Babalu On Southworth: “This Was The Biggest Mistake Of His Career”

Babalu On Southworth:  “This  Was The Biggest Mistake Of His Career”
SAN JOSE, Calif. — There  isn’t another fighter in the sport of mixed
martial arts (MMA) whose physical  appearance coincides with his character more so
than that of Renato “Babalu” Sobral (30-7).  At 33 years of age, the Brazilian
native  and Jiu-Jitsu black belt has firmly ingrained in the minds of his
followers a  look and demeanor that, coupled together, amount to a pretty
startling and  somewhat scary individual. 
Less  than a week out from his long-awaited showdown with Strikeforce World
Light  Heavyweight (205 lb. limit) Champion, Bobby Southworth (9-5), a
notorious  rogue in his own right, Sobral is spewing words indicating his firm
intention to  humble the defending crown holder.   
“Bobby  called me out and I gladly accepted the challenge,” said Sobral.  “
On Friday, the world will learn what  Bobby already knows – that this was the
biggest mistake of his  career.”
Over  the years he has spent mastering his craft, Sobral has produced more
than his  share of submissions.  Given what  seems to be a disproportionate
training schedule, leaning heavily towards  western boxing, that he has maintained
for this bout, though, all signs indicate  that the challenger will attempt
to keep the fight standing and let his hands  fly.
“I’m  going to be looking for the knockout,” said Sobral, who has been
putting in  hours upon hours of work with former world championship boxing
contender, Justin  Fortune.  Sobral hooked up with  Fortune shortly after relocating
from Brazil to the Los Angeles area.  “If I have to break my hand on his face, 
I will.”
Despite  the tough talk directed at his opponent, Sobral is a man with a soft
side –  especially when it comes to kids.  At his brand new, state of the art
gym in Cerritos, he is insistent upon  instructing nearly all of the children’
s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu  classes.
“It  is important to me that they receive the best instruction possible so
that they  learn the fundamentals of this art,” he said.  “I want to share with
them something  that has been a guiding force in my life.”
When  the subject of conversation turns back to Friday’s showdown with
Southworth,  though, Sobral becomes all business again.
“I  will be a100 percent and I’m going to push the pace.  I will be very
aggressive in this  fight.”
Tickets  for Strikeforce “Destruction,” priced from $30, are on sale at the
HP Pavilion  box office (408-287-7070) as well as at all Ticketmaster
locations (408-998-TIXS), Ticketmaster  online (_www.ticketmaster.com_
(http://www.ticketmaster.com/) ), and on Strikeforce’s official website
(_www.strikeforce.com_ (http://www.strikeforce.com/) ).   
Middleweight  (185 lb. limit) knockout artists Scott  “Hands of Steel” Smith
(13-5) and Terry Martin (18-5) will collide in a  featured contest as will
world Muay Thai champion Duane “Bang” Ludwig (17-8) and Yves Edwards (34-14-1)
at a catch  weight of 164 lbs.
Kim  Couture (0-1),  wife of mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Randy “The
Natural” Couture, will make  her Strikeforce debut against Lina  Kvokov (0-1) in a
130 lb. limit  contest.
Joe  “Diesel” Riggs  (28-11) will make his return to the welterweight (170
lb. limit) division in a  matchup with Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Luke
Stewart (6-1).   
HP Pavilion  doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for Strikeforce “Destruction” and
the first  preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m.   The main card will commence
at  7:30 p.m.
The  live HDNet telecast of Strikeforce “Destruction” will begin at 10 p.m.
EST (7  p.m. PST).
About Strikeforce:
Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial  arts cage fight promotion which,
on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with  its “Shamrock vs. Gracie”
event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight  card in California state
history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank 
Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP 
Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995,
Strikeforce has been the  exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN
and, after 12 years of  success as a leading, world championship kickboxing
promotion, the company  unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs.
Gracie.”  Since then, it has co-produced the first  SHOWTIME PPV mixed
martial arts event in history with its world championship  “Shamrock vs. Baroni”
card on June 22, 2007 followed by the first-ever mixed  martial arts event at
the world-famous Playboy Mansion on September 29,  2007.  On April 12th of  this
year, Strikeforce launched the first-ever 52 week MMA series on one of the 
four major television networks in The U.S. – NBC.