“What is he looking at? WHO IS HE LOOKING AT? I feel like I’m watching the movie with Woody Harrelson and he [Paulo Filho] is talking to Jesus or someone in the middle of the ring. Who is in there talking to him?”
– WEC ringside announcer Frank Mir (along with the rest of the fans who witnessed the fight) was clearly puzzled by the performance and actions of WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho in the cage last night against Chael Sonnen at WEC 36: “Faber vs. Brown.” The Brazlian jiu-jitsu phenom — who had been widely considered a consensus top five 185-pound fighter in the world — was a shell of his former self at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. He flopped around on the floor and barely mustered any sort of attack in the 15 minute bout, which he lost via unanimous decision. Perhaps the most bizarre and alarming aspect was Filho looking off into the crowd while engaged, talking to himself and appearing lost after the fight when he didn’t seem to know which corner was his. Filho has had issues with depression and chemical dependency in the last 12 months or so. And it appears that he still has to be dealing with them — he is clearly not well. Hopefully those around him (physically) can ensure he gets the help he needs sooner rather than later.
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Filho has no respect and a bad attitude, which is why he is a disgrace to MMA. I feel for Sonnen, who was wrongfully gyped out of a title shot by Filho. I can’t believe Anderson Silva support this punk.
Dear WebG (or let me just call you wedgy)
Clearly Filho is going through some difficult time; disgrace would have been him to drop out, even in his sorry-a$$ state - he was still closer to finishing the fight than the Chael was.
I wish him well & hope he will get over his demons soon & get back in shape for fighting
what a joke. are you really going to make excuses for him. his trainers should feel like crap also for letting him go into a fight fat and out of shape. he should have had to give up more of his purse. I hope Dana sends him to the curb. In the last year he has battled depression, drugs, and now this. Fighters have short windows. He is closing his fast!
i cant believe anyone would even stick up for filho. We r talking about a guy who has had months to get his crap together and couldnt manage to do it. Also to weigh in 7 lbs. over is flatout disrespectful and in no way is he worthy of keeping that belt. This guy has no stand up and will not not be able to hang with anyone in the ufc he cant take down cause thats all he’s got. It makes me sick to think a fighter like anderson siilva is going to retire for a guy like that!
WOW JUST ON MISTAKE AND HE IS A JOKE …U GUYS ARE ALL A JOKE LETS NOT FORGET THIS MAN WAS UNDEFEATED FOR YEARS…AND HAS DONE ALOT FOR THE SPORT …
what exactly has he done for the sport?
IS THIS YOUR BIG BOY VOICE SALAMI!!?!?!?!
you must be referring to the fight in his head because at no point (that weak attempt at a heel hook included) was he anywhere close to finishing the fight. The 2 good punches in round 1 by Chael (the only good ones in the fight) and the flying knee attempt at the end of the fight had a better chance of finishing this thing than any roly poly tactics by “Dildho”. As you mentioned he is obviously going through some tough times, so maybe instead of running his mouth like he’s the man and making an a$$ of himself he should get help, he’s doing nothing to help himself or the sport, he’s just showing up to collect a paycheck and he’s screwing a deserving fighter out of what is rightfully his. I couldn’t get away with pulling crap like this at my work and i don’t make a fraction of what he does, he get’s no sympathy from me!!!!
No exuses for this guy. he couldve made weight if he was a real mma professional. sonnen thought he was being bated is the only reason he didnt destroy that useless drug user filho. Dude if you showed up to work and acted like that you’d be fired or sent home for the day. That was way more than just depression, trust me. you dont talk to god during a fight and go to the wrong corner cuz you’re having a bad day.
I’m with you WebGarden! Filho looked like crap. Anderson Silva really hates it when fighters don’t make weight (Travis Lutter). They shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath.
Agreed, I honestly hope I never have to watch this overrated fatass fight again! Dana White… DO NOT sign this guy, he is worthless!!!
Agreed, I honestly hope I never have to watch this overrated fat ass fight again! Dana White… DO NOT sign this guy, he is worthless!!!
Filho has been overrated for a very long time. he hasn’t fought anybody in quite a few years and the only time he has was against sonnen and he got dominated both times. Filho isn’t a top 10 middleweight, and never has been. how he got ranked as high as #2 is a big mystery to me
wow mania, Fihlo didn’t train for this fight…surprised??:
For those who don’t know Amaury Bittetti is almost a legend in Brazilian MMA. The guy made a lot to this sport here in Brazil and was a hard man as fighter.
Furthermore, Bittetti is a close friend of Paulão. When Carlson Gracie gym was in his prime time, he saw the young Paulão raise in the lowest divisions with the promise to be the next champion of the team. Bittetti was an idol to Paulão and both guys made an incredible friendship resisting good and bad moments. After his bizarre performance in WEC 36, a sad Bittetti says what really happened.
“Actually Paulão didn’t train at all… this is the truth. He thought he was well prepared but he wasn’t. He was a brave fighter, he could stand against all Sonnen’s strikes and I can say if it was another guy receiveing all that damage from Sonnen, this guy would give up. I don’t want to underrate Sonnen because he is a good fighter. He is a good wrestler, has a decent striking and he proved it all. He trained a lot for this fight and deserved the win. The only positive thing I can take from it is that Paulão was a brave warrior, he didn’t surrender, even in the state the he was. He is a samurai, from Calrson Gracie lineage and never gives up. He may faint but he carries on. Being honest, I thought it would happen. We (he is referring himself, Wallid and Distak who were at Paulão’s corner) were here as supporters and friends. Even Wallid came here to root for Paulão but if you talk about training… we didn’t practice a single training session. Me, Distak and Tonico came here as his brothers. We’re here for the friendship, because we are together winning or losing. He is our brother, it’s different. Sonnen felt Paulão wasn’t feeling good. Even Sonnen didn’t enjoy the fight.”
“Well, talking about the weight issue… it just showed everyone that he wasn’t prepared. He came to here sad, he wasn’t focused. His mind was in somewhere else. I’ve travelled some days ago to train with Minotauro and Minotouro, and Distak travelled to train with Anderson Silva. We invited him to come along but he denied. We cannot do miracles. If he doesn’t practice with the right sparrings it will never work. Nowadays everyone is very professional.”
When mentioned the fact that Paulão met his first loss, Bittetti said it’s time to reset everything and come back to the victory road:
“We have to make it right this time. Put him with people he can train with, like Minotauro, Minotouro, Feijão and even Anderson Silva, etc. We have to put this guy on the top again. It depends on him onyl. If he want help we’ll help of course. The samurai never gives up, he always do a comeback. Just like Sonnen, who lost and came back and won we can find this way too.”
Good stuff Kevin! Much appreciated!
kinda sad huh john!!
heres one from paulo
WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho has “No Excuses” for his loss to Chael Sonnen at last nights WEC 36 event.
“What can I do, it’s sad… The fact is that I have no excuses, he (Sonnen) went there and did his job to neutralize me and that’s what happened, he did the right job and he has all merits… It was good to give me a new spirit”
Filho decides to move to Los Angles to begin training in the US.
(Train) Here will be good, everybody is coming here and that’s because it works. At Brazil we hadn’t a good training camp, and here I believe we’ll have a high level training”
“The loss isn’t good, but that’s good to learn. We need more focus, responsibility, and the weight is a problem… What happened yesterday we’ll forget and start all over again. We’ll train here and get our rematch with Sonnen, and then go to light-heavyweight division” [Tatame]
go to LHW Paulo??? is this guy kidding. leave that to Anderson and just get focused on making weight and winning at 185.
My BJJ instructor trained with Filho under Carlson Gracie. When Filho failed to make weight, I asked him who he thought was going to take the fight. He shook his head and said something about Filho not being mentally ready to fight and that he expected Sonnen to win.
the only reason he was a warior was cuz he was coked out of his mind
I saw this coming a mile away..
Absolutely, and I called it yesterday.
“Paulo Filho has become a JOKE in my opinion. I hope Chael KO’s him the F out. When he does come to the UFC, I hope to see Paulo get whooped up on a couple of times and then end up fighting in RINGS or WVR or Affliction. I think that this is the end of Paulo Filho and his MMA career - that is, when SOnnen comes thru with the win. There just seems to be way too many negatives surrounding Filho for him to turn it around.”
With big time emphasis on the last sentence.
And by being a complete joke, completely unprofessional and an all-around ass-clown, he has robbed Chael Sonnen of what would probably have been his only chance to ever be a world champ.
U guys were DEAD right! U disgraced himself last night! Pathetic fight. Chael cant be left off the hook either. Had he won the title in a fight like that wouldnt have been acceptable either.
I will admit that if Paulo would have gotten the submission from when he rolled into that leg lock…It would have been submission of the year!
I have been clinging on to the memories of the old Paulo…you guys are right! Put a fork in him! He should just go compete in Abu Dahbi!
does all this smell a bit like Vitor back in the day or is it just me? depression, etc…
for those of you who don’t like mir, can you please explain to me why?
I think he’s a great commentator (as I think rogan is too) who knows his stuff and explains it well!
Mir has certainly improved in his announcing. But early on was terrible. The first WEC he did, he handled the mic worse that he handled his mortorcycle.
Ooooh, low blow! Funny though!
The thing I don’t like about Mir is the blatent nuthuggery while announcing. Rogan used to be SOOO bad about this (Watch Liddell/Belfort). Just watch Brown/Faber again. Mir was basically felating Faber the entire duration.
Mir has improved a TON, and I like him in the ring after fights for the post fight interviews way better than the dude they’ve got in there now. That guy is so creepy haha.
that was my problem with mir too
I get what you are saying, but understand, this is not like a national TV network covering a baseball game. It’s gonna be a lot more like your home town tv station. These guys are employed by the UFC/WEC. So yea, Faber is the face of the WEC and for new fans who may be tuning in Mir is gonna make him sound unbelievable. I think talking with these guys about fighters would be alot different off camera.
i have always thought he was one of the top commentators but after watching him on tuf he seems to be a knucklehead kind of a dufus and i am starting to see that in his commenting, he is very smart and techincal but comes of as a gobber sometimes.
I like him as a commentator, just not so much as a person, not that I know him personally. He shows little, if any, respect to Nog and pretty much the sport. He should have bit#% slapped Junie for spitting on the black belt, amongst other things. I’m not hating the guy, but hes just not the man I thought he was. and on the other end; I didn’t know much about Nog, but how can you not love the guy? That’s one of the good things about the show, you really get a look at their character. WAR NOG!!!
I like him as a commentator in all but Faber matches. In those he has too much of a man crush and is totally one-sided as an announcer. I think if Faber had landed that back-swinging elbow we would have heard Mir orgasm on television.
How soon until we see the drug test results? For his sake I hope he test positive for something. Otherwise, his problems may run much deeper than just substance abuse.
He looked like he was on acid though…… and I dont think they do spinal taps
if he did it on paper chances are it was cut with some sort of amphetamine which will show up on the post-fight drug test.
it definitely looked like he was one something that had some sort of hallucinatory/anaesthetic effect. I’m thinking that Ketamine looks like the most-likely substance.
He was either on some substance or his depression is much worse than his managment let on.
I know many of you are upset with the fight last night and rightfully so. However, I am more concerned with Paulo the person than with Paulo the fighter at this point. He has some serious issues and needs professional help.
there is deffinetly something wrong with that guy,i don’t think he belongs at #2 but they way he fought last night he wouldn’t be in the top 30 and i know he is better than that.
didn’t Filho trainer, say that is Sonnen wins he was going to walk over and hand over the belt?
If he is clinically depressed, I will stand by the guy (people tend to look at depression as a cop-out, but it is a very debilitating disease. But, if the guy is cracked out or something, then to hell with him. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
I hear ya with the depression comment, but it didn’t look like depression…delusion maybe!
It looked worse than depression. Either he was doped out of his mind, or he is becoming insane.
Now I’m not a doctor, but after watching my close friend seemingly “go insane” a few years ago makes me wonder if Filho is bi-polar. My friend was diagnosed with a severe case of BPD after he began acting extremely odd. Talking to himself, spacing out in public, and having violent mood swings. The self destructive behaviour that followed scared everyone around him.
I sincerely hope that Paulo gets the help he needs. He is an extremely talented fighter that could go a long ways in the UFC. I’m a fan and always will be. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. For now.
Addiction is a disease as well and a VERY debilitating one. It is also a hereditary disease that some people are prone to from birth. I am not a fan of Filho, but either way everyone deserves a 2nd chance. You would stand by him for depression, but not addiction? Would you turn your back on a friend who had an addiction? I wouldn’t. He is obviously not thinking clearly, so the people close to him should take some of the blame for even letting him fight.
Very true… I have been through it with friends and if you really care about them you have to hold their hand through the process. It’s tough and sickening at times but you have to be there.
I don’t believe that people are born drug addicts…never have. I guess that’s where our opinions vary on this subject, and why I wouldn’t stand by him if he were a drug addict. Addiction is a disease, but it has nothing to do with genetics. Case in point being kids that are born of drug addicts, and adopted by parents who aren’t……they don’t have to ween them off drugs, because they aren’t drug addicts. Just like my father smokes cigarettes and I never have, nor have I had a temptation.
Go to rehab for 60 days or read a book and then tell me it has nothing to do with genetics. It is a disease of the mind, a way of thinking that is tainted. Being prone to addiction from birth has nothing to do with popping out of Mommy and needing a fix. Also, there are always exceptions and it is not passed on automatically, just like any disease.
I’m an addict..and would never use it as an excuse! I’ve had my wife leave with my son (years ago), I’ve spent 100’s of thousands of dollars on partying and coke. I guess there is an argument that genetics make someone predisposed to being an addict, but it’s NEVER an excuse…period!
You are absoultly right, it is never an excuse. If it is, however, Paulo’s reality, then he needs people to be supportive and not turn their backs on him, like introtard suggested. I am not a fan so I don’t give a sh*t either way, but those who do, should not jump ship just yet.
Intovert,
One flaw in your theory is that those kids ARE weened off of drugs in the NICU they end up in.
Introvert are you sure you don’t smoke? I thought all cool people smoked.
i have been through severe depression and its not something u can cure all of a sudden it takes a longgggg time and for the ppl saying hes crazy well when ur depressed everything is starts going down. he clearly didnmt wana fight he didnt even try to fight back, depression messes up ur head in ways that only people who have experienced it understand. i feel it for the guy i hope he gets some help and much respect for sonen
I know what you mean, OSCAR. Although I’ve never had depression, I have been very close to those that have suffered from it. It’s something, I’ve come to understand, that is more difficult than I could ever understand. That’s sad to see him displayed in that way in front of the world like that last night. It’s a shame he doesn’t seem to have a supportive circle of friends or family that had his mental health as their primary concern for him.
Strip his belt. The UFC isn’t going to want him anyways.
That didvision is gone now, there would be no point of stripping him of the belt.
Very disappointing especially considering how much Anderson Silva respects Filho. Before seeing his past two fights I heard how good this guy was and how he could challenge any middleweight fighter. Blasphemy!!! What a disgrace of a fight last night. Sonnen was to careful to throw any hard shots even considering Paulo wasn’t fighting back. I would have rather seen a sparring much than that fight!
Chael is a friend of mine. He has worked rigourously to get that belt. He deserves that belt. What Filho did was very unprofesional, not cutting weight. Things happen for a reason. Everyone might not know it now, but they will surface sooner than later. Chael is a class act, second to none, period. His time will come again to win the WEC Middleweight belt. Best wishes to you Chael from everyone here at home!
There is no WEC middleweight belt anymore. The division is being fed into the UFC.
Yeah, apparently not THAT close of a friend or you’d know his next chance will have to be for the UFC belt.
u guys r being asses as some1 who went through depression tat guuy clearly shows symptoms if he did everything just cuz he was an ass then i wouldnt care but he still had the decency of giving sonenn a fight filho seriously needs help. and sonnen gained a lot of respect he obviouslt didint wanna hurthim he noticed there was something worng with him
Chael did handle himself well given the circumstances.
He deserves props.
Much agreed, Chael deserves props, as he could have seriously injured Paulo. Although, I almost wish the ref would have stopped the fight. It was very sad to watch.
He is not ready for the big time. He could be a great fighter, but he is not ready. Send him home for a few years and see what happens. He is not in the top 20 at 185 right now.
so sonnon couldnt do anything to (soft jabs isnt doing something) paulo who clearly shouldnt of been fighting in the first place. but why? did he know something was wrong with paulo or is he just that bad fighter.
I think he sensed something ,but who knows?
Also who would want to win a belt by beating a guy whos not really there. theres no pride in that.
Chael did say in pre-fight interviews that he was hoping Paulo wouldn’t be at his best, so I think he would have been happy to win the belt from him that way. He said he hoped Paulo would have to be helped into the ring by his trainers and then he could just finish him off. If anyone would want to win the belt that way, it would be Chael.
Filho is a great fighter just going through a tuff situation. Im sure he can turn it around.
Two from Black House Team just gave us a horrific performance!!! First Anderson Silva gave us a sloppy and an unmotivated performance with Cote and now its Filho’s turn to give us one. Whats up with their camp? whats up with these fighters? arent they getting paid right, tired of fighting with less money? If Big Nog gives as a Silva and Filho like performance in UFC 92 for sure they are fooling us and make MMA a joke!!!
Greg- thanks for that info. thats a pretty bad attitude for a fighter to have. people should be just as upset at him as they are at paulo.
i think pete sell couldve gone in and beaten filho last night.
PAULO FILHO SHOULD BE STRIPPED CANT MAKE WAIT DOESNT FIGHT WHEN HES IN THE CAGE STRAIGHT BUM RANKED #2 IN THE WORLD ON SOME PEOPLES TOP TEN MY ASS HE SHOULD JUST GOT UP TO THAT BIG STATUE DOWN THERE IN BRAZIL ON THAT MOUNTAIN TALK TO HIS FRIEND JESUS AND JUMP THE FUCK OFF
I couldn’t believe what I was watching last night. I was rooting for Chael and really wanted to see him get the title. For Filho to come into that fight 7 pounds over and then act surprised that Chael was mouthing off to him for it is beyond me. I would have hit him with a chair and walked off on this clearly frustrating chain of events. Of course Chael is a much better person at handling his rage than I am =). I don’t feel bad for Filho at all. I feel bad for Chael. He got screwed by the ref in the first match. Yeah he was caught pretty tight but was in a position where he could have stepped over pretty easily. Then Mother Nature screws him and he has to wait longer for his 2nd chance. Then the time finally comes and the “champ” can’t get his head right to make weight. Then after all that he totally makes the “champ” look terrible and doesn’t even get to walk out with the title. To hell with “poor Filho” poor Chael.
If Filho isn’t mentally capable to defend his championship, then he should be stripped of it. In fact, he should have manned up and put that belt around Chael’s waist after embarrassing his self and the sport.
I really can’t put into words how I really feel about that situation.
I am just guessing but when that was going on last night and Mir made those comments I rewound a couple times and it appeared to me that his vision was impaired and Sonnen had good movement around the ring. Paulo was looking in the same direction that sonnen just was but he had moved to the left. Just a thought if you guys have it recorded check it out and lemme know if you think that was the case cause his eyes looked all messed up after the fight
what i dont understand though is how the champ not making weight keeps sonnen from having a shot at the belt….thats bs cause that is all filho’s fault and sonnen shouldnt pay for that
Wow, I am just fricken amazed at how many of you fans can stand by Filho. I do not care if he was depressed, or on drugs, or whatever! I love this sport, and hope to continue to watch it til I die. But, it is the sport of MMA that will die if we allow this type of s..t to continue. New fans will not continue to watch MMA if there are too many boring, crappy fights like this one. It is one thing if a fight is boring due to styles or something like that. But if a fighter, a champion fighter, comes in out of shape, does not make weight, has not trained properly if at all, he is not showing repsect for the sport or his fans.
Now, if he is too depressed or to drugged out to know he should not be fighting, then his trainers or coaches should have realized this. If they do not have the balls to do what is right, then the promoter should step in. He should be able to realize something is wrong when a fighter comes in seven pounds over. Anyone who has competed in MMA or wrestling knows how bad cutting weight sucks, but if you do not have the heart to make weight (to not even come close to weight), then you do not have the heart to fight!
being someone that works closely with mental illness
it seems that he may be suffering from bipolar disorder. If he has suffered from depression in the past, what we saw may have been mania.
PS: i absolutely cannot stand frank mir. he is far too arrogant for someone that has been a very average fighter in an up until now very weak division.