UFC Vet ‘Babalu’ Says He Lost Sight Of Left Eye, Showing Signs Of CTE

Mixed martial arts (MMA) competition can be unforgiving and there’s a lot more to lose than pride. Renato Sobral had 49 professional MMA bouts under his belt before calling it a career. He left the sport with a record of 37-12. The man most fight…

Mixed martial arts (MMA) competition can be unforgiving and there’s a lot more to lose than pride. Renato Sobral had 49 professional MMA bouts under his belt before calling it a career. He left the sport with a record of 37-12. The man most fight fans know as “Babalu” competed under the Ultimate Fighting Championship […]

The post UFC Vet ‘Babalu’ Says He Lost Sight Of Left Eye, Showing Signs Of CTE appeared first on MMA News.

10 Fighters Whose UFC Careers Ended In Disgrace

When you reach MMA’s biggest stage, the last thing you want to do is burn your bridges by doing something stupid, but as this article will show, whether they are UFC newcomers or all-time legends, some fighters just can’t seem to resist the urge to hit the self destruct button. From moments of madness inside

The post 10 Fighters Whose UFC Careers Ended In Disgrace appeared first on LowKick MMA.

When you reach MMA’s biggest stage, the last thing you want to do is burn your bridges by doing something stupid, but as this article will show, whether they are UFC newcomers or all-time legends, some fighters just can’t seem to resist the urge to hit the self destruct button.

From moments of madness inside the Octagon to outrageous behavior outside of it, let’s take a closer look at 10 fighters who managed to tarnish their reputations and damage their UFC careers beyond repair, starting with two sworn enemies who were kicked out of the sport within weeks of each other before they had a chance to settle their differences in the cage.

The post 10 Fighters Whose UFC Careers Ended In Disgrace appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator Veteran Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral Retires from MMA

With a career that spanned nearly 16 years competing in MMA, Renato “Babalu” Sobral said goodbye to the sport on Wednesday night after suffering his second straight defeat in the Bellator cage. As relayed by MMAjunkie.com, the former Strikeforce champion retired after a loss to Jacob Noe in the opening rounds of the latest light […]

With a career that spanned nearly 16 years competing in MMA, Renato “Babalu” Sobral said goodbye to the sport on Wednesday night after suffering his second straight defeat in the Bellator cage. As relayed by MMAjunkie.com, the former Strikeforce champion retired after a loss to Jacob Noe in the opening rounds of the latest light […]

[VIDEO] ONE FC 4: Destiny of Warriors Main Card, in Its Entirety

It may have been merely a footnote to most fans in an already sub-par chapter of MMA events, but this weekend’s ONE FC 4 gave fans a quick fix for soccer kicks, quick stoppages and some lesser-known talent making names for themselves.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about the names you’re already familiar with. Roger Huerta took to the cage at welterweight looking to rebound from an ugly TKO at the hands of War Machine. His initial opponent, Phil Baroni, was forced off of the card due to an ugly knockout loss at the hands of Chris Holland at Ring of Fire 43 earlier this month. Replacing “The New York Badass” was Zorobabel Moreira, a tall lightweight sporting a 6-1 record before the bout. If “El Matador” was looking to break out of his recent slump, Moreira was, on paper, the perfect opportunity.

It may have been merely a footnote to most fans in an already sub-par chapter of MMA events, but this weekend’s ONE FC 4 gave fans a quick fix for soccer kicks, quick stoppages and some lesser-known talent making names for themselves.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about the names you’re already familiar with. Roger Huerta took to the cage at welterweight looking to rebound from an ugly TKO at the hands of War Machine. His initial opponent, Phil Baroni, was forced off of the card due to an ugly knockout loss at the hands of Chris Holland at Ring of Fire 43 earlier this month. Replacing “The New York Badass” was Zorobabel Moreira, a tall lightweight sporting a 6-1 record before the bout. If “El Matador” was looking to break out of his recent slump, Moreira was, on paper, the perfect opportunity.

In reality, Huerta had his moments early on in the fight, using his aggressive striking against the jiu-jitsu black belt. But once Moreira started to catch Huerta with kicks of his own, he controlled the fight. The second round was all Moreira, as Huerta seemed tired, and was often hesitant to exchange. The fight was essentially over once Moreira caught Huerta with a knee, but since the referee didn’t stop the fight, Moreira capped things off with a brutal soccer kick. Retirement might be a good idea for Huerta, who has now lost six of his last seven outings.

The same cannot be said for Renato “Babalu” Sobral. When it was announced that Babalu would be making his return to the cage against the 11-7 Tatsuya Mizuno, we posited that the Sobral’s time away from the cage was the only thing keeping this fight from being a PRIDE-era mismatch. Well, we were wrong: The fight played out exactly as it would have two years ago, when Babalu was a consensus top ten light-heavyweight. It only took Babalu thirty one seconds to put away Mizuno with an armbar. I know, I’m just as shocked as you are.

Okay, enough of the chit-chat. We first have videos of just the Huerta/Sobral fights. Then we have a video of the entire main card, followed by a list of results if you’re feeling especially lazy today. Props to IronForgesIron.com for the videos.

Full Results:

Renato Sobral def. Tatsuya Mizuno by submission (armbar), 0:31 of Round One
Zorobabel Moreira def. Roger Huerta by KO (soccer kick), 3:53 of Round Two
Leandro Issa def. Masakazu Imanari by unanimous decision
Adam Kayoom def. Gregor Gracie by unanimous decision
Eric Kelly def. Bae Young Kwon by unanimous decision
Arnaud Lepont def. Brian Choi by submission (rear-naked choke), 1:38 of Round Three

Preliminary Card:

Mitch Chilson def. AJ Lias Mansor by submission (rear-naked choke), 1:39 of Round One
Marcos Escobar def. Rodrigo Praxedes by submission (D’arce choke), 1:40 of Round Three
Peter Davis def. Kim Quek Hong by TKO (knees and punches), 0:55 of Round One

Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral to Face Canadian Slugger Steve Bosse at Instinct 4 in May in Quebec


(This is a make or break fight. The winner will be the fans.)

Up-and-coming Quebec light heavyweight Steve Bosse will face the toughest test of his career in May when he takes on former Strikeforce 205-pound champ Renato “Babalu” Sobral at Instinct 4: Babalu vs. Bosse in May.

Instinct MMA preent Stephane Patry, who was the founder of Quebec’s most successful promotion, TKO,  announced the bout today via press release. Patry also stated that a date and a venue for the show have yet to be locked down, but should be finalized in the coming days.


(This is a make or break fight. The winner will be the fans.)

Up-and-coming Quebec light heavyweight Steve Bosse will face the toughest test of his career in May when he takes on former Strikeforce 205-pound champ Renato “Babalu” Sobral at Instinct 4: Babalu vs. Bosse in May.

Instinct MMA preent Stephane Patry, who was the founder of Quebec’s most successful promotion, TKO,  announced the bout today via press release. Patry also stated that a date and a venue for the show have yet to be locked down, but should be finalized in the coming days.

Former hockey enforcer Bosse (9-1) hasn’t fought since October after sustaining a broken hand in his hisidghlight reel knockout win over Houston Alexander at the promotion’s inaugural event. A fan-favorite in his home province, “The Boss” holds wins over UFC vets Marvin Eastman and Wes Sims as well. The 30-year-old trains out of Tristar under Firas Zahabi.

5-2 in his seven fights since being released by the UFC for failing to relinquish a choke on David Heath at UFC 74 in 2007, Sobral (36-9) hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Dan Henderson at Strikeforce: St. Louis in December 2010. He was rumored to be in talks with Bellator, but nothing came out of the negotiations. The 36-year-old signed a contract with OneFC in December, but the Singapore-based promotion has yet to announce when he will debut under its banner. In the meantime, he has been helping friend Wanderlei Silva coach on the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil.” He will be cornered by Kings MMA training partner Fabricio Werdum for the bout.

According to Patry, other notable fights are in the works for the spring event.

“A lot depends on the outcomes of certain fights at Instinct 3 on March 31 in Sherbrooke,” explains Patry. “However, I can say that we are talking to some big name international fighters in order to give fans the fights they want to see: their favorites taking on the world elite.”

Friday Afternoon Link Dump

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightersOnly)

– 25 Hottest European Female Athletes  of All Time (Complex)

– Is Bane’s Dialogue Completely Unintelligible in ‘The Dark Knight Rises?’ (FilmDrunk)

– Work Out Like Overeem (MuscleProdigy)

– The Three Stooges Looks Terrible, But Holy Shit Kate Upton as a Nun (WithLeather)

– 7 Badass Ginger Rockstars (With Souls) (Clutch.MTV)

– 4 Ways to Impress Men in Conversation (AskMen)

– 6 Reasons This Christmas Will Be the Most Depressing Ever (TheRugged)

– CBS Gives You a Sneak Peek at !Rob! (TuVez)

– 8 Signs You’re ‘That Guy’ At the Gym (Guyism)

– 7 Spy Movies That Make Espionage Boring (ScreenJunkies)

– How to Freshen Your Breath, Naturally (MadeMan)

– UFC Exploring Security for Silva-Sonnen II in Brazil (BleacherReport)

– FYI: You Can Be Arrested for Going on a Planking Spree (HolyTaco)

– Cro Cop Details Surgery; Still Wants to Fight (FightersOnly)

– Freddie Roach Talks GSP’s Injury, Calls Anderson Silva the Best ‘Pure Boxer’ in MMA (LowKick)

– The Chris Paul Fiasco Gives NBA a Black Eye (ScoresReport)

– Video: Igor Pokrajac Spars With Babalu Sobral Ahead of His UFC 140 Bout With Krzysztof Soszynski (YouTube)


(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightersOnly)

– 25 Hottest European Female Athletes  of All Time (Complex)

– Is Bane’s Dialogue Completely Unintelligible in ‘The Dark Knight Rises?’ (FilmDrunk)

– Work Out Like Overeem (MuscleProdigy)

– The Three Stooges Looks Terrible, But Holy Shit Kate Upton as a Nun (WithLeather)

– 7 Badass Ginger Rockstars (With Souls) (Clutch.MTV)

– 4 Ways to Impress Men in Conversation (AskMen)

– 6 Reasons This Christmas Will Be the Most Depressing Ever (TheRugged)

– CBS Gives You a Sneak Peek at !Rob! (TuVez)

– 8 Signs You’re ‘That Guy’ At the Gym (Guyism)

– 7 Spy Movies That Make Espionage Boring (ScreenJunkies)

– How to Freshen Your Breath, Naturally (MadeMan)

– UFC Exploring Security for Silva-Sonnen II in Brazil (BleacherReport)

– FYI: You Can Be Arrested for Going on a Planking Spree (HolyTaco)

– Cro Cop Details Surgery; Still Wants to Fight (FightersOnly)

– Freddie Roach Talks GSP’s Injury, Calls Anderson Silva the Best ‘Pure Boxer’ in MMA (LowKick)

– The Chris Paul Fiasco Gives NBA a Black Eye (ScoresReport)

– Video: Igor Pokrajac Spars With Babalu Sobral Ahead of His UFC 140 Bout With Krzysztof Soszynski (YouTube)