UFC 28: High Stakes Preview

Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs Maurice Smith (Heavyweight)

In my eyes this next match is a co-main event and quite possibly the fight of the night. Getting Renato "Babalu" Sobral to come in on three weeks notice is amazing but getting Maurice Smith to fight him is even more so. I would imagine Mo never turns down a fight but to take on this guy on short notice is rough. Maurice is making his fifth UFC appearance. He had a very active '99 (6 fights) after being out of the fight game since '97. Smith is a WKA and ISKA Kickboxing and Muay Thai Champion. What is most impressive about Mo is the fact that he brought the striker's skills back to the top of the MMA mountain in his debut back in UFC 14. The task at hand was taking down 2 time tournament and Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman. Coleman, undefeated at the time was heavily favored. Smith had spent some time at the Lion's Den and shocked the world with his decision victory. A veteran of Pride, Pancrase, RINGS, WEF and the UFC, Smith brings the composure of a veteran and very good striking skills so he'll be ready.

Babalu on the other hand may not be a name everyone knows but I don't think anyone will forget him after Friday night. Sobral is a tattooed monster, a huge aggressive Brazilian trained by the UFC's first true complete fighter Marco Ruas in the Ruas Vale Tudo style. He's an IVC and Brazil Vale Tudo veteran and has spent the last year making his presence known on the RINGS circuit in Japan where he is 7-1. The only blemish on his entire record was a loss to RINGS King of Kings tournament champion Dan Henderson in the finals and that was by a 1-0 judges' decision. Some may recognize the name from his bout in WEF 7 where he punted the head of UFC vet Brad Kohler and KO'd the big wrestler. Renato is also a Brazilian National Wrestling Team member. It's interesting that Marco Ruas will now have his top two heavyweights in the UFC. With Rizzo the #1 contender and now Sobral in the mix, can it be long before someone in the Ruas Vale Tudo camp is UFC Heavyweight Champion? If Couture doesn't pull off the upset (as I think he will) could a Sobral/Randleman match-up be next?

MY PICK: Sobral will undoubtedly be better on the ground and he can strike well too. We should see a lot of leg kicks from Mo but once Sobral gets tired of that, he'll take Smith down and finish him there. Sobral may also be motivated by the fact that it was Smith who beat his mentor Marco Ruas in Marco's last Octagon appearance. I really like Maurice as a fighter but I'm going to have to go with Babalu by submission.