Renato Babalu Sobral: Where's the Hulla-"balu"?
Renato Sobral is pretty much the alternative dimension version of Dan Henderson, except without all the press. They've both been fighting since 1997, they both cut their teeth in the long-gone Japanese RINGS promotion, and they have both double-dipped in the UFC, although only Henderson fought in two weight classes. Both dudes have eye-popping resumes: Babalu has fought Fedor Emelianenko, Chuck Liddell (twice), and has defeated Chael Sonnen, Jeremy Horn and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in his decades-spanning career. Did I mention this is a re-match? Dan Henderson and Renato Sobral fought way back in 2000, where Sobral lost a decision to "Hollywood" in the RINGS King of Kings Tournament Final. Henderson was 29, Sobral was 24. Aw.
Still, Henderson commands the headlines. That's not really fair, though. Read on, especially if you are a latecomer to the Babalu Bandwagon.
Sobral actually requested the rematch despite being offered a title shot (or a shot at tile contention) against former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal. Sobral earned the honor after he defeated Robbie Lawler in June of this year by decision at catch weight. This was clearly an issue of honor for the Brazilian ronin, as he turned the opportunity down. Perhaps Sobral was not pleased with his one-minute KO loss to Gegard Mousasi Many were also not pleased with Mousasi's mediocre performance against Lawal, when Mousasi lost the Strikeforce light-heavyweight title in April of this year. Lawal later lost the title to Rafael Cavalcante, which may also have factored into Sobral's decision. Sobral's clear intent is to earn the right to vie for the belt, and he deserves respect and accolades for that.
This besides the fact that Sobral, despite the lack of depth in Strikeforce's light-heavyweight division, and granted a clear opportunity to short-cut back to belt contention, insisted in the opportunity to avenge a past loss against one of the all-time greats in the discipline, Dan Henderson. Of course, a win over Henderson would catapult Sobral back into the limelight and into title contention status. But that is an enormous gamble for Sobral, and since he is obviously aware of the risks, who can't admire his heart?
Sobral isn't out of his league in this fight, no matter who gets more press. Sobral's strengths lie in his gorgeous, if vicious submissions. 18 of his 36 wins are by submission. Unlike many of his his Brazilian MMA contemporaries, Sobral is actually a good wrestler. Henderson's greatest weakness is pretty much anyone who can grapple better than him. Granted, Sobral's Achilles' heel is actually six feet from that tendon: it's his chin. He has lost six times in the last decade, and four of those losses were clean, lights-out knockouts, most recently to Mousasi in August of last year.
Sobral is a jack-of-all-promotions, having competed in the great American MMA experiment (Affliction) as well as the stalwart and ongoing British MMA brand, Cage Rage. But his best fights and best competition were in the UFC, where he went an impressive 4-2 in his last showing, despite being knocked out by Chuck Liddell for the second time. Sobral was later released by the UFC after his controversial refusal to release an anaconda choke after submitting David Heath at UFC 74. Heath was not injured.
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By Roy Kok
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer