Dan Henderson continued a streak of knockouts when he finished Renato “Babalu” Sobral at 1:53 of round one in the main event of “Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu.”
Henderson and Sobral followed a string of impressive knockouts by Antonio Silva, Robbie Lawler, and Paul Daley. The two pawed at distance patiently for the first minute of the fight before Henderson landed a big shot in a striking exchange. Sobral grabbed a hold of a leg, but Henderson adjusted his weight and ended up on top with Sobral’s head pressed up against the fence. Henderson waded past Sobral’s guard with two huge right hands before following up with a flurry that forced referee John McCarthy to intervene.
Dan Henderson made his Strikeforce debut in April, coming up short in a middleweight title fight against Jake Shields. Henderson left the UFC after failed contract negotiations with the organization following Henderson’s iconic knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100. Renato Sobral had won six of his last seven fights; his lone loss coming to Gegard Mousasi in August of 2009. Henderson and Sobral previously met in Rings’ King of Kings 1999 tournament where Henderson won a majority decision over “Babalu” in the finals.