Fast and furious: Renato 'Babalu' Sobral Strikeforce interview exclusive with MMAmania.com
by Adam Wagner on Nov 19, 2008 12:35 AM EST
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Renato "Babalu" Sobral (30-7) doesn’t make many excuses -- sometimes it’s your day, sometimes it’s not. And sometimes you put a guy in an anaconda choke and don’t let go until he learns his lesson.
But one thing’s for sure: when the cage door shuts this Friday night, November 21, at Strikeforce: "Destruction," Babalu is going to be nothing but business when he takes on the promotion’s light heavyweight champion, Bobby Southworth (9-5).
The event takes place at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, California and will air on HDNet.
Fighting for the title of a signature MMA promotion like Strikeforce is a big step in the right direction for Babalu. After losing back-to-back fights to then-UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell (21-6) and Jason Lambert (23-9), and then being released by the UFC for refusing to relinquish a chokehold on David Heath (9-4), despite tapping, some thought Babalu’s career might be in jeopardy.
However, the submission wizard appears to have bounced back, posting three consecutive wins, including a three-round unanimous decision victory over Mike Whitehead (23-6) at Affliction: "Banned" back in July. He’s now won 13 of his last 15 fights, which includes wins over Trevor Prangley (18-5), Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (16-3) and Jeremy Horn (80-18-5) all in the same night at IFC: "Global Domination."
We caught up with the Gracie Barra Combat Team member to ask him about his recent win over Whitehead, the UFC’s decision to cut him and about how a fighter makes his money these days (that is, not by signing exclusive contracts with only one promotion).
Side note: Babalu’s manager, Richard Wilner, recently told MMAmania.com, "Many fighters don’t have speed coaches, but I have a feeling after they see this fight, a lot of fighters will be going out and hiring speed coaches." Babalu has been training with speed coach Rick Hagedorn from Speedburners for this fight.
Let’s get to it.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You recently defeated Mike Whitehead (23-6) via unanimous decision at Affliction Banned. How do you feel about how that fight went, both the good and the bad?
Babalu Sobral: Of course I wish I could have finished the fight, but I couldn’t. Mike Whitehead is one of the toughest opponents I’ve had my whole life. But I’m very happy. He’s one of the tough guys on the scene.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Fight fans were hoping to see you and Tito Ortiz square off at an Affliction event that never happened. I know that you two have traded jabs in the past. Is this a fight that you still want to see happen?
Babalu Sobral: If the fight could happen, it’d be awesome. The chance to fight Tito would be amazing. But if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. What can I do?
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Is there still bad blood between you two?
Babalu Sobral: There is nothing between us. It’s not bad or good. It’s all professional.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): After the incident with the UFC releasing you from your contract because of the David Heath incident, what was your reaction to that? Did you think that that was a double standard, given some of the crap other fighters have done in the past and who weren’t released from their contracts?
Babalu Sobral: I don’t know. If they didn’t (release other fighters), that’s not my business. What they did to me … I made my mistake, I paid my bills, they kicked me off, they fined me for 25 Gs … I don’t have any … that’s in the past now. I look forward to the future. So if (a similar thing) happens to anybody, it’s not my business. It just is what it is.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You’ve fought 10 times in the UFC, dating back to 2000. Would you ever like to return to the UFC? Do you think that will ever happen?
Babalu Sobral: My future is now with Strikeforce on November 21 against Bobby Southworth. That’s my future.
(Note: We'll get in touch with Babalu before his Matt Lindland fight on January 24 ... he wanted to focus on Southworth during this interview.)
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well let’s talk about that fight. It’s for the Strikeforce light heavyweight title. What does it mean to you to be fighting for the title again, especially since this is the main event of such a strong promotion like Strikeforce? Where some of the other promotions have been failing, Strikeforce seems to be pushing right through. What does this opportunity mean to you?
Babalu Sobral: It means a lot to me. Strikeforce is a good organization. They have pretty good fighters over there, and you have the chance to fight on NBC — that’s pretty good. And I think it’s a good challenge to fight Bobby. He’s been a champion for a while. I go to fight and take his belt, that’s what I’m going to do.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): What problems, if any, do you see a fighter like Bobby Southworth bringing to the table?
Babalu Sobral: He’s the champion. He’s got skills. Of course he has skills, otherwise he wouldn’t be the champion. He’s got good hands, he’s a good striker, and he has pretty good technique. But I’m training hard, and I’m going to walk through him.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Do you plan to keep the fight standing as long as possible, or would you prefer...
Babalu Sobral: I plan to finish the fight as quick as possible.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So do you think that you’re going to have better luck on the ground?
Babalu Sobral: I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s a surprise (laughs).
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I heard that you recently opened up a new gym in Cerritos.
Babalu Sobral: Yes, we opened my gym in Cerritos two weeks ago. Check us out at BabaluBJJ.com. Right now, I’m very focused on my fight, but when I finish my fight, I’ll be back at my gym, working at my gym, teaching jiu-jitsu there in Cerritos in California. I’m very happy to have it.
I have a lot of students, and my students are happy because they are going to watch my fight. They know, they talk to me and say, "Ah, this is fun, because now the guy we are watching on TV is the guy we are training with together." But the thing is, if you train jiu-jitsu, that’s a lot of teaching. I now have a place for when I retire I have a place to stay and give my knowledge away. Give something back to martial arts that they gave to me my whole life.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So are you living in the U.S. full time now?
Babalu Sobral: Yes, that is correct.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I’ve also read that in the past, I don’t know, six months or so, that you’ve signed several non-exclusive contracts with a variety of promotions. Obviously, there’s the Affliction fight and now the upcoming Strikeforce fight. But I’ve also read about Hardcore Championship Fighting, Xcess Fighting, there was that Ring of Fire fight. Is that accurate that you have signed non-exclusive deals with multiple promotions?
Babalu Sobral: That’s the way everyone does. That way you can make money, when you need money, you can fight people who are the best at where they are. When they lock you down someplace, sometimes you don’t have fights. You might have one fight, but … basically you’re stuck in one place that doesn’t have a fight for everybody. They care about the promotion, but they don’t care about the fighters. The fighters have to make money to live. So really you are the best, but if you lose, they take you away.
Still anything can happen in a fight. You train for two months, and 15 minutes, 25 minutes, have to prove what you are. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, sometimes you have bad luck, sometimes you have a bad day. But you are still a fighter. But then, you can come back and make some money. Start training and make some money again.
But if still lock yourself down in one place you might not make money. You can make money anywhere. I don’t care if you have to make money to live. That’s the kind of bullshit I don’t like.
But yes, we are under contract with Strikeforce and Affliction, no others.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): With both of those promotions having signed you, that should keep you busy well into 2009. Can we expect to see you fighting more frequently in 2009?
Babalu Sobral: Oh definitely. Definitely. I have a chance to fight more and work more. That’s what I want to do. I want to fight more, as much as possible. Not because of money, just because I like to fight (laughs).
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, I can tell you that there are a lot of fight fans who are looking forward to this fight between you and Bobby. I really appreciate the time you took to talk with us, and I wanted to give you an opportunity to plug any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans.
Babalu Sobral: Keep looking for my next bout. I’m going to take his belt, and I’m going to be champion of Strikeforce.
I’d first like to thank MMAmania.com for this opportunity. I’d like to thank Strikeforce for the opportunity, as well as Affliction for being able to work together to allow this fight to happen. The fight wouldn’t be possible without the support of sponsors who have been very good to us, including Affliction as an apparel sponsor, Hitman and Metal Mulisha. Thanks to Dr. Scott Connelly of Progenics.
Thanks to all the coaches and training partners, including Marcio Feitosa, my jiu-jitsu coach and head instructor of Gracie Barra; Justin Fortune, my boxing coach of Fortune Gym in Hollywood; Rick Hagedorn, my speed coach from Speedburners. Thanks to my strength coach Eric Arevalo of Virtus Strength and Conditioning; and Erik Paulson from Combat Submission Wrestling (CSW) and Josh Barnett.
Special thanks to Richard Wilner, "Babalu" Sobral’s manager, for helping make this interview happen, as well as Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz.
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all you cracker jack ufc nut huggers need to read this…
“That way you can make money, when you need money, you can fight people who are the best at where they are. When they lock you down someplace, sometimes you don’t have fights. You might have one fight, but … basically you’re stuck in one place that doesn’t have a fight for everybody. They care about the promotion, but they don’t care about the fighters. The fighters have to make money to live. So really you are the best, but if you lose, they take you away…
But if still lock yourself down in one place you might not make money. You can make money anywhere. I don’t care if you have to make money to live. That’s the kind of bullshit I don’t like."
do i need to elaborate?
by brendan on Nov 19, 2008 12:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Please brendan, do elaborate. Puh puh puh palease!
by medecine balls on Nov 19, 2008 2:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
southwarth will have 3 options: Snap, Nap or tap!
by john on Nov 19, 2008 11:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I’d choose nap! Hehe!
by Syd[a.k.a. "The Negation"] on Nov 20, 2008 1:00 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
TY MANIA, nice to hear Babalu is back on track, thought he lost it there for awhile. Anyone hear about SPEEDBURNERS?.. sounds interesting, I wonder what it is they do to increase an athletes speed?
Babalu makes a point, which reflects the UFC not carrying about their fighters and only the promotion. However, the UFC is for the guys that want/qualify to take their shot in the elite organization. If a fighter is not at least climbing to top 10 in their UFC weight class, they’ll probably get cut or they can go make more $$ elsewhere by fighting more often. It may be better to be a big fish in a small pond for a fighter that may never break the top 10 in the UFC.
I feel for the UFC entry level fighter that isn’t getting paid squat.. and tied up to maybe 2 fights a year, or 3 if he’s lucky. On the flip side, if he’s successful, in a few yrs, like the Jon Fitch story (working his way up & not earning a decent living for a looong time), then it’s all finally worth it.
by THORAZINE on Nov 19, 2008 3:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
OMG Brendan, what a revelation! You mean to tell me that the UFC actually operates like a real business. And they don’t treat their employees like family, they treat them like how most successful businesses treat their employees? Wow! You’re such a genius, you!
by Pat on Nov 19, 2008 9:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
yeah, you do need to elaborate. you need to point out that 10 people on the streets of New York will have a better chance of knowing who Junie Browning is over Babalu. you need to point out that a fighter in the UFC doesn’t have to fight in order to make money as a fighter. you think Matt Hughes would sell books if he dominated the ww division of Strikeforce? you think chuck would get paid what he does to go to parties if he was in Affliction? rich franklin and tito ortiz and randy couture are in action movies because of the UFC; not because they are fighters.
one more test; ask 10 people on the street what “mma” is; then ask them if they know what the “ufc” is. don’t be so stupid.
because of these things alone if ever i was offered a contract with the ufc for 60,000 or with affliction for 80,000 i’d be going with the ufc simply for the potential and name recognition.
by JB on Nov 19, 2008 3:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
well too bad youd never be offered 60k with the ufc… yes chuck liddell would make more money with affliction, (look at what they paid tim sylvia – 800k) anyways nevermind all that… the point is, ufc doesnt treat their fighters well, they dont cross promote which leaves fans missing out on all sorts of great match ups, and they do stuff like blackball andre arlovski and string him along for nearly a year over contract issues. how is a guy making 4k a fight supposed to go a year without fighting? answer that question and ill give you a trophy… otherwise, you failed, go back to school and come back at me with some valid points for why the UFC does this crap
by brendan on Nov 19, 2008 4:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
“well too bad youd never be offered 60k with the ufc” – was that supposed to make me cry? of course i never will be offered that.
“anyways nevermind all that” – alright; even though that was babalu’s point…
“they dont cross promote which leaves fans missing out on all sorts of great match ups” – there’s two sides to that; it takes two to tango; someone could argue ‘why don’t the best fighters sign with the ufc so the fans could get their match ups?’ perspective buddy.
“and they do stuff like blackball andre arlovski and string him along for nearly a year over contract issues.” – question, how much money would you spend on promoting a fighter if you knew he was going to leave when his contract was up? think about it. what the UFC does in turning these guys into stars isn’t cheap.
“how is a guy making 4k a fight supposed to go a year without fighting?” – quite sure I already answered that above but thanks for coming out. (i.e.book signings, mma shows, simply name-dropping “ufc fighter” to get paid to party at the hottest clubs etc.)
where’s my trophy idiot?
by JB on Nov 19, 2008 6:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
lets see… does rich franklin, chuck lidell, matt hughes, or tito ortiz make ANYWHERE near 4k a fight? no, and they already have their names established so that they can do stuff like signings, movies etc. in between fights. how are you proving anything with that? what is a guy like kevin burns going to do if the ufc doesnt give him a fight for a year? hes going to get a job in the regular world or find fights elsewhere… any other invalid points i can shut down?
by brendan on Nov 19, 2008 8:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Cross-promoting is very hard. The UFC tried to do it with Pride for Chuck-Wandy when both guys were at their peak. But it was Pride who tried to screw the UFC in the deal.
by Pat on Nov 19, 2008 11:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Brendan, all you have are hypotheses. Where are your facts? The fact is the one time the UFC tried to cross-promote, they got screwed over. They lent Chuck to Pride for the MW grand prix. UFC make NOTHING out of the PPV. Then when it was time for Pride to return the favour (lend Wandy), they tried dicking around with the contract so that it eventually made no sense for the UFC to have Wandy fight for them.
Also, it’s Fedor’s management that are ridiculous. They wanted Fedor’s whole team in the UFC, among other crazy demands. Dana White has never even met Fedor. He’s always had to talk to Fedor’s management. Bottom line is the cost would have outweighed the return.
Since when did the UFC become a charity?
by Pat on Nov 19, 2008 11:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
brendan, shouldn’t you be studying? anyway…
first of all, this will not be kevin burns’ only fight this year. somehow, you have him confused with arlovski (?) not sure how that happened…what i am proving is this; being able to put “ufc fighter” behind your name is similar to saying you play for the miami heat; doesn’t matter if you ride the pine; you will get promotional work and get paid for it. jon fitch even said himself that his sponsors will pay him more for wearing their fight shorts in the octagon in the UFC than anywhere else. kevin burns may not be an established name but the UFC is. houston alexander is 2-3 in the Octagon and he has his own radio show that i garauntee he isn’t doing for free. don’t even get me started on revenue from after-parties, special one day only sessions at mma gyms, hosting UFC events at night clubs when you aren’t fighting…
man, this is so elementary i can’t believe i even have to explain it…
by JB on Nov 22, 2008 1:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Great interview. Thanks for bringing that to us.. Hope Babalu takes this one.
by Ed on Nov 19, 2008 1:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
i hope he kills southworth i hate that punk
by randy murders on Nov 19, 2008 2:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
He will, no worries. I really just can’t see Southworthless beating Babalu without a weapon.
by medecine balls on Nov 19, 2008 2:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I cant see him beating him with a weapon lol.
by belfort_fan on Nov 19, 2008 5:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
How sick would that be to see him and Cung Le or even him and Shamrock? I think there are some interesting fights for him in Strikeforce if he moved back and forth. I could see him going on and winning 2-3 in a row and signing with the UFC and possibly a Tito fight..I like Babulu
by Brandon on Nov 19, 2008 4:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
me too….I see a Tito/Babalu fight in the UFC in 09
by McArthur on Nov 19, 2008 8:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Tito would get strangled like a pretzel, even if Rogan says he has a very underrated ground game…
by Syd[a.k.a. "The Negation"] on Nov 20, 2008 1:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I wonder if the speed coach is for general speed or boxing speed or a combination? Babalu is my favorite fighter, can’t wait till Friday night! What is Southworth like? I hear alot of people say that he is an ass, why?
by jeremy holloway on Nov 19, 2008 9:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
First season of TUF he called Chris Leben a “fatherless Bastard.” Chris Leben is totally fatherless so yeah kind of a F’d up thing to say.
by medecine balls on Nov 19, 2008 5:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
This really opened my eyes about Babalu… No Tito BS here. He took responsibility for his actions and didn’t blame the UFC or cry about double standards. A real warrior and a hopefully a real champion… I hope Southworth gets his face smashed in and choked unconscious
by sp00ner1234 on Nov 19, 2008 11:11 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Spooner: Same thing here. I have a lot more respect for the guy. He probably didn’t want to bad mouth the ufc, but it was a good interview and he was very respectful. He really has matured as a fighter and a person. WAR: BABALU
by BOW on Nov 19, 2008 3:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
If the ufc was smart they would re-sign renato because they could make so many interesting matches with him !! ….. if both fighters win their next fights a shogun vs. babalu II fight would sell good ….. throw it on the ufc 100 card since babalu has a fight with lindland shortly and shogun should really try to chock up another win after beat down on coleman
by wm133 on Nov 19, 2008 3:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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