novemeber 21st, with Sobral winning the title due to doctor's stoppage before the second round could begin.