Renato 'Babalu' Sobral signs with ONE FC

ONE FC today announced the signing of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Strikeforce veteran Renato Sobral, whose debut fight will take place on March 31, 2012, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. That show will be a cross promotion with DREAM, which means that the list of potential opponents is extensive.

"Babalu" has fought 10 times for the UFC before being cut for refusing to release an anaconda choke until after his opponent, David Heath, had lost consciousness. He is a former number one UFC light heavyweight title challenger and a former Strikefore light heavyweight champion, although the most impressive achievement of his career was probably winning the IFC light heavyweight grand prix when he defeated Trevor Prangley, Mauricio Rua and Jeremy Horn in the space of a single night back in 2003.

He has won eight out of his last 10 fights, with the only two losses coming at the hands of Dan Henderson and Gegard Mousasi. His signature represents something of a coup for ONE FC as he was one of Strikeforce's few remaining big name fighters and had also been heavily linked with a return to the UFC.