Tatame has been trying to get in touch with Paulo Filho since he no-showed last month's DREAM.12, and today the Brazilian site is finally able to give us the former WEC champ's side of the story:

"I had seen rumors online that I would only fight in November, then I slowed down my training and let loose on my weight. Four or five days before the fight, they call me saying that I'm going to fight, but I was no longer near the weight. But worse was that I wouldn't have had enough time to take care of the visa for Japan."

The fighter also reasons that his managers, Joinho Guimarães and Ed Soares, must have been too busy with their other clients - who include Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Junior dos Santos and the Nogueiras - to remind him of the fight.

Filho is currently weighing 93 kilos (205 lbs.) but plans to fight at middleweight upon his return. (Date unknown, though there's another Bitetti Combat show in December.) He says that he's using this time off to rest and cure his sundry back, foot and hand injuries, as well as attend fights and study technique.