'Babalu' Regroups and Looks to Rebound on August 25th

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By Thomas Gerbasi

For some fighters, the Octagon is the only place where they can truly find peace. No matter what happens in their lives before the bell rings, whatever drama they’re dealing with outside the cage, a fight is a fight and everything else takes a back seat for those 15 or 25 minutes or less.

But for Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, the UFC’s Octagon has been anything but a sanctuary for him in his last two fights, as he was stopped in the first round by Chuck Liddell last August, and then suffered a second straight defeat when Jason Lambert knocked him out in the second round at UFC 68 in March. On August 25th, he will try to avoid a third loss in a row when he takes on David Heath at UFC 74 in perhaps the most pivotal bout of his eight year career.

“It’s a very important fight because I have to step away from my losses and I have to come back stronger,” said Sobral. “I’ve lost twice, and if I lose again, I’m pretty much done. It’s almost like a title shot.”

After a year like that, most people would be a mess, but Sobral almost chuckles when he says that, knowing that now, there is no pressure on him to succeed, when in the past that pressure to be the best almost crippled him.

“There’s no pressure at all,” said the 31 year old from Rio de Janeiro. “I already lost two. It’s not like I don’t care, but I feel comfortable fighting anybody and I know what mistakes I made and what happened last time.”

So what did happen in the last 12 months?

“The fight with Chuck, the pressure was off my shoulders,” he admitted. “My second one (against Lambert), there was a particular private problem, and I won’t talk about it until after this fight.”

Before the Liddell fight, Sobral was undoubtedly feeling the heat from not only trying to avenge a knockout loss, but trying to win a world title and seeing his life change forever at the same time. As he said before the bout, “This fight is the big shot in my life. I have to prove to myself who I am. I don’t care about the pressure. The only pressure I have is from myself.”

There was plenty of it, especially when you base your entire being on the result of one fight. For Sobral, it was a bad night, as he charged Liddell and committed the cardinal sin of trying to bang with a banger. The result was inevitable.

What may have been even more shocking was the pounding Lambert put on him after Sobral started strong in their March bout. What was going on in the lead-up to the fight is anyone’s guess, but on fight night, Lambert was clearly the better fighter.

Which leads us to August 25th and what could be Sobral’s last shot at redemption. But ‘Babalu’, who is training with Erik Paulson and former Lennox Lewis opponent Justin Fortune, as well as the Gracie Barra team, isn’t thinking negatively. In fact, he’s looking forward to getting into a fight with Heath in Las Vegas.

“We’re both aggressive fighters, so it’s gonna be a nice fight,” said Sobral (27-7). “I want them to be entertained and have some fun.”

And maybe, just maybe, Sobral will start enjoying himself in the Octagon again, like he was when he was putting together a ten fight win streak that included a victory over highly touted UFC newcomer Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. What does ‘Babalu’ think about the influx of new blood into the organization?

“I think the level of the UFC is gonna be higher now than before because more guys are coming to the UFC now,” he said. “But it’s a lot different in the cage than the ring, and probably for these guys it will be a welcoming present for them from me.”

He laughs, and it’s a welcome sound. Well, not for his opponents.

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