| Renato Sobral | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Statistics | |
| Nickname | Babalu |
| Height | 6 ft. 1 in. (185 cm) |
| Weight | 205 lb. (93 kg) |
| Nationality |  Brazilian |
| Born | September 7 1975 |
| Fighting out of | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Town of birth | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Team/Association | Gracie Barra Combat Team |
| Fighting style | Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 29 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 15 |
| Losses | 7 |
| Draws | 0 |
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 has previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a member of the Gracie Barra Combat Team with a professional MMA record of 29 wins and 7 losses, with 15 victories coming by way of submission. Some of his notable achievements include defeating notable fighters Trevor Prangley, Mauricio Rua, and Jeremy Horn in a single night at IFC's Global Domination tournament. He also holds wins over Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and Kiyoshi Tamura.
Contents |
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 the legendary Marco Ruas.[1] Sobral is known throughout the UFC for his intense and grueling training regimen, which typically involves bench-pressing fellow workout partners, running up the steep mountains of Brazil and swimming 2000 meters in an hour. 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, "Babalu" faced Jason Lambert at UFC 68. Sobral was knocked out in the second round. Sobral went on to defeat former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir in a special submission grappling superfight at Tuff-N-Uff's "Unarmed Combat" event on June 22, 2007. Sobral won the bout by points (6-2).
UFC 74 controversy
Sobral's next fight was at UFC 74 against David Heath. Sobral defeated Heath by anaconda choke in the second round. Sobral held the choke for four seconds more after the fighter tapped out, which is illegal, and ignored the commands of referee Steve Mazzagatti, who tried to physically break the hold. Renato stated during the post-fight interview that "He (Heath) has to learn respect. He deserved that. He called me 'motherfucker'." Sobral also disregarded the boos from the over 11,000 fans, saying "The crowd didn't like it? Who cares? At least they had a reaction."[2] On Wednesday, August 29, Sobral was released from his contract 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."[3] 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."[4] 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.
Future
After the termination of his deal with the UFC, Sobral was courted by numerous promotions looking to sign him. During the September 29th Strikeforce event at the Playboy Mansion it was announced that Sobral had signed a non-exclusive deal with Strikeforce.[1] It has since been revealed that he has signed two more non-exclusive deals with Hardcore Championship Fighting and the Xcess Fighting organization. [2] Sobral recently competed in the Ring of Fire promotion which was held in Manila, Philippines on a team coached by MMA legend Josh Barnett winning his fight against Rodney Faverus by submission.[3]
Personal life
Sobral has a daughter named Maria Fernanda, whose name is tattooed on his chest. His nickname comes from a brand of bubblegum that he used to chew.[5] Sobral was also arrested on July 14, 2007 for misdemeanor battery and trespassing at the Seminole Indian Reservation Casino.[6]
MMA record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 36 matches | 29 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 3 |
| By submission | 15 | 1 |
| By decision | 11 | 3 |
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time | Notes |
| 12/9/2007 | Win | Rodney Faverus | Ring of Fire | Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | 1 | ? | |
| 8/25/2007 | Win | David Heath | UFC 74: Respect | Submission (anaconda choke) | 2 | 3:30 | N.S.A.C fined Babalu $25,000 for initially refusing to release the hold. These actions resulted in Babalu's release. |
| 3/3/2007 | Loss | Jason Lambert | UFC 68: The Uprising | KO (Strikes) | 2 | 3:36 | |
| 8/26/2006 | Loss | Chuck Liddell | UFC 62: Liddell vs Sobral | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 1:35 | For the UFC Light Heavyweight Title |
| 2/4/2006 | Win | Mike Van Arsdale | UFC 57-Liddell vs Couture 3 | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 1 | 2:21 | |
| 10/7/2005 | Win | Chael Sonnen | UFC 55-Fury | Submission (Triangle Choke) | 2 | 1:20 | |
| 4/16/2005 | Win | Travis Wiuff | UFC 52-Couture vs Liddell 2 | Submission (Armbar) | 2 | 0:24 | |
| 2/26/2005 | Win | Pierre Guillet | Cage Rage 10-Deliverance | Submission (Strikes) | 1 | 1:57 | |
| 11/27/2004 | Win | Cyrille Diabate | Cage Rage 9-No Mercy | Submission (Choke) | 1 | 3:38 | |
| 10/23/2004 | Win | Jose Landi-Jons | JF 3-Jungle Fight 3 | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 9/6/2003 | Win | Jeremy Horn | IFC-Global Domination | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | IFC Light Heavyweight championship |
| 9/6/2003 | Win | Mauricio Rua | IFC-Global Domination | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | 3 | 3:07 | |
| 9/6/2003 | Win | Trevor Prangley | IFC-Global Domination | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 7/31/2003 | Win | Marcelo Azevedo | Heat FC 1-Genesis | Decision | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 11/22/2002 | Loss | Chuck Liddell | UFC 40-Vendetta | KO (Head Kick) | 1 | 2:55 | |
| 7/13/2002 | Win | Elvis Sinosic | UFC 38-Brawl at the Hall | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 1/11/2002 | Loss | Kevin Randleman | UFC 35-Throwdown | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 8/11/2001 | Loss | Fedor Emelianenko | RINGS-10th Anniversary | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| 6/15/2001 | Win | Tsuyoshi Kohsaka | RINGS-World Title Series 2 | Decision (Majority) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| 2/24/2001 | Win | Kiyoshi Tamura | RINGS-King of Kings 2000 Final | Decision (Majority) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| 11/17/2000 | Win | Maurice Smith | UFC 28 - High Stakes | Decision | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 10/9/2000 | Loss | Valentijn Overeem | RINGS-King of Kings 2000 Block A | Submission (Toe Hold) | 1 | 2:19 | |
| 10/9/2000 | Win | Tariel Bitsadze | RINGS-King of Kings 2000 Block A | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 2:58 | |
| 6/15/2000 | Win | Hiromitsu Kanehara | RINGS-Millennium Combine 2 | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| 5/20/2000 | Win | Jacob Zobnin | RINGS Russia-Rings Russia | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 1 | 3:20 | |
| 4/20/2000 | Win | Travis Fulton | RINGS-Millennium Combine 1 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 4:49 | |
| 2/26/2000 | Loss | Dan Henderson | RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Final | Decision (Majority) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| 2/26/2000 | Win | Kiyoshi Tamura | RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Final | Decision (Majority) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| 2/26/2000 | Win | Mikhail Illoukhine | RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Final | Submission (Armbar) | 3 | 0:40 | |
| 1/15/2000 | Win | Brad Kohler | World Extreme Fighting - 8-Goin' Platinum | KO (Kick) | 2 | 0:50 | |
| 10/28/1999 | Win | Lee Hasdell | RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Block A | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| 10/28/1999 | Win | Zaza Tkeshelashvili | RINGS-King of Kings 1999 Block A | Submission (Kimura) | 2 | 1:11 | |
| 7/24/1999 | Win | Dario Amorim | BVF 14-Circuito Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 5 | Submission (Punches) | 1 | 2:14 | |
| 7/24/1999 | Win | Pedro Otavio | BVF 14-Circuito Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 5 | Submission (Punches) | 1 | 4:34 | |
| 7/24/1999 | Win | Augusto Menezes Santos | BVF 14-Circuito Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 5 | Submission (Keylock) | 1 | 0:56 | |
| 1/20/1999 | Win | Fernando Cerchiari | IVC 8-The Road Back to the Top | KO (Punches) | 1 | 4:41 |
See also
References
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/interviews.asp?n_id=2198
- ^ {{cite web |url=http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=ki-babalu082807
- ^ {{cite web |url=http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=ki-babalu082807
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=8797
- ^ http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Fighting/UFC/2006/08/24/1804103-cp.html
- ^ http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4342&zoneid=1
