Babalu released from UFC

From NBC Sports dot com.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral has been cut from the UFC for his actions during his win over David Heath at UFC 74, UFC President Dana White confirmed in a conference call today.

Sobral, who beat Heath via anaconda choke in the second round, forced Heath to tap out, but held on to the submission move for about four seconds after referee Steve Mazzagatti stepped in to officially stop the fight. Mazzagatti then tried to forcibly pull Sobral off of Heath before he finally released the hold.

The move quickly turned the pro-Sobral crowd against him as cheers turned to boos at the Mandalay Bay Arena.

The bad blood between Sobral and Heath stemmed from the weigh-ins, when the two exchanged words. After the fight, Sobral defended his actions saying that he was simply teaching Heath respect.

"A lot of guys have a lot of emotions at the weigh-ins, but after you get done fighting, it's over," White said after the match, adding that Sobral should have known he'd earned Heath's respect simply by defeating him.

Sobral immediately had half of his fight purse held by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following the bout, and he faces other disciplinary action from the NSAC. Immediately after the fight, several media outlets voiced a hope that UFC would take disciplinary action towards Sobral, and White complied, though he did say he wouldn't completely close the door to Sobral down the road.

It wasn't the only rough scrape Babalu's had to endure lately. Earlier this summer, he was arrested for misdemeanor battery and trespassing in Tampa, Florida.

The veteran light-heavyweight has a 28-7 all-time MMA record, most notably losing via KO to Chuck Liddell in an August 2006 title fight.