Las Vegas, NV– Renato “Babalu” Sobral, 195, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil UD 3 Robbie Lawler, 195, Granite City, Il. In a fight that could have no doubt gone either way, Renato Sobral (36-8, 5 KOs, 18 SUBs) earned a unanimous decision victory over Lawler (17-6, 14 KOs, 1 SUB). Sobral was able to score well to Lawler’s body with kicks, marking up his ribs with bruises and welts. Lawler on the other hand, focused on his opponent’s head, cutting and bruising the face of Sobral. With the win, Sobral earns a shot at the Strikeforce light heavyweight (205 lbs) champ, King Mo Lawal (7-0, 5 KOs), a close friend and sparring partner. Sobral stated post fight that he rather have a rematch with Dan Henderson (25-8, 11 KOs, 1 SUB), who was the first man to beat him in a bout some ten years ago.
UNDERCARD RESULTS & FEDOR TOO!
Evangelista Santos, 170, Rondonopolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil KO 1 Marious Zaromskis, 170, Siauliai, Lithuania. It seems that the drop from middleweight (185 lbs) to welterweight (170) for Santos (18-13, 11 KOs, 5 SUBs) was a very good move as he looked better than I have ever seen him. Both fighters landed good shots early in the fight but it was Santos who was seemingly getting the better of the action all the way up to a well timed knockout punch as Zaromskis (13-5, 10 KOs, 1 SUB) leapt in with a flying knee.
Tim Kennedy, 185, San Luis Obispo, CA SUB 1 Trevor Prangley, 185, Cape Town, South Africa. The bout started off fast and furious as both men jockeyed for position in close quarters and on the ground until Kennedy (12-2, 5 KOs, 6 SUBs) was able to slip into a dominate position and wrap up a choke on Prangley (22-6-1, 4 KOs, 9 SUBs), forcing him to tap.
K.J. Noons, 155, San Diego, CA SD 3 Conor Heun, 155, Boulder, CO. In a fight full of action, Noons (9-2, 7 KOs) got the nod over a very game Conor Heun (8-4, 1 KO, 5 SUBs). Both men were hurt more than once in the fight and Heun showed that despite coming in on less than two weeks notice, he was there to win; unfortunately for him, only one of the three judges felt he had done so.
FEDOR COMING TO SHOWTIME & SAN JOSE, CA!
Don’t forget to tune in to Showtime in just nine days on June 26th to catch their next card headlined by uncrowned heavyweight kingpin Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 8 KOs, 16 SUBs) as he takes on Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1, 4 KOs, 7 SUBs).
Matt “All Meat” Grizzle