Strikeforce – Dan Henderson vs. Renato Sobral Prediction

DAN HENDERSON vs. RENATO SOBRAL

Fight Overview:  A rematch from an early 2000 bout which Henderson narrowly won.  Both guys are well-rounded and can win fights in a variety of ways, and have achieved at the top level of the division for years, so this should be a really competitive fight.

Sobral’s Strengths:  Babalu has very effective and aggressive striking, solid wrestling, and great jiu-jitsu.

Sobral’s Weaknesses:  He is going to be severely outgunned in terms of punching power, and his wrestling isn’t good enough to overcome Henderson’s to set up the ground game.

Henderson’s Strengths:  Henderson has huge amounts of punching power, throws punches from strange angles, and has great wrestling and dirty boxing in the clinch.

Henderson’s Weaknesses:  He is slower than Sobral and, on the ground, is prone to making mistakes and getting swept.

The Verdict:  I think Henderson’s wrestling and physicality will be too much for Sobral.  Sobral is faster with his hands, but Henderson has more power by far and is a much superior wrestler.  I expect Henderson to throw big power punches and use the clinch to tire out Sobral and land some shots before finally putting him away for the T/KO.