A light heavyweight bout between Dan Henderson and Renato “Babalu” Sobral could be coming to a Strikeforce card near you. During a recent appearance on MMA Weekly radio, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker admitted the match up in a distinct possibility.
On the show, Coker said, “I think a fight between Babalu and Dan is something we might pursue in the near future.”
“Babalu” dropped the Strikeforce light heavyweight title to Gegard Mousasi last year. He returned in June and defeated former Elite XC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler. He originally won the belt by defeating Bobby Southworth back in 2008. Sobral owns victories over Trevor Prangley, Jeremy Horn and current UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Henderson won the first Pride 183-pound tournament. He also held the promotion’s 183 and 205-pound belts after defeating Wanderlei Silva at Pride 33. He made his Strikeforce debut back in April, but dropped a five-round decision to then middleweight champion Jake Shields. Over the course of his long career, Henderson has defeated Vitor Belfort, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Murilo Bustamante.
These two fighters have fought once before, with Henderson taking a majority decision over Sobral at Rings King of Kings 1999 final.