Sobral vs Mousasi Moved To Strikeforce

by Robert Sargent

Days after being cancelled along with the remainder of the Affliction: "Trilogy" card, the bout between Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Gegard "The Dreamcatcher" Mousasi will now take place in Strikeforce for Sobral's Light Heavyweight title.

The fight will be part of the upcoming Strikeforce: "Carano vs Cyborg" event on August 15th, on a card that has already undergone a number of changes in recent weeks.

While many former Affliction fighters are desperately scrambling to find replacement fights in the coming weeks, the Sobral vs Mousasi bout has arguably increased in value with the move to Strikeforce. Originally set to be a non-title bout in Affliction, Mousasi will now have the opportunity to follow up on his DREAM Middleweight Championship win last year with a Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship win over Sobral.

Stylistically, this is a very interesting matchup. Both fighters are well-rounded, but Sobral (35-8-0) likely holds a slight edge on the ground and Mousasi (25-2-1) is more skilled when the fight stays on the feet. Three of Sobral's first four career wins came by a form of knockout, but he has only stopped two opponents - once via cut, in his title win over Bobby Southworth - with strikes in 39 fights since. As such, a Sobral win via knockout seems highly unlikely.

Mousasi, on the other hand, has been a submission machine as of late, and a submission victory over Sobral would be huge for the already skyrocketing career of the Armenian. More likely, however, Mousasi will showcase his impressive striking abilities and look for the knockout.

The title fight, which replaces the cancelled Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship bout between Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, may once again restore the card to four championship bouts.


The August 15th card is headlined by a Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Championship bout between Gina "Conviction" Carano and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. The Strikeforce Lightweight title and newly-created Welterweight title are both expected to be on the line as well, though recent changes to the card have left the competitors uncertain for the time being.