BAD MMA - The origins of combat™ » Sobral

‘Babalu’ Sobral: ‘I gave my blood in those octagons, those rings’

BAD MMA News — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 01:30:00 +0000

He told himself that no matter how things turned out, this would be his last trip through the ringer. It seemed fitting to end on a tournament, the same way he’d started some 13 years earlier, with a three-fights-in-one-night kind of deal back home in Rio de Janeiro. Back before anyone knew who Renato Sobral was. So at 37 years old, “Babalu” enlisted for one more tour of duty in Bellator’s light heavyweight “Summer Series” tournament and promised himself that win or lose he’d call it quits when his run ended. When he sat down at the post-fight press conference, “I knew something was going to come out of my mouth,” Sobral (37-11) told MMAjunkie.com (mmajunkie.com)

‘Babalu’ Sobral on retirement: ‘My body cannot continue to do this anymore’

BAD MMA News — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 20:15:00 +0000

If Renato Sobral has one regret about his final MMA fight, it’s that he couldn’t make his body do what it used to. “Babalu,” a 16-year MMA vet who’s long been one of the sport’s most recognizable names, announced his retirement on Wednesday following a TKO loss to Jacob Noe at Bellator 96. After the Spike TV-televised defeat, which saw Sobral battered but refusing to give up until the referee did it for him, the teary-eyed Brazilian discussed the disappointment and bittersweet feelings. “It’s kind of highly emotional for me to talk about this right now, but I think maybe I’ve been in the cage more than everybody in this room here,” he said. “I lived the life. That’s what I want to say. I have no regrets.

Follow this link:

‘Babalu’ Sobral on retirement: ‘My body cannot continue to do this anymore’ – MMA Junkie

Bellator 96 Results: King Mo Lawal Moves into Tourney Finals; Babalu Sobral Retires

BAD MMA News — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:33:57 +0000

Bellator 96 took place at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., on Wednesday night, setting the finals for both the promotion’s light heavyweight and heavyweight Summer Series tournaments. Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal avenged an early exit from the Season 9 tournament by making quick work of Seth Petruzelli in the Bellator 96 main event. An accidental headbutt stalled the fight in the opening moments, but when action picked up, Petruzelli tried to chop Lawal’s legs out from under him with low kicks. Lawal, however, caught one of the kicks and planted Petruzelli back down on the mat. Lawal stood up, timed his move, and dove in with a punch that put Petruzelli’s lights out… one punch, no muss, no fuss.

Excerpt from:

Bellator 96 Results: King Mo Lawal Moves into Tourney Finals; Babalu Sobral Retires – MMA Weekly

Jacob Noe Looking to Rebound Against Babalu Sobral at Bellator 96

BAD MMA News — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:00:49 +0000

Having won nine fights heading into this past February’s match-up with Mikhail Zayats in the second round of Bellator’s light-heavyweight tournament, Jacob Noe was riding high, maybe too high for his own good. Following a first-round submission loss to Zayats, Noe decided it was time to leave his native Tennessee and make the kind of move necessary to take his career to the next level. “I think I underestimated the guy,” said Noe of his loss to Zayats. “I just went in there without a game plan and tried to fight him and I think it backfired. He had a really good game plan and coaching. I kind of learned my lesson from that. “In Memphis I was kind of the only full-time fighter and didn’t have consistent training partners or experience to work with, so I made the change to Team Syndicate in Las Vegas.” Noe felt the change was a long time coming and the Zayats fight only helped crystalize the need to shake things up. “I always knew that beforehand I wasn’t growing as a fighter and I felt like I needed to make a change,” he said

See the article here:

Jacob Noe Looking to Rebound Against Babalu Sobral at Bellator 96 – MMA Weekly