UFC vet Renato "Babalu" Sobral will face Dan Henderson in the Strikeforce Dec. 4 main event in St. Louis. (Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.com)

With Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8) set to face MMA legend and former PRIDE two-division champion Dan Henderson (25-8) in the Dec. 4 Strikeforce main event, one of the big questions is how Babalu plans to deal with Henderson’s wrestling. After all, Henderson competed in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, so getting in the clinch with him isn’t a good idea.

During a Strikeforce media call on Tuesday to promote the fight, Sobral was asked about his own wrestling experience. We all know about Babalu’s submission game, but he also some Brazilian wrestling titles to his credit. So can he expect to outwrestle Hendo? Maybe not.

Asked about being an amateur wrestling champion in Brazil, Babalu acknowledged the feat but warned that it isn’t that special of an achievement.

“It’s the same as being an American soccer champion,” Babalu joked. “Wrestling’s not a big sport in Brazil.”

Babalu also had a little fun when asked why he thinks he can beat Henderson.

“Because I’m prettier and smarter,” he said.

2 thoughts on “Quote of the day: ‘Babalu’ compares Brazilian wrestling to American soccer”
  1. Funny stuff. Kinda brings more insight into a few fights, like how the bad ass wrestler from Brazil Mario Miranda was taken down at will by Demian Maia.

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