Renato Sobral

Renato Sobral
Renato Sobral
Born	Renato Sobral da Cunha; September 7, 1975 (age 51); Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Other names	Babalu
Occupation(s)	Mixed martial artist, submission grappler, instructor
Years active	1997–2013 (MMA)
Known for	Former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion; UFC competitor
Notable work	Head Instructor at Babalu's Iron Gym Cerritos

Renato Sobral da Cunha (; born 7 September 1975), widely recognized as "Babalu", is a former Brazilian mixed martial artist and submission grappler specializing in Luta Livre. He once held the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title. Sobral competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he amassed a 6–4 record, and also fought under organizations such as Bellator, RINGS, Jungle Fight, Cage Rage, Affliction, and ONE Championship. Currently, he serves as the Head Instructor at Babalu's Iron Gym Cerritos. Sobral holds a black belt in Luta Livre under the tutelage of Marco Ruas as well as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt awarded by Carlos Gracie Jr..

Background

Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sobral began his wrestling journey at the age of nine and secured the Brazilian National Wrestling Champion title three times consecutively from 1998 to 2000. He became part of the Gracie Barra Combat Team and trained extensively in Ruas Vale Tudo, a martial arts discipline created by Marco Ruas.

Early career

Sobral made his professional MMA debut on 27 September 1997 in Rio de Janeiro, where he impressively won three matches by strikes within a single evening. After a short period competing in International Vale Tudo, he participated in Brazilian Vale Tudo on 24 July 1999, again achieving three victories on the same night before making his first appearance in Japan's RINGS promotion.

RINGS

His inaugural fight in RINGS resulted in a submission victory over Georgian wrestler Zaza Tkeshelashvili, followed by a unanimous decision triumph against British kickboxer Lee Hasdell. Remaining undefeated, Sobral advanced to the King of Kings 1999 Final after winning two bouts but experienced his first defeat at the hands of Dan Henderson via minority decision. Subsequently, he secured four straight wins before being submitted by Valentijn Overeem through a toe hold.

Following one fight in the UFC, Sobral returned to RINGS for three more contests: majority decision victories over Kiyoshi Tamura and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, and then a unanimous decision loss to Fedor Emelianenko during the organization’s 10th Anniversary event.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sobral’s UFC debut came at UFC 28 where he earned a unanimous decision win against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith. He later suffered a loss to Kevin Randleman at UFC 35 but rebounded with a win over Elvis Sinosic at UFC 38. At UFC 40, Sobral was defeated by Chuck Liddell via first-round head kick knockout.

After departing from the UFC early in 2003, Sobral competed in smaller promotions before returning at UFC 52 with an armbar submission victory over Travis Wiuff in the second round. He continued his success by submitting Chael Sonnen with a triangle choke at UFC 55 and defeating Mike Van Arsdale via rear naked choke at UFC 57.

At UFC 62, Sobral lost a Light Heavyweight Championship rematch against Chuck Liddell by technical knockout early in the first round. Later, at UFC 68, he was knocked out by Jason Lambert.

UFC 74 controversy

During UFC 74, Sobral faced off against David Heath. After locking in an anaconda choke that forced Heath to tap out, Sobral controversially maintained the hold until Heath became unconscious, disregarding referee Steve Mazzagatti’s repeated commands to release it. Following the bout, Sobral defended his actions by citing perceived disrespect from Heath. UFC President Dana White publicly condemned his behavior as "completely unacceptable," which led to Sobral’s termination from the UFC on 30 August 2007. The Nevada State Athletic Commission withheld $25,000 of Sobral’s $50,000 fight purse and convened a hearing to address the incident.

Strikeforce and Affliction

After parting ways with the UFC, Sobral entered into non-exclusive agreements with Strikeforce, Hardcore Championship Fighting, and Xcess Fighting. Additionally, he competed in Ring of Fire, where he secured a submission victory over K-1 veteran Rodney Faverus. A planned contest for the WCO Light Heavyweight title against Vernon "Tiger" White was ultimately called off due to financial constraints.

Sobral later signed with Affliction Entertainment, making his debut at Affliction: Banned by earning a unanimous decision win against Mike Whitehead. He claimed the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship by defeating Bobby Southworth through a TKO resulting from a cut. At Affliction: Day of Reckoning, Sobral submitted Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou using a D'arce choke and indicated his desire to compete against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz.

A scheduled title defense versus Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante at Strikeforce Presents: Lawler Vs. Shields was canceled. Sobral was then slated to face Gegard Mousasi at Affliction: Trilogy; following the event’s cancellation, their bout was rescheduled for Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg as a Light Heavyweight title fight, where Sobral suffered a knockout in the first round.

On 16 June 2010, Sobral secured a unanimous decision victory over Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce: Los Angeles. Although anticipated to challenge Muhammed Lawal for the championship, Sobral declined and instead requested a rematch against Dan Henderson, which took place at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II on 4 December 2010; Sobral was defeated by first-round knockout.

ONE Championship

In December 2011, following a year away from competition, Sobral inked an exclusive contract with Singapore-based MMA organization ONE Championship (ONE FC), granting the promotion worldwide exclusivity rights. He was scheduled to face Melvin Manhoef at ONE Fighting Championship 3 in March 2012 in Singapore; however, the fight was canceled due to disputes over weight. Subsequently, Sobral assumed the role of wrestling coach for Wanderlei Silva’s team on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.

Sobral made his competitive return as the headline fighter at ONE FC 4 on 23 June 2012, defeating Tatsuya Mizuno via first-round armbar submission at ONE FC: Destiny of Warriors in Kuala Lumpur. The bout concluded in under one minute.

Bellator Fighting Championships

On 17 January 2013 at Bellator 85, Sobral faced Combat Sambo Russia National Champion Mikhail Zayats and was defeated by TKO in the opening round.

He then participated in Bellator’s Light Heavyweight summer series tournament, meeting Jacob Noe at Bellator 96 on 19 June 2013. Sobral lost by standing TKO and subsequently announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition.

Metamoris

Dean Lister and Renato Sobral competed to a draw during their submission grappling match at Metamoris 3.

Sobral also fought Chael Sonnen to a draw in their trilogy encounter at Metamoris 6.

Personal life

Sobral and his wife Natasha are parents to two daughters born in May 2009, whose names he has tattooed on his body.

His moniker "Babalu" is derived from the bubblegum brand Bubbaloo.

In October 2008, Sobral established his gym, Gracie Barra Cerritos, located in California; it was rebranded as Babalu's Iron Gym in 2010.

He was awarded his third degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by Roberto "Gordo" Correa in August 2017.

Sobral appeared in the music video Still I Rise by the heavy metal band Shadows Fall.

In May 2019, he revealed experiencing symptoms indicative of early-stage Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Mixed Martial Arts

Strikeforce
- Held the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title (One occasion)
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Encyclopedia Honors
  - Awarded Submission of the Night (One occasion) against Chael Sonnen
Fighting Network RINGS
- Runner-up in the 1999 RINGS King of Kings Tournament
International Fighting Championships
- Champion of the IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament

Amateur Wrestling

International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
- 6th Place at the 2001 Pan American Championships Senior Freestyle Division
Confederação Brasileira de Lutas Associadas
- Brazilian Senior Freestyle National Champion (1998)

Mixed Martial Arts Record

Submission Grappling Record

External links

B.I.G. (Babalu's Iron Gym)

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Location
4 Matches, No Wins, One Defeat, Three Draws
Draw	0–1–3	Clay Guida	Draw	Quintet Ultra	12 December 2019	Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	0–1–2	Roberto Godoi	Decision · Points	BJJ Stars: Black Belt Edition	24 February 2019	São Paulo, Brazil
Draw	0–0–2	Chael Sonnen	Draw	Metamoris 6	9 May 2015	Los Angeles, California
Draw	0–0–1	Dean Lister	Draw	Metamoris 3	9 March 2014	Los Angeles, California