5 UFC fighters who held onto submissions for way too long

#2 Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral

Renato Sobral was released by the UFC after choking David Heath unconscious

Thanks to his intense personality and exciting fighting style, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral was established as a firm fan favorite in the UFC during the mid 2000’s. And although he came up short in a Light-Heavyweight title fight with Chuck Liddell in 2006, the Brazilian was still widely recognized as one of the best 205 lbers on the planet, and a long UFC career was fully expected for him.

Surprisingly though, just a year after his loss to Liddell, Sobral found himself released from the promotion. The reason? His shocking submission of David Heath at UFC 74 in a fight that became way too personal for essentially no good reason.

‘Babalu’ came into the fight looking angry – more on that later – and beat Heath bloody during the first round, and when Heath attempted to shoot for a takedown early in the second round, the Brazilian sprawled back and locked on a tight anaconda choke. Seconds later, covered in his own blood, Heath tapped out – but it wasn’t good enough for Sobral, who ignored referee Steve Mazzagatti and continued to squeeze until his opponent fell unconscious.

Even the crowd in attendance were horrified, booing Sobral mercilessly, but the Brazilian had no remorse, stating that Heath had called him a “mother******” at the weigh-in and needed to learn respect.

Considering the usual trash-talk UFC fighters throw at one another, to say this was an over-reaction from ‘Babalu’ would be an understatement – and it came as no surprise when he was cut from the promotion for what UFC President Dana White described as a “completely unacceptable” action.