December 4th headliners Dan Henderson (25-8) and Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8) met for the first time back in Feb. 26, 2000 in the finals of the RINGS “King of KINGS” tournament. Hendreson would walk away with the split decision and the tournament victory.
Now both men are set for a rematch in the upcoming Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu event in St. Louis, Miss. It’s been close to ten years since they first met and both men have grown as fighters since that time. Former PRIDE champ, Henderson, doesn’t even consider the fight a rematch.
“There are just so many more tools we both have now that weren’t there before, so it’s almost like it’s not a rematch. I had really had just started sparring right before that tournament. (I) had never sparred before, just hit pads and bags before my first four or five fights. I think he had submitted all four guys that he fought before that. I wanted to make sure I didn’t get submitted by him – ’stay on my feet, outstrike him, and avoid takedowns.’ That’s basically how the fight went….I think the fight’s going to be very exciting based on our background and history, and the fact that we’ve been in there for a long time.”
HT: MMAjunkie.com