UFC 62: Liddell-Sobral II and a TUF Rematch
Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral
Aug 25, 2006
LIDDELL: 6’ 2”, 205 pounds, 36, San Luis Obispo, Calif.,
known as “The Ice Man”
BACKGROUND: Kickboxer Chuck Liddell (Pictures) trains under John Hackelman with the Pit Fight Team. He was a collegiate wrestler at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Chuck won the IFC light heavyweight championship and held a North
American national kickboxing title (20-2 record in kickboxing)
before winning his first UFC belt in April 2005. The Brazilian
jiu-jitsu purple belt carries an 18-3-0 record in MMA.
MMA CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Made his pro MMA debut in 1998 and started his career with the UFC. His first major test outside the Octagon came in Brazil at IVC 6 where he battled Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures). “Pele” was already a hero in Brazil and had won numerous tournaments. To go half an hour with a legend in his own back yard showed Chuck was for real.
UFC EXPERIENCE: 13-2. Liddell made his Octagon debut at UFC 17 against Noe Hernandez and took a unanimous decision over the boxer. He returned to UFC 19 and lost to Jeremy Horn (Pictures) by a head-and-arm choke at the end of the first round. He would beat Paul Jones with strikes at UFC 22 and took a decision over Jeff Monson (Pictures) at UFC 29 in Japan, but it was the knockout of “The Monster” Kevin Randleman (Pictures) at UFC 31 that really made the world take notice. A highly anticipated bout was finished in just over a minute as Randleman hit the canvas early in the first round.
Liddell took a questionable decision victory over eventual UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) at UFC 33 and battled a tough but undersized Amar Suloev (Pictures) to win by decision at UFC 35. A victory over Vitor Belfort (Pictures) in a contender’s bout at UFC 37.5 opened the door to fight Tito Ortiz (Pictures), but Liddell took a risky bout with Renato Sobral (Pictures) at UFC 40 in the interim and won by knockout.
The Ortiz issue remained unresolved and Liddell would face Randy Couture (Pictures). Incredibly, Randy was able to out-strike the kickboxer and pound “The Iceman” for almost three full rounds before the stoppage.
Liddell finally met Ortiz in April 2004 and put all the questions to rest. He knocked out Tito and it set up a rematch with Couture for the title.
Not content to sit and wait for his shot, Liddell ended another rivalry and knocked out Lion’s Den fighter Vernon White (Pictures) at UFC 49. White was more of a challenge than some fans expected, but not too much for Liddell to handle.
In the rematch for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 52 Liddell knocked out Couture in just two minutes of action. One could speculate about a thumb in the eye setting up Couture’s downfall, but what is done is done.
Liddell settled another old score, laying a beating on Jeremy Horn (Pictures) at UFC 54. It took nearly 20 minutes to put him away, but Horn had problems seeing Chuck’s punches and the fight was stopped.
And at UFC 57 Couture and Liddell met for a third (and likely final) time. Much like the second meeting, Chuck kept the fight standing and finished the former champ early in the second round with strikes.
WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE BOUT: Chuck is an excellent striker. Early in his career his wrestling skills were overlooked but Chuck has solid takedown defense. He is not a submission artist by any stretch of the imagination. He may work for a choke but he’s only finished someone once without pounding ‘em.
SOBRAL: 6’ 1”, 205 pounds, 30, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, known as “Babalu”
BACKGROUND: Renato Sobral (Pictures) is a Brazilian national wrestling team member, a RINGS King of Kings 1999 finalist and the IFC Global Domination eight-man tournament champion. Sobral used to fight under the tutelage of UFC 7 tournament champion Marco Ruas (Pictures), as part of Ruas Vale Tudo, but he currently trains as part of the Gracie Barra Combat Team with Alexandre Dantas (Pictures), Marcio Cruz (Pictures) and a virtual army of top Brazilian fighters.
Lately he has been training with Carlos Gracie Jr. and at the Cuban School of Wrestling. “Babalu” sports a professional record of 27-5 in MMA.
MMA CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Sobral started fighting in Vale Tudo events in Brazil in 1999. He defeated Carlson Gracie Team member Fernando Cerchiari in the IVC 8 event and won the Circuito Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 5 eight-man tournament, beating PRIDE veteran Pedro Otavio among others.
Much of Sobral’s fighting history took place under RINGS rules (no striking to the head on the ground, quick stand-ups) but he’s faced some of the event’s best. He has beaten Mikhail Illoukhine (Pictures), Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures) (twice), Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures) and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Pictures), and lost decisions to Dan Henderson (Pictures) and Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures).
Sobral fought under the RINGS banner 13 times, including in both King of Kings tournaments, advancing to the final bout of the 1999 tournament (lost to Henderson by decision).
Away from RINGS “Babalu” soccer kicked the head of UFC vet Brad Kohler, knocking him out at WEF 8. After the loss to Liddell, Sobral turned his attention to Brazil and Europe, picking up wins in the Heat FC, Jungle Fight (over a beefed up Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures)) and the Cage Rage show in London.
He also won the IFC Global Domination tournament, beating UFC veterans Trevor Prangley (Pictures) and Jeremy Horn (Pictures) and PRIDE veteran Mauricio Rua (Pictures) in one night.
UFC EXPERIENCE: 5-2. In the Octagon he debuted at UFC 28 against Maurice Smith (Pictures) and went the distance with the former heavyweight champion. He returned to the UFC two years later (after facing Fedor) to battle Kevin Randleman (Pictures) and lost yet another decision. At UFC 38 Sobral beat Elvis Sinosic (Pictures), however, it went the distance again.
“Babalu” had yet to explode in the Octagon.
Four months later he tried to push the pace with Chuck Liddell (Pictures) at UFC 40 and paid for, eating a kick to the face in a spectacular KO. It looked bad at the time for Sobral but he hasn’t lost since, rattling off 10 straight wins. In a return to the UFC last April, Sobral armbarred Dave Menne (Pictures)-trained wrestler Travis Wiuff (Pictures) and then took pleasure in choking out Team Quest wrestler Chael Sonnen (Pictures) (the two had met before). Renato sealed his shot at the light heavyweight title by submitting Mike Van Arsdale (Pictures) in the first round of their bout at UFC 57.
WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE BOUT: Sobral is an excellent grappler and Brazilian national wrestling team member. He is the antithesis of Chuck in that he will use his striking to set up the submission. “Babalu” (which means “Bubble gum” in Portuguese) can do it all on the ground but he favors chokes and arm locks.
MY PICK: Liddell. I feel Sobral belongs here but I have my doubts he can put Chuck in a position to dominate him. It can certainly be done. Look at Couture-Liddell I or the Jackson bout in PRIDE. The problem is that other than those two bouts, most people don’t get the chance before they are put to sleep. Chuck is a great champion but there is a small part of me that would like to see him lose … and not just to see him brought down. Anyone else interested in seeing Chuck Liddell (Pictures)-Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) on the PRIDE New Year’s Eve show? It might take a Liddell loss to make that happen. But for now I think Chuck stays in possession of the UFC light heavyweight belt.
BACKGROUND: Kickboxer Chuck Liddell (Pictures) trains under John Hackelman with the Pit Fight Team. He was a collegiate wrestler at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
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MMA CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Made his pro MMA debut in 1998 and started his career with the UFC. His first major test outside the Octagon came in Brazil at IVC 6 where he battled Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures). “Pele” was already a hero in Brazil and had won numerous tournaments. To go half an hour with a legend in his own back yard showed Chuck was for real.
He would pick up wins in the IFC and Neutral Grounds but it wasn’t
until 2001 that he fought in big organization other than the UFC.
Chuck traveled to Japan to fight in PRIDE 14 and scored a knockout
over Guy Mezger (Pictures). Another trip to PRIDE in 2003
saw Liddell knockout Alistair Overeem (Pictures) in the PRIDE Total Elimination
Middleweight (205-lb) Tournament. But Quinton Jackson (Pictures) stopped him in the in the
semifinals of that event.
UFC EXPERIENCE: 13-2. Liddell made his Octagon debut at UFC 17 against Noe Hernandez and took a unanimous decision over the boxer. He returned to UFC 19 and lost to Jeremy Horn (Pictures) by a head-and-arm choke at the end of the first round. He would beat Paul Jones with strikes at UFC 22 and took a decision over Jeff Monson (Pictures) at UFC 29 in Japan, but it was the knockout of “The Monster” Kevin Randleman (Pictures) at UFC 31 that really made the world take notice. A highly anticipated bout was finished in just over a minute as Randleman hit the canvas early in the first round.
Liddell took a questionable decision victory over eventual UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) at UFC 33 and battled a tough but undersized Amar Suloev (Pictures) to win by decision at UFC 35. A victory over Vitor Belfort (Pictures) in a contender’s bout at UFC 37.5 opened the door to fight Tito Ortiz (Pictures), but Liddell took a risky bout with Renato Sobral (Pictures) at UFC 40 in the interim and won by knockout.
The Ortiz issue remained unresolved and Liddell would face Randy Couture (Pictures). Incredibly, Randy was able to out-strike the kickboxer and pound “The Iceman” for almost three full rounds before the stoppage.
Liddell finally met Ortiz in April 2004 and put all the questions to rest. He knocked out Tito and it set up a rematch with Couture for the title.
Not content to sit and wait for his shot, Liddell ended another rivalry and knocked out Lion’s Den fighter Vernon White (Pictures) at UFC 49. White was more of a challenge than some fans expected, but not too much for Liddell to handle.
In the rematch for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 52 Liddell knocked out Couture in just two minutes of action. One could speculate about a thumb in the eye setting up Couture’s downfall, but what is done is done.
Liddell settled another old score, laying a beating on Jeremy Horn (Pictures) at UFC 54. It took nearly 20 minutes to put him away, but Horn had problems seeing Chuck’s punches and the fight was stopped.
And at UFC 57 Couture and Liddell met for a third (and likely final) time. Much like the second meeting, Chuck kept the fight standing and finished the former champ early in the second round with strikes.
WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE BOUT: Chuck is an excellent striker. Early in his career his wrestling skills were overlooked but Chuck has solid takedown defense. He is not a submission artist by any stretch of the imagination. He may work for a choke but he’s only finished someone once without pounding ‘em.
SOBRAL: 6’ 1”, 205 pounds, 30, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, known as “Babalu”
BACKGROUND: Renato Sobral (Pictures) is a Brazilian national wrestling team member, a RINGS King of Kings 1999 finalist and the IFC Global Domination eight-man tournament champion. Sobral used to fight under the tutelage of UFC 7 tournament champion Marco Ruas (Pictures), as part of Ruas Vale Tudo, but he currently trains as part of the Gracie Barra Combat Team with Alexandre Dantas (Pictures), Marcio Cruz (Pictures) and a virtual army of top Brazilian fighters.
Lately he has been training with Carlos Gracie Jr. and at the Cuban School of Wrestling. “Babalu” sports a professional record of 27-5 in MMA.
MMA CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Sobral started fighting in Vale Tudo events in Brazil in 1999. He defeated Carlson Gracie Team member Fernando Cerchiari in the IVC 8 event and won the Circuito Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 5 eight-man tournament, beating PRIDE veteran Pedro Otavio among others.
Much of Sobral’s fighting history took place under RINGS rules (no striking to the head on the ground, quick stand-ups) but he’s faced some of the event’s best. He has beaten Mikhail Illoukhine (Pictures), Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures) (twice), Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures) and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Pictures), and lost decisions to Dan Henderson (Pictures) and Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures).
Sobral fought under the RINGS banner 13 times, including in both King of Kings tournaments, advancing to the final bout of the 1999 tournament (lost to Henderson by decision).
Away from RINGS “Babalu” soccer kicked the head of UFC vet Brad Kohler, knocking him out at WEF 8. After the loss to Liddell, Sobral turned his attention to Brazil and Europe, picking up wins in the Heat FC, Jungle Fight (over a beefed up Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures)) and the Cage Rage show in London.
He also won the IFC Global Domination tournament, beating UFC veterans Trevor Prangley (Pictures) and Jeremy Horn (Pictures) and PRIDE veteran Mauricio Rua (Pictures) in one night.
UFC EXPERIENCE: 5-2. In the Octagon he debuted at UFC 28 against Maurice Smith (Pictures) and went the distance with the former heavyweight champion. He returned to the UFC two years later (after facing Fedor) to battle Kevin Randleman (Pictures) and lost yet another decision. At UFC 38 Sobral beat Elvis Sinosic (Pictures), however, it went the distance again.
“Babalu” had yet to explode in the Octagon.
Four months later he tried to push the pace with Chuck Liddell (Pictures) at UFC 40 and paid for, eating a kick to the face in a spectacular KO. It looked bad at the time for Sobral but he hasn’t lost since, rattling off 10 straight wins. In a return to the UFC last April, Sobral armbarred Dave Menne (Pictures)-trained wrestler Travis Wiuff (Pictures) and then took pleasure in choking out Team Quest wrestler Chael Sonnen (Pictures) (the two had met before). Renato sealed his shot at the light heavyweight title by submitting Mike Van Arsdale (Pictures) in the first round of their bout at UFC 57.
WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE BOUT: Sobral is an excellent grappler and Brazilian national wrestling team member. He is the antithesis of Chuck in that he will use his striking to set up the submission. “Babalu” (which means “Bubble gum” in Portuguese) can do it all on the ground but he favors chokes and arm locks.
MY PICK: Liddell. I feel Sobral belongs here but I have my doubts he can put Chuck in a position to dominate him. It can certainly be done. Look at Couture-Liddell I or the Jackson bout in PRIDE. The problem is that other than those two bouts, most people don’t get the chance before they are put to sleep. Chuck is a great champion but there is a small part of me that would like to see him lose … and not just to see him brought down. Anyone else interested in seeing Chuck Liddell (Pictures)-Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) on the PRIDE New Year’s Eve show? It might take a Liddell loss to make that happen. But for now I think Chuck stays in possession of the UFC light heavyweight belt.
