Interview with Renato Babalu

In an interview with Gracie Magazine, Renato Sobral, known as Babalu, spoke about the turbulent moment in his career, after being fired by the UFC, he signed a contract with HCF, Strikeforce, Rings os Fire and Xcess Fighting.

Tell us a little about how your last fight unfolded.

Babalu: I've been training a lot, so I was well prepared. The guy was a striker for Overeen and Semmy Schilt's team, Golden Glory. I put him down, passed him and ended up catching him in the katagatami, the fight lasted two and a half minutes.

And what about your next fight against Vernon White?

Babalu: The guy is a veteran of several events, I will respect him like everyone who respects me. I'm going to go up, play my game, if he gives up I'll finish.

How is training going in general?

Babalu: I'm training hard as always. I'm doing my Jiu-Jitsu at Gracie Barra here in California, which is close to where I live, in Orange County. We have some very good training sessions with Cachorrinho, Rômulo Barral, Roberto Tussa, Marcinho Feitosa, as well as many others. I do the MMA part at the CSW gym, with some really good guys, including Josh Barnett.

Is Josh Barnett too tough?

Babalu: Very. The guy weighs a hundred pounds and is very technical. But I train with anyone.

Changing the subject, do you have any regrets about the UFC? You now have a lot of contracts, can you live well without the UFC?

Babalu: None. On the contrary, I am very grateful for the organization that promoted me and helped me a lot in my career. Nowadays the problem with the UFC is that there are a lot of good fighters there and that's why they end up fighting very little and I like fighting all the time. Now I have a lot of commitments, I'm earning more than I did when I was in the UFC. I ended up doing well, but I'm fully aware that I'm recognized nowadays thanks to the UFC too. It's like a father who fights with his son, you don't hold grudges and as Dana White said, the doors are not closed to me. I have my convictions and my preferences, but if we have a lot of recognition today, it is with the help of the UFC.

How do you see the growth of MMA in the world?

Babalu: Here in the United States the sport is becoming very big, it is being shown directly on open television, last week there was a special on CBS, which is Rede Globo here. The fighters here have a lot of recognition, as do athletes in other sports, such as basketball. Sometimes it makes me sad to know that in Brazil we don't have much recognition, apart from the people who follow us or are in the environment, no one else knows us fighters, who are here representing and raising the name of Brazil out here. O Anderson Silva He's the champion here, he's beaten a lot of good people and we don't see him being welcomed at the airport with a Brazilian flag, parading in a fire engine and things like that. I've never seen the president receiving a fighter in Brasília, but I've seen him receiving some people who have nothing to do with it. It's a little sad that we athletes have to move in order to get good recognition.