Renato “Babalu” Sobral defeated Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision after three hard-fought rounds in the Strikeforce “Los Angeles” main event on Wednesday at the Nokia Theater!

Babalu gave Lawler a hard right kick to the left side of Lawler’s ribcage leaving a visible welt. The impact could be heard throughout the venue, and it clearly pissed off the former EliteXC champion.

Lawler tried to position Babalu in striking distance but Babalu kept his distance and made every strike count! Lawler hit Babalu with a quick jab to the cut above his left eye. Babalu wiped the blood away and followed Lawler’s jab with a knee to his face.

The fight carried all the way into the third with both fighters going back and forth jab for jab, and Babalu threw some kicks that did make some serious contact with Lawler. The Nokia Center spectators screamed and cheered “Babalu…Babalu” as the final 3rd round ended.

The scores were 29-28 across the board, with a unanimous decision victory for Renato “Babalu” Sobral! Babalu called out a rematch with two-time Olympian Dan Henderson, a man who defeated him a decade ago in Japan. “It would be an honor to fight him again,” Sobral said.

New Metal Mulisha Fighter K.J. Noons outboxed and outbrawled Conor Heun to win his Strikeforce debut with a well-deserved and hard-fought split decision.

Within minutes of the fight Noons took on a blow from Heun, which broke his rib. That did not stop Noons as he pushed threw and landed more solid blows over the next 10 minutes with hooks and uppercuts.

Heun tried mixing punches with head kicks and knees, but Noons checked many of the kicks and followed back with solid blows! Noons fight went to decision as he took the win with a score of 29-28! Congratulations to both fighters! Check out the Metal Mulisha MMA photogallery of this fight!

Download (QuickTime 15.1MB)

The countdown has already started and only days away Renato “Babalu” Sobral is more ready than ever to take on this Los Angele’s Strikeforce fight against Lawler. Babalu only recently become available for the slot. Initially, he was one of three Strikeforce fighters expected to participate in the canceled DREAM-14 fight.

The tournament was recently nixed while Strikeforce setup this new match. Babalu is 35-8 with 23 wins by stoppage. He is a grappler first with a sick jiu-jitsu game, and his striking is always getting better and better.

Metal Mulisha took a visit up his training facility to catch up with him before the fight. Babalu has his mind and focus on only one thing, taking out Lawler for the win.

The physical condition and mindset of Babalu is more powerful than ever… Lawler cannot go to the ground… Babalu will turn him into a pretzel…fast! Make sure to check out the full fight training photo-gallery and the video which can only be seen at metalmulisha.com!

*The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast)

*Tickets are on sale at STAPLES Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online and STRIKEFORCE’S official website.
WHEN: Tuesday, June 15 at 5 p.m. PT
WHERE: The Conga Room,
800 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90015-1360 – (213) 745-0162

Metal Mulisha Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez will defend his title against Shinya Aoki! Melendez, who turns 27 days prior, will get the best birthday present ever, a five-round “fight of the year” victory against Aoki on April 17th in Nashville, Tennessee!

Check out Kyacey Uscola who is pounding the hell out of fighters on the 11 season of The Ultimate Fighter. On this show, professional MMA fighters compete against each other for the title of The Ultimate Fighter, winning a six-figure, multi-fight contract with the UFC.

This tragedy brought light to how dangerous the sport of Freestyle Motocross is, and has inspired change in a good way. People rally to help riders and their families in tough times. The Lusk Legacy Foundation generated a lot of money to support the Lusk family. Safety is the #1 priority. Seeing riders without a neck brace is now a strange sight. The formation of the AFMXA and the effort and passion of many have put in place programs to make contests, demos and international travel safer for professional and amateur riders, alike. Safety and life saving courses, Medivac coverage, legal consulting, and much more. We know Jeremy would be proud that his passing, though tragic and untimely, brought about real change and is helping many people.

We asked some of his friends and Mulisha Family to write something about Jeremy on this 1 year anniversary. Here it is:

Lauren Lusk:
Jeremy…with all of my heart…thank you for being my best friend and love of my life. For all the laughs, for all the smiles and all the tears…you have truly made me the person I am today. The endless memories we’ve shared will forever be cherished. The number of lives you have not only touched but changed is truly amazing. I am so blessed to be your wife. You are and always will be my strength and inspiration for the rest of my life. You flew up to Heaven on the wings of angels and now I have my own guardian angel. Rest in Peace Baby…I love you…. -Lauren Lusk

Brian Deegan:
Lusk was my best friend. I feel like I lost my brother. It is still hard to come to grips that he died riding fmx and I won’t see him again ’til we meet in heaven. The team has felt his loss. There will forever be a void in the Mulisha. I miss the phone calls from him saying let’s roost. Life is so crazy u just don’t know what the day will bring. Enjoy your family and friends, don’t sweat the small stuff… BD

Derek Garland:
Jeremy Lusk was truly one of a kind. Some of my best memories of my life so far have been with Jeremy. I am so thankful I was able to have those good times with him. Jeremy knows how to make the most out of any situation, every time we hung out it was a good time, no one has ever made me laugh as hard as he could.

I really look up to Jeremy, as a rider, but more so as a person. His humble attitude, hard work ethic and simply being tougher than shit are the attributes I like the most about him. He’s not scared to take on anything, Jeremy is a true warrior. He never talks about what a great rider he is, he doesn’t have too. Anyone who has ever ridden with him or seen him ride knows that he is one of the most talented riders in the world. He is such a good friend too. He would always help me with my riding and push me to learn new tricks. He would also help me with everyday life problems and give me advice on what to do in different situations. I really respect Jeremy and I listen to everything he tells me.
Jeremy will always be a role model to me and I can’t wait to hang out and ride with him again one day. Rest In Peace Jeremy I miss you.
-Garland

Jeremy Stenberg:
Jeremy Lusk was the shit and he still is. He inspired all of us. Jeremy was a one of a kind and I think about him everyday just the way he was. He was so fuckin’ funny and could put a smile on anyone’s face. I miss hearing him talk shit all the time or hearing his dumb ass laugh. It was so classic, like I said he was one of a kind and I miss him. It’s not the same with out Jeremy. He may not be with us anymore but u would never think that hanging around the crew. We talk about him all the time like he’s still here with us. I will never forget Jeremy, he will always be in our hearts. R.I.P. Big Worm that’s my dogg for life ………..har har har.
-Stenberg

Chris Tedesco:
It is hard to believe that it has already been one year since you left us, Jeremy. Although you are gone, the memories from all the fun times we shared together inspires me to do great things. You were one of a kind and I am truly grateful I was able to know you as a friend. I know I will always have an angel watching over me. Rest in peace, brother.
-Chris

Ronnie Faisst:
I have this photo of me and Lusk up in house. It was taken in Spain. Me, him and my brother Matt spent two weeks there. We got so bored during the week so we went out and took photos all over the city. I think of him a lot and always pray for his wife and family. I really miss riding with him, going to the gym together, but most of all just hanging out and crackin’ jokes. He was a really funny dude, he always made me laugh. I’m thankful that God brought him into my life and all the memories he left with me. Most of all I thank God for Lusk’s faith in God. I can rest my head at night knowing that Lusk is in heaven and with the Lord and one day I will see him again. He just beat me home that’s all!

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ROMANS 10:9-11
TRUTH
Your Brotha,
Faisst

Ryan Hagy:
It has already been one year, but feels like it was yesterday. Jeremy was such a huge part of my life and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Jeremy and what he did for myself and our team. In the past year our team has became closer since Jeremy’s passing as we realized how much of a family we really are to each other. Jeremy will always be apart of our family and will never be forgotten. RIP lusk.
-Hagy

Beau Manley:
Lusk was a badass. He could take a hit and keep on ticking. Never seen someone be able to crash that hard and get back up and go for it again. He always pushed his friends to be their best and I can’t ever remember him making any excuses. He simply just Got it Done. He is truly missed by all. R.I.P. Lusk
-Manley

Leah Steiger:
The first time I met Jeremy I was the Wedding Director at South Coast Winery, working 60-70 hours a week. The wives were doing a shoot on the property and I was their contact. The boys had come out towards the end of the shoot and I took them all to the bar for a drink. Jeremy looked at me and said, “you look like you need a shot?”. I said “No I’m on the clock”…he looked at me with a cocky smile and said “fuck the clock!”. What he said to me hit me like a ton of bricks; why was I wasting my time on someone else’s clock, doing something I wasn’t completely stoked on doing, hiding under a suite with a fake ass smile? So I resigned the next day. After the shoot he handed me a poster for my son, it hangs on his door to this day. It reads “To Phoenix – Follow your Dreams – Jeremy Lusk”

l will always remember what he said to me and what he wrote to my son. With just a few words he moved me to change my career path and has inspired me to live in the moment and never settle. I am grateful to have met him, to work with his wife and his family at Mulisha. I believe that he was grateful too, for life, for Lauren, for Brian, the Mulisha and his parents…you could see it in his smile…and I’m sure he still is!
Much love… Leah Steiger

Jeff Kargola:
Jeremy Lusk, in my eyes, is still very much alive. He is alive in the respect that his never give up, I can conquer anything attitude is an attribute I look to for strength and inspiration when the odds seem stacked against me. I saw a lot of myself and who I want to be in the man that Jeremy was, which makes it hard to accept even a whole year later. Although he is no longer with us in the physical sense, his memory will live on forever. We’ve shared so many great times and somewhere down the road we will meet again.
-Ox

Check out the hundreds of photos of Lusk posted by people from all over the world, and the tribute video played at his funeral.

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Potter & Manley photos from ESPN.