Babalu Headlines Jan. 12 WCO Card

Valor Fighting and Primal MMA will be co-promoting the fledgling World Cagefighting Organization’s January 12 card at the San Diego Sports Arena, and to their credit, they’ve put together card could deliver some great fights.

Fighting in the main event will be light heavyweights Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Vernon “Tiger” White. Since his ugly UFC 74 submission win over David Heath, Sobral has picked up a submission victory over Rodney Faverus at the inaugural Platinum Fighting Promotions event last month in the Philippines. White, on the other hand, is coming off of consecutive TKO losses to Mike Whitehead and Marcelo Tigre.

Also on the main card, former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez will take on Mike Kyle, who will make his return after being suspended for illegally kneeing (and then continuing an assault on) Brian Olsen at WEC 20. Ricco, who also won in December at the PFP’s Philippines event, might have his hands full with the powerful, knockout-loving Kyle.

Mark Kerr looks to pick up his second win in as many fights under the WCO banner against Rick Roufus, a legendary kickboxer who will be making his MMA debut. If you haven’t seen Roufus fight Michael McDonald, you’re missing out on two great matches.

Tickets are still available for those in - or traveling to - the San Diego and run from $23.50 to $153.50. According to MMAJunkie, WCO executives have stated that a portion of the event’s ticket sales will benefit those families devastated by the recent wildfires in the area.

Here’s the rest of the January 12th WCO “The Return” card:

Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Vernon White
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Mike Kyle
Mark Kerr vs. Rick Roufus
Jimmy Ambriz vs. Wesley “Cabbage” Correira
Joe Riggs vs. Gustavo Machado
David Loiseau vs. Leopoldo Serao
Tiki Ghosn vs. J.J. Ambrose
Virgil Zwicker vs. David Mejia
Fabio Costa vs. Carlos Fuentes
Georgi Karakahyan vs. Armando Sanchez
Tony Sylvester vs. Cain Velasquez


The Kodiak is back for '08...

Babalu Signs with Xcess Fighting

Kodiak MMA favorite Renato “Babalu” Sobral has signed a non-exclusive deal with the Xcess Fighting promotion. Babalu will debut with Xcess Fighting at the company’s 12 event but neither a location nor an opponent have been specfied.

"I am undeniably the biggest 'Babalu' fan that lives. Xcess Fighting believes he has tremendous talent, and (we) are extremely proud to be able to get him back into he cage and in front of his fans so quickly," said Xcess Fighting spokesperson Bruce Bellocchi.

Since his departure from the UFC, Babalu sure hasn't been sitting idly by. Babalu has since signed with MMA agent Ken Pavia, with the Strikeforce promotion, and now with Xcess Fighting.

In a recent interview, Pavia discussed Babalu's Strikeforce plans: "He'll be fighting in San Jose. Looks like in late January. The deal is inked, but we still don't know about the opponent. We were hoping to walk into a title shot, but looks like we're going to have to get one fight in before we fight for the title."

Strikeforce is based in San Jose, so I'm curious to see what happens if Babalu loses his December Xcess Fighting match and makes his Strikeforce debut in the company's hometown after a loss in a much smaller promotion. Not that I think he'll lose, but you never know...

Click here for more on the Babalu signing from MMAJunkie.

Babalu Returns in January

In a recent interview, Ken Pavia, Babalu's agent, talked about what's next for Babalu in the Strikeforce organization:

He'll be fighting in San Jose. Looks like in late January. The deal is inked, but we still don't know about the opponent. We were hoping to walk into a title shot, but looks like we're going to have to get one fight in before we fight for the title.

Excellent news!

For more from Pavia on James Thompson, Phil Baroni, and "Razor" Rob McCullough, click here.

Babalu Finds a Home

Kodiak MMA favorite Renato "Babalu" Sobral has signed with Strikeforce. It is unknown when or against whom he will make his first Strikeforce appearance. Nonetheless, expect the Bobby Southworths and Rogiero Nogueiras of the Strikeforce world to start worrying.

Babalu, Hermes Headline NAGA Tournament in Miami

On Saturday, October 20th, 2007, the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) returns to Miami, Florida for its 8th annual Miami Grappling Championship No-Gi & Gi Tournament.

In the NAGA grappling superfights, Kodiak MMA favorite Renato "Babalu" Sobral will be taking on Jorge Santiago, and UFC lightweight Hermes Franca will meet Enrico Cocco. Earlier this month, Santiago submitted Jeremy Horn in MMA competition, so his match with Babalu should be exceptional.

In an effort to make these superfights as exciting as possible (and to prevent stalling), NAGA has scheduled them for just six minutes. The action kicks off at 10:30 AM, so if you're in the Miami area, check it out.

Happy Birthday, Babalu

CBS Sports Interview with Dana White

Sam Caplan recently interviewed Dana White as part of a CBS Sports interview. Here are my favorite parts:

Babalu Sobral being released from the UFC: "Babalu is showing a bad track record lately. I don't like the direction he's been going in, and he needs to straighten his life out if he wants to continue to be a professional athlete."

I agree. Babalu was arrested in Miami a few weeks back, and his UFC 74 post-fight commentary and overall attitude was Bush League, especially for a fighter of Babalu's status.

A UFC return for Babalu?: "Absolutely. I like Babalu. He's a good guy and a good fighter."

That's what I like to hear.

Georges St-Pierre’s next fight: "He'll fight the winner of Hughes/Serra. And yeah, we're trying to do a fight up in Canada, so that one would make a lot of sense."

This will make for a great headliner, but I feel bad for guys like Karo Parisyan, Jon Fitch, and Diego Sanchez who are still waiting in line for their shot. Oh well...

A title shot for Roger Huerta?: "I think he's probably a good year away."

Thank you. I've been saying for a while now that Huerta is not yet championship material. Plus, the more he fights (and wins), the brighter his star will shine. That was fruity...

Fedor Emelianenko’s management team: "I don't like to talk about contract negotiations with the public but it didn't go well. These guys are crazy."

Dana, watch your mouth.

Liddell vs. Wanderlei on December 29?: "It's possible. Liddell would have to win. Liddell would have to come out injury free. There's a lot of ifs."

Keith Jardine is quite possible my single least favorite UFC fighter.

Josh Barnett: "He's just a punk. You know what? The thing is I don't want to even talk about Josh Barnett. Nobody even cares about Josh Barnett. I got Mirko Cro Cop, the guy that just beat the s**t out of him (Barnett). I'm not interested in Josh Barnett at all as far as who he is as a person or as a fighter or how he represents the sport. I don't like anything about him."

And Cro Cop just got his head kicked in by the guy Couture just embarrassed. Barnett is worth signing.

Denis Kang: "Denis Kang was supposed to be on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter but he ended up getting a good deal over in Korea. This is a guy we were looking at to be on season one of The Ultimate Fighter, I wouldn't call him one of the major superstars in MMA or one of the major superstars from Pride."

Kang on TUF? I never knew that had been in the works. I'm a Kang fan, but I agree with Dana; Kang is not a major superstar. He's close, but there are certainly bigger names out there.

Gilbert Melendez: "I'm very interested in him. He's under contract with someone else right now. But yeah, I'm very interested in him."

I'm glad Capalan asked about the undefeated Melendez, who's one of the most under appreciated fighters out there.

For the rest of the interview, click here.

Official Statement from Babalu

The following was sent out via Renato "Babalu" Sobral's MySpace profile:

To My Family, Friends, Fans and Sponsors:

Since UFC 74, I have wanted to speak publicly about my fight with David Heath. I waited to do so, however, out of respect for the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Zuffa, Inc. and Dana White. After all, it is their efforts that have legitimized Mixed Martial Arts in the sports world and I realize that my conduct has unintentionally hindered those efforts. For that, among other things, I am deeply sorry.

I have been fighting professionally since 1998. Prior to my fight with David Heath, my professional record was twenty-seven wins with seven losses. Fourteen of my victories came by way of submission. Not once was I ever accused of holding a choke or submission too long. If anything, there has always been and continues to be a great camaraderie between my opponents and I after the fight. Being a professional mixed martial artist is more than a career to me. It is my livelihood and my way of life. Consequently, I am deeply sorry for any embarrassment that has been brought upon the sport, other mixed martial artists (especially David Heath), my Academy and most importantly, my family.

As if the embarrassment were not enough, my actions during the fight with David and my comments afterwards, have already resulted in severe financial loss to my family because as you know, in addition to my win bonus still being withheld, yesterday I was released from my contract with the UFC.

There has been much talk about things that may have been said to me by David Heath at the weigh-in. What David said to me at the weigh-in didn’t matter then and doesn’t matter now. What matters are my comments after the fight. And, regardless of what you may read by so called MMA experts on the internet, I never said that I purposefully choked-out David Heath. In short, my post-fight comments, while inappropriate, were not intended to be comments about the choke. Rather, they were intended to be comments about the aggressive performance that I put in.

I did not intentionally choke out David Heath. The first that I realized that David had tapped was when people told me that he did after the fight. When I finally had the chance to view the tape, I see that he did. When David tapped, I did not feel it. I wish I did for I would have let it go. Instead, I continued to hold it. Not because I was upset or wanted him to lose consciousness. I held it because I didn’t know he tapped and I was intent on winning the fight. Holding on to a choke a little long is not an uncommon mistake made in training, and never in my career have I witnessed or heard of an injury resulting from it.

When I had the choke, I was not looking the referee in the eyes as one commentator erroneously observed. Nor did I hear the referee issue any verbal command to release the hold. Instead, my head was down to strengthen the move and my eyes closed with focus. As a result, I did not feel the referee tap me the first time either. It was not until he put his hands on my right shoulder that I felt him trying to separate us. When I felt this, I immediately released the choke.

After this morning’s hearing I traveled to the UFC’s office to meet with Dana White. Contrary to recent reports in the media, this meeting was not to discuss my being released from the UFC. In fact, this meeting was arranged prior to my even being released from the contract. The purpose of the meeting was for me to personally apologize to Dana while at the same time thank him for all the opportunities that the UFC has given to my family and I. Unfortunately, I was unable to meet with Dana due to a calendaring error Nevertheless, thanks Dana and my apologies.

I am a professional fighter. This is what I do for a living. I do not hold a day job and then train at night to fight. I know nothing else but how to fight. This is how I support my family.

On behalf of my family and friends, I appreciate the support that you have given me over the years, not to mention in the recent week, and I am hopeful that I will have the opportunity to fight again in the State of Nevada.

Thank you.

RENATO “BABALU” SOBRAL

UFC Releases Babalu Sobral

Sam Caplan of FiveOuncesOfPain.com has reported that in a conference call earlier today, UFC president Dana White said that veteran mixed martial artist Renato "Babalu" Sobral has been released from his contract after Sobral refused to let go of an anaconda choke to opponent David Heath at UFC 74 last Saturday that left Heath unconscious. Whether Sobral will ever fight for the UFC again is still not certain.

This is probably a shitty way of looking at things, but Sobral, who did look impressive against the hard-hitting Heath, could now be billed (from a marketing perspective) as the perfect villain - should the UFC ever want him back. His actions at UFC 74 drew the ire of UFC management, fighters, and fans, and I'm sure that plenty of hype could be generated from his malicious performance this past weekend. Just a thought...

Babalu's "Lesson" in Respect Will Cost Him

The Nevada State Athletic Commission will reportedly withhold half of Babalu's $50,000 purse after the Brazilian light heavyweight held onto an anaconda choke well after opponent David Heath tapped out in Round 2 of their undercard UFC 74 fight last night. Referee Steve Mazzagatti worked to pry Babalu's arm off of an already bloodied and battered Heath, who had tapped, but by the time Babalu let go, Heath was out.

"I just thought that I needed to teach him respect after he showed me so much disrespect. I think that you can be fearless and tough and still maintain sportsmanship. He needed to be taught a lesson," said Babalu, who claims that Heath hurled obscenities at him.

If you saw the weigh-ins, it was clear that Babalu seemed to be the one intensifying things; Heath just kind of smiled and played along. I don't know what - if anything - happened between the two before or after that, but Babalu's "he cursed at me" explanation for holding onto the choke is almost laughable.

For more on this story, click here.

Free Babalu!

MMA veteran Renato "Babalu" Sobral was arrested this past Saturday at 4:15 AM at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa for alleged battery and trespassing.

Babalu was at the WFC event at the Florida State Fairgrounds, and landed in hot water after reportedly spitting on a bouncer. If that's true, the bouner got off easy.

The 31-year-old Brazilian was released on $1,000 bond. His booking number, in case you are wondering, was 07045179.

Check out Babalu's mug shot. Anyone else love the shirt?

Morning Droppings

- Renzo Gracie has eagerly responded to Frank Shamrock’s challenge to a rematch. "I never get invited to a party that I didn’t show up. I’d love to do it again."

- The David Heath-Renato “Babalu” Sobral fight is official and will take place on August 25 at UFC 74.

- Jason Gilliam will fill in for the injured Drew Fickett at UFC 73 against welterweight Chris Lytle.

Babalu to Face David Heath

UFC light heavyweight and MMA mainstay Renato "Babalu" Sobral will be facing the hard-punching David Heath, UFCJunkie is reporting.

Sobral is coming off a devastating upset KO loss to Jason Lambert at UFC 68, and Heath was handed his first loss by Lyoto Machida at UFC 70. For Sobral, a loss to Heath would be his third in as many fights and may land him on the UFC's chopping block.

Sobral, who most recently defeated Frank Mir in a submission grappling only type of thing for Tuff-N-Uff (yeah, I know), has done battle with the likes of Chuck Liddell (twice), Jeremy Horn, Shogun Rua, Maurice Smith, Kevin Randleman, Travis Fulton, Dan Henderson, and Fedor Emelianenko.

The Heath/Sobral fight was announced by Heath himself to friends and family, and the date and location of the fight is not yet known. I'll keep you posted as more details become available.

Morning Droppings

- Congratulations to Frank Shamrock, Ninja Rua, Cung Le, Paul Buentello, and the rest of last night's Strikeforce/EliteXC winners. For complete details, click here.

- Lightweight Brandon Melendez did not make weight for last night's TUF 5 Finale weigh-ins, and NSAC doctors would not permit Melendez to try and lose the extra pound. Instead, they decided to let the match go on with 5% of Melendez's purse going to the NSAC and another 5% to opponent Joe Lauzon.

- Middleweight free agent Denis Kang says that he is in negotiations with the UFC, BodogFIGHT and EliteXC, just to name a few, and expects to make a decision this week. "It just depends on who is going to make the right offer,” Kand told FightNetwork.

- Renato "Babalu" Sobral defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in a special grappling rules only Tuff-N-Uff exhibition match.