Babalu - LMAO

By MMAFighting.com on August 26, 2007

UFC light heavyweight Renato "Babalu" Sobral will likely face a fine and/or suspension for his actions in the closing moments of his UFC 74 bout against David Heath.

After sinking in an anaconda choke and forcing Heath to tap at the 3:30 mark of the third round, Sobral decided to further punish the Tulsa, Oklahoma native. In an ugly display of sportsmanship, Sobral ignored referee Steve Mazzagatti's break to stop the fight and held the submission for an extra few seconds, leaving the bloodied Health unconscious.

Sobral admitted during the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan that he purposely held the choke extra long in retaliation for a disparaging remark that Health had made towards him during Friday's weigh-ins.

Disgusted with Sobral's actions, the vocal crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center smattered Sobral with boos. Sobral answered by tossing his cap into the audience - which was caught and thrown back to the delight of fans by TUF 5's Manny Gamburyan.

Keith Kizer, the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, has already withheld $25,000, half of Sobral's total purse. Sobral will be given a chance to defend himself or explain his conduct at a later date in front of the athletic board.

The 31-year-old Sobral fought Chuck Liddell for the UFC light heavyweight title last November, losing via TKO to Liddell for the second time in his career. Sobral followed with an upset loss to Jason Lambert in March.

With the UFC 74 win, Sobral improved his record to 27-7.