"I just had a baby two weeks ago so I was unable to fight on the Strikeforce show. My family is very important to me and Strikeforce was great with that. I’d like to apologize to Rafael 'Feijao' for not being able to fight him. I would love to fight him in the future and I will be back to defend my light heavyweight title … Now all my focus is on Gegard Mousasi. I have seen his last few fights; he is a huge challenge for me. I look forward to stepping in there against a former Dream Middleweight Champion. This fight will be champion vs. champion...Mousasi is coming up from 185 but size will not offer any advantages to me. Mousasi just beat a huge man in Mark Hunt. We both have great styles so this fight will come down to youth vs. experience. Mousasi is a young hungry fighter. He wants it. We will see which mindset wins out."
-- Renato "Babalu" Sobral
"Sobral is so tough. When he comes he comes to fight. He has a good wrestling and jiu-jitsu background. He is near the top 10 of fighters in the division so it will be a good test for me. I don’t pick my opponents and I was very happy with this choice. With Sobral, I will try to fight stand up game. If it goes to the ground I will take top position and work him over with my ground and pound. Sobral will have to watch out for my elbows; I want to use them in this fight. If I end up on my back, I can defend myself and eventually we will stand back up again. This fight will be and all out war; and exciting fight…If it were for the WAMMA light heavyweight title that would be great … After Sobral, I will fight Sokoudjou in the Dream open weight tournament. I am young and have not had injuries. So I enjoy this schedule. If I feel good I want to fight a lot. It is my profession."
-- Gegard Mousasi
-- Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Gegard Mousasi talk up their looming 205-pound showdown in the co main event at Affliction: "Trilogy" on Aug. 1 during a recent press conference. It could be a show stealer -- Sobral certainly has the experience and complete mixed martial arts arsenal to fend off the young phenom in Mousasi, but will he be able to put it all together on fight night? Sobral is currently riding a five-fight win streak, submitting Rameau Sokoudjou midway through the second round in his last appearance for the promotion at "Day of Reckoning." As for Mousasi, the 24-year-old phenom is enjoying a 12-fight win streak. His most recent win came against the "Hulkish" Mark Hunt in the DREAM 9 open weight tournament. Will he be able to defy the odds against a cagey veteran like his Brazilian counterpart or will his blistering pace finally be stopped? You tell us.