Paulo Filho Does Not Surrender WEC Middleweight Title to Chael Sonnen as Promised
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 12:49 PM EST
50 comments
Fronted by Luke Thomas.
MMAWeekly reports, in an interview with Sonnen, that Filho never handed over the title after their match, as reportedly promised after the fight was changed to a three round non-title bout:
After officially weighing in four pounds over the 185-pound limit, Filho allegedly commented that he'd give Sonnen the belt if he lost. He lost, but the belt wasn't handed over. Asked about the situation, Sonnen said, "I did hear that rumor. I heard he said he would surrender it, that he would count this as a championship match. Of course that wouldn't be official, but just something between the two of us. And I would have accepted. I'm that desperate for the championship and to have that goal fulfilled that I would have humbly accepted that belt from him. But no, he didn't offer it to me."
In the last three days Filho has done a lifetime of damage to tarnish his image as a top five middleweight, an honorable opponent and as a mentally stable human being. I had waited anxiously after the announcement of the victor for Filho to cross the cage with the belt in hand and present it to Sonnen, who dominated (however not exciting) their three round contest. Having already been vehement at Filho's behaviour, the pre-fight interview with Sonnen, where he recounted a story of promising his dying father that he would win the title, really tipped the scales for me.
Filho canceling their original rematch due to addiction was marginally acceptable. His tipping the scales was the last straw. The fiasco regarding his offer to hand over the belt, in a symbolic gesture, and his eventual refusal to do so, is irreparable to my opinion of him.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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Would love to hear from Filhos team on this one, but I think it’s no sadly surprise.
by mythbuster on Nov 7, 2008 11:49 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I intended to mention that..
I do want to hear what they have to say about the matter; though, it was widely reported by Lindland and several other independant parties that Filho’s party made this promise while the two camps came to an agreement amidst discussing the revised fight agreement.
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 11:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
One more bit that I want to add to this
..but not as part of the body of the story because I don’t have an official source. But this quote is very interesting, to say the least..
You are one of the best fighters in the WEC. Are you thinking of heading to the UFC?
CS: Truth is, after this fight I’m going to the UFC.
Do you have an idea who your first opponent in the UFC will be?
CS: Once I’m in the UFC, my first adversary will be Anderson Silva.
Really? Has that been confirmed?
CS: Yes, it’s confirmed. Once I’m in the UFC I’ll fight Anderson Silva. I think he’s a great fighter, but I’m only going to start thinking about that after my fight with Paulo Filho. If you want to ask me about it after tonight, I’ll be happy to answer.
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 11:55 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Oh boy
I really really hope this is pure rumor.
by mythbuster on Nov 7, 2008 12:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah.. Biting off more than he can chew. That soft jab is not going to get him very far against Silva.
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 12:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Sonnen talks a lot
if anyone has followed his comments in the past, it’s pretty obvious he’s a big talker snd somewhat dellusional. His performance in the fight against Filho was an utter failure. There aren’t too many top level 185’s that wouldn’t have knocked Filho by the 3rd round this night.
by lbk on Nov 7, 2008 12:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Here’s the quote – http://www.graciemag.com/news/144/ARTICLE/12266/2008-11-05.html
by Nick Thomas on Nov 7, 2008 1:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Did you realize...
..that he’s in Soul Calibur?? Holy shit..
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 1:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I lost all respect for Filho after what went down. He is a disgrace to the sport and has absolutely no honor or self respect. To pull the crap he did, and then not have the dignity to walk acros the stage and tell Sonnen he is the better man and then hand him his belt – says a lot about the man. He is a joke. If I was Dana I wouldn’t sign him.
by lbk on Nov 7, 2008 12:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
No difference in disrespect to the sport...
than people who use steroids or drugs. imo.
by Frank_Castle on Nov 7, 2008 2:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Give the way Filho fought
I would be hard presesd to make negative comments about Sonnen.
Where is his punches soft? Yes, but then again, he didn’t really need to do anything to try and win.
After viewing his post fight interview, I take him at his word…that he was truely bewildered by Filho’s behavior and didn’t know what to make of it.
by Razreshat on Nov 7, 2008 1:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Where is his punches soft?
You think tap..tap..tapping on Anderson Silva’s nose would clear a path to victory? Because that’s where the soft jab was brought into question— that potential beating.
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 1:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
He was showing good ground and pound in his previous fight though. so, who knows.
by lbk on Nov 7, 2008 1:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I wasn’t making a complete analysis. What I said was based on Wednesday’s fight with Filho. Regardless, he has no chance against Silva.
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 1:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Someone is going to catch Silva soon. The luster is going to start wearing off.
by lbk on Nov 7, 2008 2:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
No offense
But that’s calling a homerun; everyone remembers when you’re right, no one remembers when you’re wrong.
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 2:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, but then again, he didn’t really need to do anything to try and win.
I would have thought that was in his job description. I understand your statement, but I think the problem is that he defeated a champion but unconvincingly, which generally hurts the entire promotion.
by asa on Nov 7, 2008 1:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It's called...
…victory via Jake O’Brien.
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 1:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
He didn’t do a ton of damage but he definitely won that fight convincingly
by Day Man on Nov 7, 2008 2:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
yeah,
Filho threw ONE punch and ONE kick in the final round. I don’t care how little damage his punches were doing. You can’t say that he didn’t win that fight in any way other than convincingly.
I understand that a lot of people would have liked to see a stoppage, but the truth of the matter is that crapping on Sonnen is just the wrong approach to take.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 7, 2008 3:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
that reads poorly...
“I don’t care how little damage his punches were doing. You can’t say that he didn’t win that fight in any way other than convincingly.”
Should probably read “I don’t care how little damage Sonnen’s punches were doing. You can’t say that he didn’t win that fight in any way other than convincingly.”
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 7, 2008 3:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Naw it still made sense
My statement wasn’t a value judgment in and of itself, I was only referring to how a promotions’ champion looks more dominating and generally draws better if they win by finishing the fight, rather than decision. Randy’s the only popular champ I can think of recently who had a number of decisions. Even Hughes was picking up subs and TKOs.
by asa on Nov 8, 2008 4:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I think he was freaked out and possibly afraid to go full out on Filho. I wouldn’t want to fight someone who’s clearly not fully present. There are any number of awful scenarios that spring to mind as to what could still come out about Paulo’s mental state. Sonnen shouldn’t have been put in the position of fighting someone who’s clearly not mentally ready to compete.
by Kid Nate on Nov 7, 2008 2:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
This is going to sound terrible..
..but Filho looked like a man who doesn’t care about anything, and I don’t know that I’d be surprised to hear that he OD’d (or something similarly awful). I’m displeased about his behaviour as it concerns the world of MMA, but I hope he gets the help he needs (if that is what’s happening here).
by Blackout612 on Nov 7, 2008 2:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Seriously, have there been any reports on what he was doing when he would just stare blankly at nothing during the fight?
by Day Man on Nov 7, 2008 2:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
From Tatame...
"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", said Filho, who revealed he’s moving to Los Angeles after new training.
Filho also says he’s moving to LA because “at Brazil we hadn’t a good training camp,” at that he plans to move to LHW after a third match with Sonnen.
http://tatame.com/2008/11/06/Filho—It-was-good-to-give-me-new-spirit
by Chris Nelson on Nov 7, 2008 2:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Amen to that.
http://eliotmarshall.com/
by BJJDenver on Nov 7, 2008 3:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Move to LHW? He’s a tad short for MW, let alone LHW…where he’ll likely be in even worse physical shape than what we saw him on Wednesday. Wow, just…wow.
by Estrada on Nov 7, 2008 3:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
dude he loves that effin flannel cutoff shirt
by beersnbroads on Nov 7, 2008 5:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Junkies
love flannel. I said that I thought he had a relapse. What say you now?
by skwirrl on Nov 7, 2008 8:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
i read somewhere that theyre gonna ship the belt to sonnen.
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 8, 2008 6:28 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I always thought the flannel shirt was a tribute to Mick Foley.
by Zack Gobie on Nov 12, 2008 1:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
the disrespectful f ho
its amasing how some ppl dont at least take pride in there word as i read dana shouldnt let the lieing sob in the ufc well maybe for one fight to fight silvea or how ever u spell his name that would be more as a joke an would be nice to see silv fight him kick his lieing butt then ban the moron from the ufc its not as much as he didnt make the weight (in the ufc u no how dana feels about not makin weight } but dont say something that ur not gonna do an one way it can be seen is he didnt make weight cuz he new he wasnt goin to win the fight eather way still dont say what ur not gonna do dose he thing he impressed the fans by sayin that well if he did with that now what an how do the fans feel about his lieing butt he would gotten more respect from the fans if he did what he said he would do instead he show he dont even have respect for hime self or for his word makes one thing how it would be to be around him even worse to be a freind {witch i belive he lost some of them now } as for the freinds he might still have if u was one of them would u be prode of him or would u say when he says something to u . ya ya ok sure what ever too funny the moron
by ivory69690 on Nov 17, 2008 8:25 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
dude
I couldn’t read anything you just said. Its like one big ass run on sentence. You didn’t do very well in English class did you? Try using things like periods and commas then re-type what you just said.
by attgnp on Nov 17, 2008 3:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Filho is Disrespectful
Bleep Bloop Bleep! Translation in progress!
I’m amazed that some men don’t honor the pride of their word. Dana shouldn’t let Filho fight in the UFC, save for the opportunity of a fight with Anderson Silva (though, Silva is likely to make short work of him). He can’t even make weight and we all know Dana does not take that sort of behaviour lightly. But don’t say that you will do something out of convenience to your character because there is some outrage over your inability to make weight for your title fight (which he was likely to lose, as it was). If he would have simply done it without parading around telling everyone that he’s going to hand Sonnen the belt; maybe he would have more credibility with MMA fans. I hate to think this is how he treats his own friends (some of which may not be pleased with his behaviour of late). As for the friends he still has, they may look at him differently for not keeping his word in such a public manner, because it reflects negatively upon his personal interactions with them in the future. Paulo Filho is a moron. Good day, sir… I said GOOD DAY.
PS dude; he’s mailing him the belt.
by Blackout612 on Nov 17, 2008 3:18 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Hahaha
I was going to note that I should be working, but I should be working when I say anything between the hours and eight and six.
by Blackout612 on Nov 17, 2008 4:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
4 the english teacher
hey dude as u so nicly but it … is that what u call that {commas} well englist teacher u might have to stay after a few times urself lol
by ivory69690 on Nov 17, 2008 3:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
lier
an bleep bloop bleep did i spell , them an get them right DUDE? lol yes as i was sayin i belive dana should let him fight silv one time . an silv dont care what weight he comes in on . just one time let silv give him a ufc beaten the lieing pos an like u an i said to be a freind of his well i think id pass on that . the thing he should of done was keep his liein mouth shut . its the open mouth insert foot the moron corect this for me teacher an grade it thank you lol
by ivory69690 on Nov 17, 2008 3:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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