Whether it’s a show of sportsmanship or a chance to redeem his past performance, WEC Middleweight Champion, Paulo Filho, has reportedly accepted a rematch against Chael Sonnen for the 185-pound title in March, according to Tatame.com.
The showdown could also possibly mark the last fight for the Brazilian at middleweight.
Here’s the snip:
“WEC Champion at 84kg category, Paulão Filho gave Chael Sonnen a revenge, whom defeated at WEC 31, at 2007 December, with an arm-lock. According to Paulão Filho’s boxing coach, Josuel Distak, Sonnen asked for a revenge after the fight. ‘Last fight I had a lot of weight problems with Paulão, that’s why he wasn’t well. Sonnen asked for a revenge and we accepted. Thanks God this will be Paulão’s last fight at 84 category.’”
Their encounter in December 2007 was shrouded in controversy. Sonnen — an alternate on the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team in 2000 — dominated the action against the jiu-jitsu powerhouse before getting caught at the end of round two with an arm bar.
While in the submission, viewers and ringside attendees could clearly hear Sonnen repeatedly telling the referee not to stop the fight. However, the ref called the fight because of a “verbal submission”. Sonnen protested the call immediately; but, ultimately, handled the loss with class in the post-fight interview.
Filho and his training camp attributed his lackluster performance against Sonnen to a tough weight cut. In recent weeks, Filho’s trainers and his own father have hinted that he is contemplating a move to his “more natural weight” of 205 pounds after the Sonnen rematch.
At 5′ 8″, however, a move to 205 pounds for Filho would make him one of the shortest competitors in the light heavyweight division.
With all of the questions surrounding the ending of the first fight, as well as Filho’s possible future plans, perhaps granting the rematch is the right move on the part of the WEC brass.
42 Comments »
Would filho be able handle the 205 pounders. He’s a tough dude, but that’s a big difference. What kind of 205 guys are in the WEC?
Glad teh rematch is taking place. the ref for their last match should have been fired.
I heard about all this but mania do u know if it is official?
Mania, u make a great point that at 5′8 he will be a midget at 205… If I were zuffa I would strongly urge him to stay at 185 lb. he is 1 of the top MW fighters in the world and if Henderson takes his buddy Silva’s title, Filho could get sent up to the UFC to challenge Henderson for the 185 lb title….After all who else could fight for the title after Silva and Hendo Bang it out? Cote is probably the hottest 185 lb fighter, but he still needs a win over a top opponent before earning a shot at the title…IMO!
LOL 205 at 5′8″.. I hope he doesn’t do it.
Thank god, that ref robbed Sonnen. he was making Filho out to look like an overrated chump. i understand Filho was having a bad night, but a fighter who–going into the fight–was being called “quite possibly the best MW in the world” shouldn’t be having off nights. not at this level. Go Sonnen!
hes short at 185, I dont get how its so hard for him to make that weight, i think thats just an excuse for some reason…at 205 there is no way he could compete in the ufc, and someone like Brian Stan would would a bad match in the WEC..I dont think hes top 3 at 185 like every ranking says he is either, if anything i would think 170 was best for him, but apparently he has way more muscle mass than it looks like
“…collegiate Greco Roman wrestler…”
What the hell is that?
I wrestled in NJCAA and NCAA D2. I have never seen a school in the US that had a collegiate Greco program, unless you count a club team or intramural or something.
[quote comment=”288189″]”…collegiate Greco Roman wrestler…”
What the hell is that?
I wrestled in NJCAA and NCAA D2. I have never seen a school in the US that had a collegiate Greco program, unless you count a club team or intramural or something.[/quote]
I’m pretty sure he meant he wrestled Greco Roman, as well as freestyle, while he was in college.
http://www.uni.edu/ncaa-wrestling/bio/858209941.htm
I changed it anyway. I for one had no idea he was an alternate on the Olympic team.
[quote comment=”288189″]”…collegiate Greco Roman wrestler…”
What the hell is that?
I wrestled in NJCAA and NCAA D2. I have never seen a school in the US that had a collegiate Greco program, unless you count a club team or intramural or something.[/quo
read again, it say olympic greco roman wrestler
Filho is an average middleweight (in terms of professional mma fighters). He would be picked apart in the UFC. I can’t see him fairing to well against the upper tier guys. The idea that he could challenge Sylva (who we know he wouldn’t fight), Hendo, Franklin, Cote, Lutter, or even Leben is ridiculous (sorry if I left anyone out). He should stay in the WEC where he can compete.
Sonnen was kicking him all over the octagon last time. Everyone knew that was a bad stoppage. You could even hear it plain as day through the TV. Filho has not impressed me in the WEC 185 pound division. He’ll get killed at 205 in UFC unless he fights complete spares.
I don’t think he will be able to handle the 205-pound division. Sonnen used his reach the entire fight to pick Filho apart. He was beating him badly, until that armbar. Filho would get knocked out if he fought at 205.
[quote comment=”288226″]Filho is an average middleweight (in terms of professional mma fighters). He would be picked apart in the UFC. I can’t see him fairing to well against the upper tier guys. The idea that he could challenge Sylva (who we know he wouldn’t fight), Hendo, Franklin, Cote, Lutter, or even Leben is ridiculous (sorry if I left anyone out). He should stay in the WEC where he can compete.[/quote]
WADZ: Filho has looked like crap thus far, but if you think he would have trouble with guys like Lieben and Lutter, then you need to get a clue. Neither of those 2 would stand a chance againts him on the ground…not even Lutter! Sorry, but thats real talk!
Sonnen’s got his number, Filho is going to bleed. I can’t imagine the ref bailing Paulo out again. In March Chael will rain supreme over the other 185 fighters in WEC.
Paulo is a good middleweight who would provide problems for many of the top middleweights in the world but he would stand no chance in the light heavyweight division. He would be able to hold his own against the lightheavy weights in the wec but put him in their with any big name 205ers and he will get dominated. Imagine paulo vs. chuck. chuck would kill him. paulo would not get inside once and he would stand no chance of taking him down.
Well he doesn’t deserve a re-match. He vebally tapped, there is a video of it circulating. It was a verbal tape and Sonnen is a bitch for claiming he didn’t afterwards.
[quote comment=”288239″][quote comment=”288226″]Filho is an average middleweight (in terms of professional mma fighters). He would be picked apart in the UFC. I can’t see him fairing to well against the upper tier guys. The idea that he could challenge Sylva (who we know he wouldn’t fight), Hendo, Franklin, Cote, Lutter, or even Leben is ridiculous (sorry if I left anyone out). He should stay in the WEC where he can compete.[/quote]
WADZ: Filho has looked like crap thus far, but if you think he would have trouble with guys like Lieben and Lutter, then you need to get a clue. Neither of those 2 would stand a chance againts him on the ground…not even Lutter! Sorry, but thats real talk![/quote]
No need to be insulting guy, just state your case. Filho wouldn’t get Leben to the ground, Leben would knock him unconscious. Face it, Filho is great where he is. He can compete there, that’s why he’s there and not in the UFC. Plain and simple.
Filho is going to have to work the takedowns on Chael, he can’t just stand in front of him taking shots. The ground is where Filho needs to be to win this fight. Chael was too tall and long for Paulo. What in the world would he do against 205′ers like Forrest. Imagine what Forrest could do to Filho while standing with that reach advantage.
LOST returns tonight!!!!!!
I can’t wait…
[quote comment=”288164″]LOL 205 at 5′8″.. I hope he doesn’t do it.[/quote]
lol…dont worry about it - just check out monson - hes doin alrite for himself
[quote comment=”288291″]Well he doesn’t deserve a re-match. He vebally tapped, there is a video of it circulating. It was a verbal tape and Sonnen is a bitch for claiming he didn’t afterwards.[/quote]
Well the burden of proof rest on you then. since when i watched it, he was verbally telling the ref that he WASN’T tapping but the ref stopped it anyway. even the people at ringside said that he was telling hte ref he wasn’t giving up.
Sayid vs. John Locke in an MMA fight to the death! My guess is, Locke wants to keep it standing. You get him in a leg lock, and he’ll panic–he knows what it feels like to be paralyzed. Sayid has proven he can break a guy’s neck with his ankles with two hands tied behind his back (literally). But Sayid’s history of getting captured makes me think the jury’s still out on his stand-up skills. That said, I still say Sayid wins it by submission.
Okay, sorry for the stupidness. back to reality…
I really hope the 185lb TUF 7 adds much needed assistance to the UFC Middleweight division.
Not yet signed to the UFC and would make things better in the UFC world of 185′rs..
1. Paulo Filho
2. Dennis Kang
3. Robbie Lawler
4. Kazou Misaki
5. Matt Lindland
Added with the toptier TUF 7 fighters..how would the 185 division look then??
[quote comment=”288239″][quote comment=”288226″]Filho is an average middleweight (in terms of professional mma fighters). He would be picked apart in the UFC. I can’t see him fairing to well against the upper tier guys. The idea that he could challenge Sylva (who we know he wouldn’t fight), Hendo, Franklin, Cote, Lutter, or even Leben is ridiculous (sorry if I left anyone out). He should stay in the WEC where he can compete.[/quote]
WADZ: Filho has looked like crap thus far, but if you think he would have trouble with guys like Lieben and Lutter, then you need to get a clue. Neither of those 2 would stand a chance againts him on the ground…not even Lutter! Sorry, but thats real talk![/quote]
In one way FILHO is not overrated because there is a lack of excellent 185lbs in WEC and UFC, on the other hand he is overrated because he would not do well at all against the likes of Silva, Franklin or Henderson and would be very overmatched. Chael Sonnen is an up n’ coming fighter and if he is smarter this time he will dominate Filo…
I give credit to Filo for taking this fight! Even if I think he’s an IDIOT to have Mike Tyson tattoed on his shoulder!
[quote comment=”288372″]
Well the burden of proof rest on you then. since when i watched it, he was verbally telling the ref that he WASN’T tapping but the ref stopped it anyway. even the people at ringside said that he was telling hte ref he wasn’t giving up.[/quote]
I just went looking at it looks like Zuffa deleted it.
Sonnen was saying “tap! Tap!”
Then when the ref stopped it he got mad.. The ref said “you said tap” and he said “I know..”
He verbally tapped, if anyone watches it again, look for it.
That referee is a complete ass ! Not to say that Chael Sonnen would have definitly won the fight, but his chances were very good considering he was working Filho over for 2 solid rounds.
Glad the re match is taking place, should be an excellent scrap. However Filho at 205 is a death sentence in the UFC. In the WEC, he should handle himself ok. Just ask Marvin Eastman a fellow 5′ 8″ er why he isn’t competing at 205 anymore … The height kills guys.
[quote comment=”288357″]LOST returns tonight!!!!!!
I can’t wait…[/quote]
Dude, I am watching season 1 has I type these very words. I never paid any mind to this show and I started renting season one off netflix last week and I am HOOKED!!! This is a real good show, but I cant watch tonights episodes cause I dont want to spoil the next 3 seasons.
Affliction officially banned from UFC now
I heard on TAGG radio that Affliction gear has officially been banned by the UFC and that no fighter, cornerman or fighter affiliate may wear it at events.
This of course effects fighters endorsement earnings, like Tyson Griffin who cannot make money off that sponsor now.
Is there any official news from ZUFFA yet on this?
Talked about it here: http://www.mmafightline.com/news/200…c_314536.shtml
Trigg said it is now official
There hasnt been anything impressive about him since he has joined WEC. All these people wanting him to fight Silva are nuts, The Spider would rip him apart in the stand up and the fight would never go to the ground. I would put Hendo and Rich ahead of him easily. Call me crazy but thats what i think.
[quote comment=”288532″]Affliction officially banned from UFC now
I heard on TAGG radio that Affliction gear has officially been banned by the UFC and that no fighter, cornerman or fighter affiliate may wear it at events.
This of course effects fighters endorsement earnings, like Tyson Griffin who cannot make money off that sponsor now.
Is there any official news from ZUFFA yet on this?
Talked about it here: http://www.mmafightline.com/news/200…c_314536.shtml
Trigg said it is now official[/quote]
Is this cuz..that put together that photo shoot with Fedor and Couture???
That is some Scrooge type hating ish…what did Afflication do or didn’t do to the UFC..to be Banned in all aspects from UFC events.
Thx for the intel John.
[quote comment=”288546″][quote comment=”288532″]Affliction officially banned from UFC now
I heard on TAGG radio that Affliction gear has officially been banned by the UFC and that no fighter, cornerman or fighter affiliate may wear it at events.
This of course effects fighters endorsement earnings, like Tyson Griffin who cannot make money off that sponsor now.
Is there any official news from ZUFFA yet on this?
Talked about it here: http://www.mmafightline.com/news/200…c_314536.shtml
Trigg said it is now official[/quote]
Is this cuz..that put together that photo shoot with Fedor and Couture???
That is some Scrooge type hating ish…what did Afflication do or didn’t do to the UFC..to be Banned in all aspects from UFC events.
Thx for the intel John.[/quote]
I wonder if they will ban MMA fans from attending their events wearing Affliction Clothing??
I think he’s kindof a small middleweight, and i hope he can pull off the win again against sonnon
I don’t understand the controversy regarding the first fight. Sonnen may not have verbally tapped, but Filho had the armbar. If the referee didn’t stop the fight, Filho would have broken Sonnen’s arm — end of fight. Sonnen’s complaint regarding not tapping may be legitimate — I wasn’t cageside, so I didn’t hear exactly what he said — but I will never complain about a referee stopping a fight when a fighter is just about to break an arm with an armbar — tap or no tap.
Remember the Renzo Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba fight — Gracie never submitted after Sakuraba broke his arm, and I don’t think anyone disputed the referee’s decision to stop the fight.
[quote comment=”288164″]LOL 205 at 5′8″.. I hope he doesn’t do it.[/quote]
In the UFC he would die at 205. He shouldn’t be carrying so much mass. Same with Wanderlei, I don’t get some of those crazy Brazilians. Wanderlei could and should move to 185. Why give up the advantage in reach when you don’t have to.
Doug Marshall is only 5′10 and he is the 205 champ. I think Filho could take him for the belt but after that he’d be in trouble. the guy should really be at 170 atleast
Why did they take away the heavyweight division for the WEC. The champion is Brian Olsen. I want to see him fit again.
Sonnen was not robbed. If anything, he robbed himself. I have watched that submission like 20-30 times and to me it looks like this:
Filho grabs arm. Sonnen says “Tap! Tap!”. Ref stops it.
Sonnen shouts “Noo”
Ref says: “You said tap”
Sonnen says “I fucked up” or something to that effect.
That said - Sonnen looked awesome and a rematch will hopefully end this bullshit about a controversy that is going around. Who will win? Well, Filho better come prepared this time, he looked awful in the last fight. Sonnen made some weird choices, in my eyes he basically set himself up for that armbar - he should have stood up, let Filho stand and knocked him out, it looked like he could do it.
But in no way can I buy this crap that Sonnen was robbed.
“While in the submission, viewers and ringside attendees could clearly hear Sonnen repeatedly telling the referee not to stop the fight. However, the ref called the fight because of a “verbal submission”. Sonnen protested the call immediately; but, ultimately, handled the loss with class in the post-fight interview.”
This is just bullshit. Was the article writer there? Has he watched the clip a million times? I doubt it.
He should just try fight silva sometime - its bullshit how some people wont fight people they know or train with - fuck that ! this aint a team sport its man on man - do or die - like if Hendo wins he needs to fight franklin first then ugly boy lindland - legacy is far more important than friendship in this sport - thats what all the hard work is for
[quote post=”4762″]Sayid vs. John Locke in an MMA fight to the death! My guess is, Locke wants to keep it standing. You get him in a leg lock, and he’ll panic—he knows what it feels like to be paralyzed. Sayid has proven he can break a guy’s neck with his ankles with two hands tied behind his back (literally). But Sayid’s history of getting captured makes me think the jury’s still out on his stand-up skills. That said, I still say Sayid wins it by submission.
Okay, sorry for the stupidness. back to reality… [/quote]
LOL, that post brought a smile to my face.
[quote comment=”288530″][quote comment=”288357″]LOST returns tonight!!!!!!
I can’t wait…[/quote]
Dude, I am watching season 1 has I type these very words. I never paid any mind to this show and I started renting season one off netflix last week and I am HOOKED!!! This is a real good show, but I cant watch tonights episodes cause I dont want to spoil the next 3 seasons.[/quote]
In that case John, YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT!!!!!! In my opinion, Lost is the best show in the history of television. The story line just goes so deep. He writers are absolutely BRILLIANT. Since I know you’re on Season 1, I won’t accidentl;y mention anything about season 4. I started watching it back on September 22, 2004 when it first came out and haven’t missed a moment of it, and have all 3 seasons on DVD (Lost and Heroes are the only television shows I have on DVD).
[quote comment=”288552″][quote comment=”288546″][quote comment=”288532″]Affliction officially banned from UFC now
I heard on TAGG radio that Affliction gear has officially been banned by the UFC and that no fighter, cornerman or fighter affiliate may wear it at events.
This of course effects fighters endorsement earnings, like Tyson Griffin who cannot make money off that sponsor now.
Is there any official news from ZUFFA yet on this?
Talked about it here: http://www.mmafightline.com/news/200…c_314536.shtml
Trigg said it is now official[/quote]
Is this cuz..that put together that photo shoot with Fedor and Couture???
That is some Scrooge type hating ish…what did Afflication do or didn’t do to the UFC..to be Banned in all aspects from UFC events.
Thx for the intel John.[/quote]
I wonder if they will ban MMA fans from attending their events wearing Affliction Clothing??[/quote]
I think it has to be because of the photo shoot. Dana “the Dictator of MMA” White, is an ass. He underpays a lot of his fighters as it is and now he is causing them to loose money from sponsers? Tyson Griffin is a lightweight fighter. It has been well documented that the Lightweight fighters make little money as it is, now Dana is causing them to loose money from sponsers? He is a real D**k sometimes.
So what if they wear those close, u r the freakin UFC for crying out load, a business estimated at a billion dollars….Y act so damn petty? I feel for the fighters!
[quote comment=”289615″][quote post=”4762″]Sayid vs. John Locke in an MMA fight to the death! My guess is, Locke wants to keep it standing. You get him in a leg lock, and he’ll panic—he knows what it feels like to be paralyzed. Sayid has proven he can break a guy’s neck with his ankles with two hands tied behind his back (literally). But Sayid’s history of getting captured makes me think the jury’s still out on his stand-up skills. That said, I still say Sayid wins it by submission.
Okay, sorry for the stupidness. back to reality… [/quote]
LOL, that post brought a smile to my face.
[quote comment=”288530″][quote comment=”288357″]LOST returns tonight!!!!!!
I can’t wait…[/quote]
Dude, I am watching season 1 has I type these very words. I never paid any mind to this show and I started renting season one off netflix last week and I am HOOKED!!! This is a real good show, but I cant watch tonights episodes cause I dont want to spoil the next 3 seasons.[/quote]
In that case John, YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT!!!!!! In my opinion, Lost is the best show in the history of television. The story line just goes so deep. He writers are absolutely BRILLIANT. Since I know you’re on Season 1, I won’t accidentl;y mention anything about season 4. I started watching it back on September 22, 2004 when it first came out and haven’t missed a moment of it, and have all 3 seasons on DVD (Lost and Heroes are the only television shows I have on DVD).[/quote]
ViolentMike: I just finished season 1 last night, and boy am I hooked. The story is so deep and I like the fact that there are still so many unanswered questions about the story line at the conclusion of season 1. It leaves you hooked and dying to see the next season. I will recieve thefirst 3 discs of season 2 from netflix tommorow and if its an ugly day like today, I will probably baricade myself in my crib, with some Buddah and just blaze away and watch the 1st 12 episodes until the UFC event starts.
[quote comment=”289648″][quote comment=”289615″][quote post=”4762″]Sayid vs. John Locke in an MMA fight to the death! My guess is, Locke wants to keep it standing. You get him in a leg lock, and he’ll panic—he knows what it feels like to be paralyzed. Sayid has proven he can break a guy’s neck with his ankles with two hands tied behind his back (literally). But Sayid’s history of getting captured makes me think the jury’s still out on his stand-up skills. That said, I still say Sayid wins it by submission.
Okay, sorry for the stupidness. back to reality… [/quote]
LOL, that post brought a smile to my face.
[quote comment=”288530″][quote comment=”288357″]LOST returns tonight!!!!!!
I can’t wait…[/quote]
Dude, I am watching season 1 has I type these very words. I never paid any mind to this show and I started renting season one off netflix last week and I am HOOKED!!! This is a real good show, but I cant watch tonights episodes cause I dont want to spoil the next 3 seasons.[/quote]
In that case John, YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT!!!!!! In my opinion, Lost is the best show in the history of television. The story line just goes so deep. He writers are absolutely BRILLIANT. Since I know you’re on Season 1, I won’t accidentl;y mention anything about season 4. I started watching it back on September 22, 2004 when it first came out and haven’t missed a moment of it, and have all 3 seasons on DVD (Lost and Heroes are the only television shows I have on DVD).[/quote]
ViolentMike: I just finished season 1 last night, and boy am I hooked. The story is so deep and I like the fact that there are still so many unanswered questions about the story line at the conclusion of season 1. It leaves you hooked and dying to see the next season. I will recieve thefirst 3 discs of season 2 from netflix tommorow and if its an ugly day like today, I will probably baricade myself in my crib, with some Buddah and just blaze away and watch the 1st 12 episodes until the UFC event starts.[/quote]
What a weekend you got planned, not to mention THE SUPER BOWL on Sunday! And if you think that there are a lot of “unanswered questions” at the end of Season 1, just wait until you catch up through season 3!!!!!!!!