Paulo Filho Released From WEC, Unlikely to Fight in UFC
by Discman2 on Nov 18, 2008 12:30 PM EST
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Fronted by Luke Thomas.
In the November 17th edition of the Wrestling Observer there is strong indication that (former) top 10 middleweight Paulo Filho has been released from his Zuffa contract and will most likely not be heading to the UFC any time soon, if at all.
FiveOuncesofPain.com has the wrap up:
“Not only will Paulo Filho's middleweight championship be forgotten, but Filho himself will be after his performance on the show, as it’s all but a lock that Filho won’t be moved to UFC,” one excerpt states.
“There is zero criticism I’ve seen of (Zuffa) cutting Paulo Filho, who was 16-0 coming into his fight (vs. Chael Sonnen) but his cut wasn’t over money but that the person who was in that cage has no business fighting at this time,” writes Observer publisher Dave Meltzer
WEC 36 was the last event to feature middleweights and WEC 37 will be the last event to feature light heavyweights as it was announced earlier this year that the WEC would now be focusing on the lighter weight classes. It was all but assumed that the (former) top 10 fighter and former WEC MW champion, Paulo Filho, as well as many other top prospects would be on their way to the UFC. Now though, the only place Filho is heading to is most likely a mental help facility what with the bizarre display shown in his last fight.
The good news is that Filho may very well fight in the UFC one day when he gets his mind in the right place. It's just now is not that time.
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The WEC already got rid of their middleweight and light heavy divisions. The last event was their curtain call, so its not accurate to say “they have plans”. If you change that in the article I’ll front this to the main page.
I said ‘they had plans to’ because the shutdown of the division isn’t official until 1/1/09. But I can see why it already went into place. WEC 37 has no fight above welterweight.
yup hahaha. 37 is the last we see of the higher weight classes.
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by Anton Tabuena on Nov 18, 2008 10:17 PM EST up reply actions
I think there’s more to this. If he’s not in any condition to fight, he won’t be seeing a check anyway (no fight=no pay). He’ll probably sort something out with Zuffa on the basis that he’ll get his life back on track..
They can’t withhold his pay because they didn’t like the way he fought. He showed up, and thats all it takes to get the show portion of the pay.
Wait, what?
I’m saying that this is just their way of saying “We aren’t booking you until you get your shit straight” so they aren’t giving him a deal.
Sonnen jumping back in that seems to support his statements about being so thrown off by Filho’s actions he had no idea what he was going to do. Someone that out of it might not even follow the rules of the sport. If he is so out of it he can’t tell the fight was over, who is to say he wouldn’t have ignored the ref breaking a sub hold after Sonnen tapped assuming he managed to grab hold of an arm or leg. That seems a good reason for Sonnen being so cautious.
i'm pretty sure...
… there was a post-fight statement made, either by someone would examined him, or someone from his camp that was present for an exam (i wanna say ed soares) that one of his pupils was irregularly dilated. if you watch that clip assuming he could only see properly out of one eye, then it makes more sense. he doesnt see sonnen trying to touch gloves until he turns his “good” eye towards him. i know from personal experience that walking around for even five minutes with just one of my contacts in, will throw me way off. still doesnt mean the guy is the right head space to be fighting in a cage, but i think the frank mir “he’s talking to jesus” explanation was a bit dramatic (go figure).
Irregular pupil dialation is a sign of potential brain injury or a stroke not a vision problem and what Mir was refering to was the fact that Filho was apparently talking to people who weren’t there during the fight.
Ed Soares statement:
He was incoherent, delirious and during his post-fight examination he had one pupil dilated much larger than the other, prompting doctors to order him to a local hospital.
http://mmamania.com/2008/11/08/manager-paulo-filho-to-send-chael-sonnen-wec-belt/
yeah, i totally agree that there is more to the situation than simply blurred vision… i was just saying that might have been PARTLY responsible for his behavior.
thanks for tracking down that quote!
I have seen athletes do far worse things and not catch so much hate from fans. I personally, have been very critical of him, but in retrospect, I think it should be aimed towards his professionalism.
Paulo obviously has some serious issues to overcome. I am very worried about his mental state and this is the type of behavior I would expect from someone very close to the edge. I for one, hope the best for him and his future. I hope he can overcome his addictions and find a productive way of life, whether or not it includes bjj/mma.
I do think this is a good move for him. To many times we see guys get coddled and never wake up from their stupors. I hope this is the wake up call he needs.
Best wishes to Filho and I do hope we see him in the octagon sooner rather than later.
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The Filho of old would have ripped Sonnens arm off this last fight. Sonnen is a huge joke. Couldn’t even finish Filho and made no attempt to either. If Sonnen gets a ticket to the UFC that would be a joke.
You know who else would have done well against Fihlo?
Old Vitor
Sonnen couldn’t finish Fihlo because he was too confused as to what was going on. He was so confused as to what Fihlo was doing that he had no clue on how to handle the fight. Plus I think Chael had to be thinking ’I’m fighting a handicapped person’. And who really wants to KO a handicapped guy? It doesn’t prove anything, even if it’s a former top 10 MW.
I think you're right
Not that I’m Mr. fighter, but I can’t imagine trying to fight a guy who keeps looking off in the distance, and acting as bizarre as Filho did. It must be very disconcerting.
That’s not a free pass for Sonnen, but it would definitely explain why he seemed so hesitant.
I think it is a complete pass for Sonnen,
imagine someone telling you to jump in the ring & beat on someone who was mentally challenged or something which is basically what Filho was. It is sad to see & hopefully he can overcome his demons & if he chooses to return to MMA, do well.
um..he was fighting the first 2 1/3 rounds. He went wierdo the last 60 seconds of the fight..
I can understand Sonnens demeanor the last few seconds against him, but the first 2 rounds, he did not try and finish Filho.
If I recall correctly Fihlo was fighting like shit the whole fight. The 3rd round is where things started getting beyond a shitty performance into the weird side and thats where he started looking off into the distance and talking to other people. I do recall an instance early on in the fight where Fihlo was desperately trying to pull guard. It was a sad sight to see…
Thats no excuse for Sonnen though. Maybe his game plan was to wear out Fihlo or something. We just don’t know.
My opinion......
I totally understand that Filho needs some help, but to release him and then looking at Rampage fighting next month doesn’t sit right with me. I know each situation is different, but I’m not cool with it.
How are those situations comparable?
Rampage will be in the octagon, in shape, at weight and ready to go. He’s taken measures to improve his livelihood. Filho has not exhibited the same determination, as evidenced by that fight (being that it was previously reported that he was doing so much better and then he showed up like that).
If Rampage drives his monster truck into a casino after the Wanderlei fight, you are free to revisit this topic.
way different dude
Did you see Fihlo in the ring? I have no doubt that if Rampage acted like that during a fight, he might get cut too.
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by Brandon Jones on Nov 18, 2008 3:55 PM EST up reply actions
The WEC supported Filho when he went into drug rehab. They postponed matches and waited till his people said he was better. If anything Paulo Filho got a lot better treatment from Zuffa than a lot of other fighters do (just ask Fabricio Werdum), I’m sure if Rampage has another meltdown(particularly in the middle of a event) he will get released too.
He hasn't fought since the crazy overwhelmed
So we’ll see.
Then again, pre-crazy Rampage got KTFO by Wanderlei twice, so maybe a change was due.
by Derek Suboticki on Nov 18, 2008 5:52 PM EST up reply actions
This may be just
a way to get some pressure off Filho until he can get his shit straight. I am certain that the UFC would not just straight cut someone of his skill level with no way back in.
the junkie has an interesting interview with ed soares up, that mentions filho already exploring fighting for other promotions:
filho is a grown man, who no doubt makes his own decisions, but this seems somewhat irresponsible on soares’s part. i would think as a manager (and a friend) he’d should more concerned with getting him well, than getting him paid.
Absolutely, I agree
I thought the same thing. I had hoped he had a good support system to help him through these rough times, if this is correct than it seems he doesn’t. And trying to put him on a reality show… incredible.
Nice find, woooburn.
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