Renato “Babalu” Sobral will meet David Heath (7-1) in a light heavyweight showdown at UFC 74: “Respect” on August 25.
Heath confirmed the rumored bout with UFCmania earlier this afternoon.
For the last few weeks, Internet boards and MMA sites lit up with the possibility that Babalu might meet Mauricio “Shogun” Rua later this year, providing Rua with an opportunity to avenge a loss earlier in his career in his Octagon debut.
It looks like Rua — and some fans — are going to have to wait a little while longer for that to happen.
Heath is coming off his first career loss, dropping a unanimous decision to the often frustrating Ryoto Machida at UFC 70 in April. Prior to that bout, Heath was on a two-fight UFC win streak, besting Victor Valimaki at UFC Fight Night 7 (split-decision) and Corey Walmsley at UFC 62 (submission).
Babalu is also in search of redemption, looking to put an end to a two-fight losing streak. Before the skid, which included consecutive losses to Chuck Liddell and Jason Lambert, the Brazlian grappler was on a ridiculous 10-fight, three-year win streak.
He was once at the top of the 205-pound division, and now he finds himself in a must-win situation against a hungry and talented Heath.
UFC 74 — tickets for which go on sale next week (July 5) — is set for the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
And the way this fight card is shaping up, don’t expect them to last too long.
29 Comments »
Booooo!!!!
[quote comment="93816"]Booooo!!!![/quote]
LMAO!
Machida vs. Rua then?
I was afraid of this. Shogun vs a can, and Babalu vs a fighter I don’t know. People were complaining that Babalu was an unworthy opponent for Shogun’s first fight, I wonder what they’ll say now…
heath is tough as shit but still 2nd rate fighter
babalu by sub in the 2nd
its a good fight, heath is no puss, but i say babalu by submission late 2nd or early 3rd…this card now has some nice talent from every weight class…
hw: couture/gonzaga and tim sylvia
lhw: babalu/heath
mw: kendall and lutter
ww: gsp/kos and diego/sakurai
lw: joe stevenson
i like 74 a lot, some of my favorite guys fighting that night, should be fun…
This is a crap fight but hopefully Babalu will come back from this at make some noise in 205 again like prior to the last two fights
[quote comment="93852"]This is a crap fight but hopefully Babalu will come back from this at make some noise in 205 again like prior to the last two fights[/quote]
It ain’t over until the Tim Sylvia is singing.
Babalu-Lambert was a “crap” fight. Lambert had been decked by Rashad Evans prior to that so he seemed like a crap fighter. The fact that Heath went the distance against Machida, that’s pretty good. I hope Babalu gets back on track with this one. If he loses this, he should be thinking WEC. As in maybe he can hand out towels at the WEC events.
Alright Babalu is fighting in UFC 74 now thats cool.. I guess i am not driving that month to the bar hehe.. Chuckland Meow halla back at yo boy! Babalu is fighting the same night as GSP….
Babalu’s got this.
Easy fight for Babalu he really needs a win in the UFC.
[quote comment="93887"]Babalu’s got this.[/quote]
That’s what I thought about the Lambert fight. I saw on a post about a month after the Lambert fight that Babalu was moving to the U.S. and was going to some training with team Quest in California and Chuck in St. lo. Has anyone else seen or heard this. I hope he does and improves his stand up. I would love to see him get on another winning streak. It sucks to see your favorite fighter loose the way he has lost the last two.
I also wonder if this fight will be a featured bout? This is shaping up to be a great card as well.
[quote comment="93843"]Machida vs. Rua then?[/quote]
Should be, but Dana doesnt know true talent. Machida wiped the floor with this guy. It was not much fun to watch, because it was so one sided. Hopefully Dana isnt clueless and rewards the dude that destroyed the first two opponents he got by giving him someone worthy of him.
MACHIDA!
[quote comment="93843"]Machida vs. Rua then?[/quote]
fucking a!
[quote comment="93912"]I also wonder if this fight will be a featured bout? This is shaping up to be a great card as well.[/quote]
awesome card indeed, i also think Babalu will take this, hes a lot bigger and stronger then Heath.
I was realy suprised when I watched Babaloos last fight aagainst Lambert the way he was rushing in with his hands down (especialy since his last UFC apearence he was KOed by Chuck Liddell for exactly that reason) I actualy said to me mam hes gonna get KTFO here watch,and what happened,he ran face first into Jason Lamberts fist and you could see the shockwave ripple through his head and ear.
I dont think Babaloo has got what it takes to ever be champ,hes got the strength the skill but not the brain.Its obvious he learned nothing from his second loss to Liddell and if he still hasnt learned I could definitly see David Heath KO him.
I don’t know..after bablu got ko’d by man boobs aka jason lambert I’m suspect of his abilities.
Lambert was a crap fight, HE BEAT THE SHIT OUTA BABALU!
Why you guys got yerselves all hyped up over Shogun – babalu fight is beyond me. There is NO big named marketable fighter that is gonna walk into the UFC and fight a top fighter in their division. It just flat out wont happen…
Machida-Shogun would match two top contenders against each other. For that reason it won’t happen unless one of them is wearing a polished steel plate around his waist.
On ufc.com it shows David Heath as being 9-0 and then his most recent loss to Machida is right at the top. I wouldn’t expect the records to be exact on there since they include non-UFC results but that should be kind of obvious to the person updating the site. “Oh hey, this guy is unbeaten! Too bad he lost his last fight. Dooo dumm dumm…”
[quote comment="94126"]I was realy suprised when I watched Babaloos last fight aagainst Lambert the way he was rushing in with his hands down (especialy since his last UFC apearence he was KOed by Chuck Liddell for exactly that reason) I actualy said to me mam hes gonna get KTFO here watch,and what happened,he ran face first into Jason Lamberts fist and you could see the shockwave ripple through his head and ear.
I dont think Babaloo has got what it takes to ever be champ,hes got the strength the skill but not the brain.Its obvious he learned nothing from his second loss to Liddell and if he still hasnt learned I could definitly see David Heath KO him.[/quote]
Babalu looked terrible in the lambert fight, i hope he sharpened up heath is a bad ass
Everyone thinks Lambert is just a slouch newb. Dude is a HARDENED vet.. Beat IFL’s golden boy Ben Rothwell… few other big names… ironman for one.
Babalu will rip this guys head off
[quote comment="94181"]I don’t know..after bablu got ko’d by man boobs aka jason lambert I’m suspect of his abilities.[/quote]
Lambert has the height of a welterweight and the width of a heavyweight LOL.
Im goin for Sobral with this one.
[quote comment="95590"]Im goin for Sobral with this one.[/quote]
How could you not.
[quote comment="93882"]Alright Babalu is fighting in UFC 74 now thats cool.. I guess i am not driving that month to the bar hehe.. Chuckland Meow halla back at yo boy! Babalu is fighting the same night as GSP….[/quote]
no doubt, you know my boy Babalu will win early in round 2 by submission and you boy Pierre will win early in round 2 also but by TKO…WOOF!!!
I think this is a great matchup. Heath has quick and unorthodox stand stand up. And he also has good takedown defense. Babalu won’t be able to match his stand up and might not be able to take him down. And even if he does, Heath has submitted several opponents also.
I hope Babalu wins, not just because he is my fav fighter but it is a shame to see one of the top 205 pounders fall fom grace like he has. People seem to forget the calibre of fighters he has fought against and won. Babalu 2nd round submission for me!