Renato Babalu Sobral VS David Heath UFC 74 Choke Video

IMO Sobral fought a great fight from start to finish. The “anaconda choke out” wasn’t held that long. It appeared that both fighters were covered in blood. I think he was just fighting all the way till the end. Once the Ref “Steve” got the fight under control Sobral let go.

More of a problem was that “Steve” (the ref) didn’t stop the fight earlier. I watched the fights on PPV and I was wondering where all the blood came from. Out of curiosity I researched the fights and found the fight. IMO the “Steve” should have stopped the fight a little earlier. Sobral was destroying Heath, every effort of his body and mind appeared to be focused on beating Heath.

Again IMO the only bad thing about the fight was that the REF didn’t stop the fight earlier.

Other than that I am very impressed with Sobral and think he deserves to keep fighting in the UFC. I look forward to his next fight.

Yeah i gotta agree with the above poster. That might have been one of the bloodiest fights i have seen since the early days of the ufc. Definately should have been stopped before the choke even happened. Both were completely covered in heaths blood. I would say at the very least it should have been stopped for a doctor to check him. As for renato’s penalty, even though he fought an incredible fight, It does hurt the ufc reputation giving its critics more ammo, so something should happen to him. I dont know about taking 25000 from him but some disciplinary action should occur

Babalu should be fined and that is it. I am sick of all these people sounding like old ladies blowing this out of proportion by saying he could have died. It takes the brain a lot longer than three seconds to lack oxygen before you die or duffer any damage. Besides, David Heath decided to make this fight personal by wearing a t-shirt with babalu’s mug shot on it, and than talking shit to him at the weigh in’s. Then he goes into the ring and gets his ass kicked and flat out embarrassed by being put to sleep. Babalu taught him a lesson in respect and let him know we don’t need any more Tito shit talkers in the UFC. I guarantee you Heath will be thinking twice before he starts talking shit about peoples personal life again. Babalu is an awesome fighter who actually beat “shogun” rua. I hope the UFC puts a rematch between them.

in this sport, respect is number 1. respect your opponent! respect all, but fear none. what happened at the weight in was not ‘building up’ the excitement for the fight, heath was straight up talking shit! he showed no respect for his opponent, so he got what he deserved, a lesson. its the same way when you were in high school, you could talk shit to some dork, but when that dork had enough and flips out (like the movie a christmas story) that dork will teach you a lesson!!!! (and im definately not coalling Babalu a dork!) its the same thing when st. pierre weighted in and went to koschek and took the picture… he said something like “im gunna beat you”… that is definately fair! not calling someone a motherfu*ker and soforth… what goes around comes around!

Enough with the bs. He needs to be banned on a national level and thrown to the wolves. To many warriors have trained and bled to build this sport and Renato comes in and pulls a life threating stunt like this. This is the greatest sport and science with potential to explode. This is another argument to shut the sport down which is a same. Fighters know not to give their opponents any opportunity. This moran has know buisness fighting. String him up!!!!!!!!

heath got what he deserved. what babalu did is no more in the wrong than what happened to crocop after gonzaga kicked his head off and followed up with three haymakers or when rashad evans knocked out solemon and followed up with bombs. they knew the guy was out but this is a fight not a game of grab ass. if bablu gets suspended i will be pissed because he is always entertaining as a fighter and one of the best in that division. heath should be suspended for sucking at what he does.

Wow! I heard about this on Ferrel this morning about how Dana White didn’t show this fight because he didn’t want UFC to look bad. So I researched it and found it here. (it has been pulled off other sites) So I was even more curious to see it. I have watched every UFC since the first one. I don’t see what the big deal is. So he held him for few seconds more…. like some one else said any one see BJ Penns fight? Gracie the guy who made UFC what it is was the same way… its called a combat sport they go in there to fight. He talked shit and got the shit beat out of him. Babalu should fight in UFC again. If Dana wants to teach him a lesson put him up against a stroger apponent to get beat up. HEY HOW ABOUT BABALO vs SILVA?
I also agree Steve should have stopped this fight right after the cut. I have seen fight stopped for much less.

I agree with the last post. If some pussy did that shit to me at the weigh-ins, I would have done the same thing. The reason Dana is so made is because Sobral doesn’t suck his dick like alot of the UFC fighters. If Babalu is cut from the UFC, I will not continue to rent the fights anymore. Babalu kicks ass

Heath is an idiot for making it personal and he got what he deserved. I cant believe it took someone this long to do something like this with all the trash talk and hype before the fights. Ive been training MMA since 1993 and fought in an amature circuit for 4 years. When you make it personal and take the respect out of it what do you expect to happen IN A FIGHT! All the people complaining dont understand it, plain and simple. Watch the first few UFC’s and youll quickly understand what respect is about. The guys dont talk crap, most are friends or at least friendly, and its skill vs. skill. Todays MMA is human cock fighting, theyve made rules to make it more popular and violent. Only art separates us from chickens or dogs, this isnt so odd really. All the idiots crying about the Mike Vick thing wondering how someone could do something so despicable: Look at boxing, its the same thing, only the guys arent killed after. I do not condone dog fighting or cock fighting, but those animals are bread for that just as us MMA fighters are trained for it. There is no difference. Babalu taught an idiot, smart mouth, no respect punk that he should watch what he says and does. Babalu shoulda put him in an arm lock and broke his arm. That woulda been better.

Ive just read that Babalu has been ‘released’ from his UFC contract. I think thats a very harsh decision by Dana White, surely a fine or temporary ban is punishment enough.
The media forget quickly, so couldnt have seen this fight degrading the sport a great deal.

No doubt Dana White will have to make plenty of important decisions over the coming years for much, much more controversial and serious going-ons with fighters and the sport. Lets hope he gets those right.

I’ll still pay watch Babalu fight anytime.

I agree that the ref was to blame. He let the fight go on for way too long. Also, when he did stop it, he didn’t do it correctly. Babalu said he didn’t feel Heath tap and he didn’t feel the ref tap him either. Notice how when the ref pushed both of his hands on Babalu’s shoulder, Babalu felt it and immediately let go, plus he held it for about only 3 seconds over. I also find it interesting that BJ Penn did the same thing to Jens Pulver in the TUF Finale and he didn’t receive any punishment.

Babaloo should not be banned. It is not always possible to release the emotions immediately in such a situation, especially when you are wound up by such a disrespectful idiot as Heath. Would he have banned one of his golden boys had they done the same?

GOODBYE Babaloo! He should be band! It is possible to “release the emotions immediately”! How come everyone else can let go when the ref stops? Why did Babaloo say “I did it to teach him a lesson”, in the post fight interview? Have fun fighting in some back alley brawls Babaloo!

I’m disgusted that any of you would support what this classless moron did, or try to defend him. It is a SACRED RULE. When a man taps… IT’S OVER. No ifs, ands or buts. This guy has no honor.

When you get in that ring you have to trust that the other fighter will honor that. I don’t give a rats ass what Heath SAID. Those are just words. In the ring, you honor the sport and you live by the rules. The rules that you yourself trust your other opponents to honor if you go out, or if you tap.

This guy is a disgrace. he hurt the sport. he disgraced the sport. Thus, the sport must disgrace him. Kick him out.

He didn’t hold that choke for very long, certainly not long enough to warrant such extreme punishment.

I completely agree with Campea. This is a sport not a back alley brawl. All of these people defending Babalu because he “only” held the choke for an extra 2 or 3 secondsare trying to throw the sport back into the dark ages. I have been watching UFC since day 1 and although I don’t agree with all of the rules that the have brought in since then they have taken something that was basically a Kumetei style bloodsport and turned it into a true sport. You have to respect the other fighters and you have to respect the refs and you have to respect the rules. To look a ref in the eye and continue to choke a guy out is beyond uncalled for, regardless of what was said at the weigh ins. All of you people defending Bablu and saying that the UFC is “pussifying” the sport should just go back to watching Bum Fights.

Mazagatti should have stopped the fight long before the tap, at least to check the gash. I have seen it done for a lot less blood. He should be reprimanded for not stopping it.

Babalu but not releasing is just BS! As many of you have said it’s dangerous, disrespectful and reckless. I have watched the UFC grow from day 1. It has come so far but can’t continue to grow with people like Babalou. The sportsmanship and respect that most of these guys have is what keeps the sport what it is. The trust of your opponent to follow the rules and the ref to enforce them is absolutely neccessary in a sport such as this.

As for his punishment, yeah 25k is a relatively large amount of money to take but I don’t think he will learn his lesson. I think a suspension or expulsion is needed to get the point across to him and the rest of the fighters that things of that nature will not be tolerated. If fighters begin acting as Babalu the UFC and all is stands for is gone.

Bad blood and competition, that’s what they promote and hype. Babalu made a statement…”he’s back and ready to kick ass.” No holds barred!! No big deal on putting him to sleep. If he was a “real” fighter, he would never have tapped in the first place. He would have fought until he went to sleep. It’s just part of the UFC and MMA. Don’t make it a soft sport…it has softened enough so the masses will embrace it!! Take a look back to the beginning of UFC to see what they used to do. This is nothing!!!

the cut was near the top of the head and so it looked worst than what it really was. many fighters talk shit, but babalu did it in the octagon, what is wrong with that? props to bablu on his win! as an mma fighter if you talk shit you better follow through with it. heath just did not follow through. babalu just helped him sleep over it!

Wherever you stand with your attitude to the UFC the fact remains that on the biggest stage babalu decided to take the fight “too far”. Whether it happens all the time or not, it does not excuse the fact that he bought a contensious sport into disrepute and this sort of damage may be talked about for years to come.

So the question is “Why?” Why would you do that in front of a huge live audience on the biggest stage? He has damaged the sport and Dana White has no choice but to implement damage control by never allowing babalu to fight in the UFC again.

Simple facts are, UFC fighters are full contact fighters with very few rules protecting them. There MUST be a line drawn otherwise this sort of thing may start to weed its way into the UFC on a more regular bases and if this occurs we may go back to the days where pay TV refuses to show the sport.

Is that really what MMA supporters want simply becaue they thought he was in his right to teach Heath a lesson? Do we really want to see sanctions enforced upon the sport with possibly a complete ban? Of course the answer is no, so do not encourage what babalu did in any way shape or form as you are only adding fuel to those who argue against the sport (and even those who are campaigning for its ban).

If the sport is one day banned because of babalu, I’m sure there will be a few people changing their tone about supporting babalu’s actions. C’mon guys, this is a sport which is on the cutting edge, you simply can not risk this sort of behaviour whether you like to watch it or not.

Rant over

No matter what Sobral or Heath did both should be sanction. Heath to irrespects sobral, got his ass kick, but Sobral irrespects the sport of the MMA. He will be sanction for another fighter…one of this day, sooner o later he will be cought for a true MMA fighter. Besides that all that bullshit… I do not like sobral neither heats
Mazagatti he should stops the fight… or Heath corner…
Referee for this fights should be imposed to the fighter will, they shoul have more power than just take a point out I think that they should have the power in some cases to desqualified a fighter like bad attitute, like mother fuc… Sobral.

Renato and David’s fight was by far one of the bloodiest fights i’ve ever seen, and not just in the UFC. In my opinion, Steve is an insecure s.o.b. who only refs for a quick power trip and should have never been hired in the ufc in the first place. the choke that everyone seems to be so upset over, never should have happened because any ref who actually cared about the fighters safety and not creating some low-budget horror film would have had that cut checked. Renato is exactly what i like to see in a fighter. i will agree that yes, he may have took things a little too far, and yea, even some of the best fighters talk shit, but with what little details i have of the situation, i believe Heath was very immature and classless in the way he went about it. it is an absolute insult to all ufc fans to ban such an incredible fighter like Renato. Heath learned a lesson, hopefully steve learned a lesson and will eventually be a better ref, though i doubt that he will, and Renato is and always will be someone i respect very much and i hope to be able to continue watching him fight. also, for those of you who disagree and automaticly think babalou should be banned, i only ask that you try to keep an open mind and realize how hard babalou has worked to become what he is and that it shouldnt all be thrown away for someone like david heath who obviously only thinks of himself.

ref should be selling popcord in the little leagues

All these critics with their nonsense antics and cries for help to ban this sport because of one isolated incidence. I’ve been in many grappling matches where I didn’t tap our and passed out, you wake up and feel the same way as you did before you went to sleep. If RS kept the hold on for 3 minutes after he passed out, then yes, Heath would have suffered brain damage. Since RS did this intentionally, he should be fined and allowed to fight later. Banning him and the sport if ridiculous and absurd. The ref should have stopped this fight before he got to the the gator roll submission.

“I’ve been in many grappling matches where I didn’t tap our and passed out, you wake up and feel the same way as you did before you went to sleep.”

Brain damage is cumulative.

“If RS kept the hold on for 3 minutes after he passed out, then yes, Heath would have suffered brain damage.”

No, you’re confusing a blood choke with asphyxiation. They are NOT the same.

Asphyxiation is when no OXYGEN is getting to the LUNGS. This eventually leads to depletion of oxygen in the blood, but it takes a while (David Blaine went 17 minutes!) for the oxygen to be used up, and you remain conscious the whole time.

A blood choke cuts off BLOOD FLOW to the BRAIN. Huge difference. You become unconscious within SECONDS, at which point it’s doing brain damage. You can kill someone very easily. Continuing to hold it when the ref is trying to pry your arms off is completely fucking reprehensible.

“Banning him and the sport is ridiculous and absurd.”

Fuck no it’s not. Not if you want it to actually BE a sport.

UFC used to just be a circus. It was essentially human cock-fighting. It was banned in a lot of big markets. For it to grow, it had to be taken seriously as a real sport. So they created rules designed to prevent serious injury or death. You can no longer strike the nuts, the throat, the back of the head, etc.

Some psycho who is willing to look the ref in the eye and maintain a blood choke NEEDS to be removed from the sport, for the sake of the sport. Period. They did exactly the right thing.

“The ref should have stopped this fight before he got to the the gator roll submission.”

I agree with that.

“he did it on purpose to show david heath that he needed to show some respect to a fighter with superior skills”

Sobral has already beat the shit out of Heath, drenched him in his own blood, and had choked him into submission. Heath tapped out. Sobral won, decisively. That was more than enough.

Yet he chose to violate the rules of the game, to ignore the tapout, to ignore the ref, and potentially cause permanent harm to an already defeated foe who was no longer able to defend himself. And you suggest this was to teach a lesson about GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP?! *rofl*

You don’t teach anyone about ‘respect’ by behaving like a fucking douchebag. Sobral’s behavior is the ultimate example of BAD sportsmanship. More importantly, it was too dangerous. The rules and refs are there to protect people, to prevent the sport from having a ‘bad day’. If you don’t obey them, you don’t get to play. Period. Good riddance, Sobral.