Manager: Paulo Filho to send Chael Sonnen WEC belt
by James Iannotti on Nov 8, 2008 8:01 PM EST
Email
Print
The last man to hold the WEC middleweight title before the extinction of the division from the organization, Paulo Filho, has vowed to send his championship belt to Chael Sonnen following Wednesday's unanimous decision loss at WEC 36.
Originally the bout was scheduled to be for Filho's title anyway, but the Brazilian weighed in at a staggering seven pounds overweight, forcing officials to adjust the match to a three round non-title affair.
After the weigh-in, representatives from Filho's camp assured Matt Lindland -- who trains Sonnen at Team Quest -- that if Sonnen were to win the belt would be handed over in the ring as a sign of respect.
It never happened.
That could be because Filho seemed like he was on another planet during and after the fight. In fact, according to his manager Ed Soares via SI.com, Filho didn't even know the fight was over when he returned to the locker room following the three round decision.
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.
Even before he stepped in the cage, Filho was publicly battling depression issues as well as substance abuse problems, which actually led to the rematch getting postponed from March to November 5. It was believed that he had overcome his personal issues and that we'd be seeing the best Paulo Filho in the cage during the fight.
Obviously that wasn't that case.
Filho was once considered by most to be a top 185-pound mixed martial artist in the world, but he's clearly not the same man or fighter any longer. Just how far he has fallen is anyone's gue -- he resembles nothing at all close to the fighter or man who was at one time considered to be among the best in the business.
Hopefully, Filho can get the help he needs to get himself together. Honoring his promise to Sonnen -- who promised his father on his death bed before the fight the he would win a world title -- is a step in the right direction.
39 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
that sucks that these fighters are human. i am not mentally 100 percent at my job and i work at a computer all day.
by matt on Nov 8, 2008 8:06 PM EST reply actions
Matt, I love that comment and couldn’t agree more.
by Adam on Nov 9, 2008 8:06 AM EST up reply actions
What drugs were he taking?
If he’s going off of cocaine he could be experiencing a whole mess of problems.
by Jon on Nov 8, 2008 8:29 PM EST reply actions
Rupinal- it’s like Ketamine, very serious. He was addicted for 8 yrs. When he tried stopping, withdrawal that sent him into this tailspin.
by NameNotRequired on Nov 8, 2008 9:04 PM EST up reply actions
i think it was just straight up ketamine that
filho was addicted to.
his addiction to K was easy to get by with cause
ketamine does not come up on drug tests.
i feel bad that alot of u peeps are attacking filho
for his depression..
filho has tried to kick the habit for a long time.
and this year has been his best at staying away from the junk.
this is causing all the depression and confusion paulo
is dealing with.
peeps should be supporting him and not bashing the guy.
he still stepped up and fought~ knowing he was in no state.
and now he is personally sending the wec mwt belt to
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.the man is a respectful person and is trying his
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.the man is a respectful person and is trying hisbest to clean~up,,
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.the man is a respectful person and is trying hisbest to clean~up,,show the man respect he is still a top mw.
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.the man is a respectful person and is trying hisbest to clean~up,,show the man respect he is still a top mw.and sonnen is not.
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.the man is a respectful person and is trying hisbest to clean~up,,show the man respect he is still a top mw.and sonnen is not.filho is just going through hard times~ everyone does sometimes.
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.the man is a respectful person and is trying hisbest to clean~up,,show the man respect he is still a top mw.and sonnen is not.filho is just going through hard times~ everyone does sometimes.would u not want help and support when u are dealing with issues?
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.the man is a respectful person and is trying hisbest to clean~up,,show the man respect he is still a top mw.and sonnen is not.filho is just going through hard times~ everyone does sometimes.would u not want help and support when u are dealing with issues?watch filho come to the ufc and kick butt~
sonnen.. when he 100% has no reason to do so.the man is a respectful person and is trying hisbest to clean~up,,show the man respect he is still a top mw.and sonnen is not.filho is just going through hard times~ everyone does sometimes.would u not want help and support when u are dealing with issues?watch filho come to the ufc and kick butt~while sonnen lose’s to guys like kendall grove.
by stinky~fingers on Nov 9, 2008 12:55 PM EST up reply actions
he stepped up and fought???? that’s not even close to what he did. He shouldn’t have showed up at all, he wasted all of our time, sonnen’s time, wec’s time and money and hurt himself and the WEC. It’s fights like that that have potential to hurt the sport. He didn’t fight at all. He denied sonnen a chance at the belt after wasting a year of his time and energy. I hope they guy gets better but he certainly did not step up. His trainers even said he didn’t train one bit for the fight. It’s not honorable or brave or whatever u wanna call it to show up to a fight like that
by Crowls on Nov 9, 2008 5:16 PM EST up reply actions
haha yeah stinky I doubt that about the sonnen losing to kendal and filho kicking but. Sonnen was tooling him BOTH times. Only time Filho looked good was when he got that armbar in the first fight.
by The Anomaly on Nov 9, 2008 6:51 PM EST up reply actions
crowls~
filho did not come to fight but he was in the cage for 15 mins.
meaning it is obvious that sonnen did not come to fight either.
u cant just blame one man for a boring fight.
sonnen is just as much responsible.
what i meant above was that~
filho is depressed and trying to kick a habit.
peeps should not be bashing the man.
if u watched the fight? u can see filho is not the same man.
he is obviosly dealing with probs.
u would have actually rathered him not show up?
doing that would have got him more bashed then now.
i was giving him respect that he fought and didnt pull out.
and now he is giving his belt over when he doesnt need 2.
but my main point is that filho is a top fighter and it
is sad to see peeps disrespecting the man after a bad
performance due to depression.
anomaly~
paulo WILL do better in the ufc then sonnen~ trust that!
john~
big bird is chillin like a villan!
say word~ son!
by stinky~fingers on Nov 9, 2008 7:46 PM EST up reply actions
Nah well mainly I was going off their first fight, Where Sonnen did very well, I realize Filho has problems, I am not bashing Filho at all, as much as I am trying to defend Sonnen, who (albiet one fight didnt count) did very well against somebody who is considered to be the best. I was disagreeing with you more specifically that at this point, it doesnt seem right to descisively call Filho the better fighter. (Even though for the most part I myself would rather pick the BJJ guy over a wrestler)
by The Anomaly on Nov 10, 2008 4:47 AM EST up reply actions
anomaly~
i hear u.
sonnen is a talented fighter~ but imo
filho is way better and has way more potential.
sonnen will do alright in the ufc~ i see maybe 3 or 4 fights.
but paulo will be around a while..
i would love it if sonnen fought kendall in the near
future. i think it would be a great scrap.
i guess we will have to just agree to disagree.
thanks for the intelligent debate/conversation.
peeps like u make this site what it is!
say word~
by stinky~fingers on Nov 10, 2008 7:36 AM EST up reply actions
i couldn’t show up to work in a drug withdrawal induced haze
if i did people would definitely hold me accountable
whether or not i was a good employee 2 years ago would not stop my employers from firing me and my co-workers from trashing me
i couldn’t consistently under-perform and then expect to get paid the same
i couldn’t show up unprepared for work and then blame my co-workers
Most of these guys make more in one night then i make in a year, forgive me for wanting them to be held to the same standards as average Joe’s like me.
by The_Cannibal on Nov 10, 2008 2:37 PM EST up reply actions
When I look up Rupinal all i get is mma related stories about filho doing it.
Is there another name for it, i know Ketamine is Dissociative do you mean rohypnol?
by ShaiZ on Nov 9, 2008 4:49 AM EST up reply actions
Rupinal is actually the brand name of the drug. Propofol PhEur 10 is the active ingredient basically veterinary anesthetic.
by NameNotRequired on Nov 10, 2008 12:52 AM EST up reply actions
I feel really bad for Filho. Dudes head definitely wasnt straight that fight. I dont think Sonnen deserves the belt. To get the belt you have to beat the champ and Chael beat a shell of a man that night and did basically no damage too.
by JRV on Nov 8, 2008 8:31 PM EST reply actions
Yeah but the same can be said to keep the belt, you have to defend the belt. If you can’t defend it, then you shouldn’t keep it, no excuses. If you have problems then step away from the fighting and deal with them, if you don’t step away then tough sh*t.
by Rubberman on Nov 8, 2008 8:49 PM EST up reply actions
Let me make this clear, I’m not saying give the belt to Sonnen, but Filho for sure should not have it, if he can’t defend it.
by Rubberman on Nov 8, 2008 8:51 PM EST up reply actions
it doesn’t matter, wec is done with the middle weight division anyways!
kinda weird, maybe it’s in the water! First it was silva acting weird and passive against Cote, even offering to help him up in the middle of the fight, now Fihlo being in another world??/
by kevin on Nov 9, 2008 11:55 AM EST up reply actions
I hope Filho gets better, its sad to see another human in such distress. Ateast he manned up to his promise of giving the belt to Sonnen.
by w153r on Nov 8, 2008 8:38 PM EST reply actions
Sonnen deserves the belt, it was gracious of Filho’s camp to serve it up, but I’m sure all of it was very bitter sweet for Chael. I hope Filho gets the help he needs, it sounds like he’s hit rock bottom.
by THORAZINE on Nov 8, 2008 9:03 PM EST reply actions
Bottom line…Paulo fought Chael twice,and was schooled twice. If he is..or isnt on drugs….fuckem in the neck. Thats Chaels Belt…he won in straight up…
by tex mex on Nov 8, 2008 9:27 PM EST reply actions
I can tell you’re a super mature guy. One thing to note — Sonnen lost the first fight. Sonnen was certainly winning up until that point, but he got finished.
by Ben! on Nov 8, 2008 11:17 PM EST up reply actions
I think it’s a great gesture, but I’d rather Filho keep the belt. If I were Sonnen, I wouldn’t want it under these circumstances. Better to be respectful of Filho’s situation, win a on another day. When Sonnen comes to the UFC, he’ll have plenty of reasons to up his game significantly just to survive in the division. Maybe he’ll take that belt one day.
by MMACrossfire on Nov 8, 2008 9:29 PM EST reply actions
How many times does Sonnen need to fight him? He smacked Filho around in their first fight until the arm bar, and the ref stopped that fight, not Sonnen. Then Sonnen beat him again, but doesn’t get the belt because Filho was way overweight. I would be surprised if Filho ever fights again. He’s a mess.
by PW on Nov 9, 2008 8:09 PM EST up reply actions
How could his team and management even let him fight?
They had to know what kind of condition he was in…
Its not like he could have been fine for the weeks leading up to the fight and then twig out the night of the fight.
He needs some better people around him helping him to get better.
by mike22 on Nov 8, 2008 9:33 PM EST reply actions
There is no other day to win this title; the weight class is done.
The biggest drawback for Filho is that he is not likely to get anymore big fights. He shows up very overweight and then doesn’t fight. Very odd performance and one that would make promoters wonder if they could book him for an undercard.
Where does he possibly go from here? Clearly he has to get clean first. Even after that he would have a way to go…I just can’t help but think we saw a career end in sad fashion.
by TDB39 on Nov 8, 2008 10:34 PM EST up reply actions
Agree – his handlers obviously just wanted the paycheck.
by Muscle Dolphin on Nov 8, 2008 10:39 PM EST up reply actions
Agree,sounds like his people are just worried about their cut,he needs to go get help and get with another team,people that are going to support him through this crap he going threw.
by scott on Nov 8, 2008 10:37 PM EST reply actions
shoulda never left silva and the nogueiras
by randy murders on Nov 9, 2008 1:30 AM EST up reply actions
He deserves the Belt and I’m glad to see Paulo has honor.
by Rip'd By The System on Nov 8, 2008 11:13 PM EST reply actions
sonin was wack too… didn’t want to engage in anything… yeah he out pointed the guy, but in the wackest most boring way just like machida but worse…… sonin sux.
by fedichino on Nov 9, 2008 2:18 AM EST reply actions
I think it’s fair to give Sonnen the belt. He beat the champ, simple as that. It’s not Sonnen’s problem if he didn’t make weight. I hope filho gets back to his old self soon.
by BritishBulldog on Nov 9, 2008 6:27 AM EST reply actions
I’ll be the first to admit that I may have overrated Filho all this time. I’m re-assessing whether the guy was EVER a top 5 fighter. There is no question that Filho’s BJJ is excellent; but to perform so short of expectations in both of his fights against a decent (but not great) well-rounded fighter in Sonnen, means that Filho is not the force that everyone thought he was. The truth is that he’s never beaten a top MW. He’s never beaten Henderson, Franklin, Santiago, Lawler, Prangley, Lindland, Okami….none of those guys. We keep hearing that he tools Anderson in training; but training is not a fight. Somehow, I don’t see Filho beating Anderson in a real fight with anything at stake. Filho beat guys like Doerksen, Misaki, Matsui, and Kondo—-solid fighters, but far from great.
Paulo Filho has never beaten a universally-considered top 5 fighter. The depression and substance abuse problems can’t really be factored into this——if the guy steps into an Octagon, we have to assume he’s ready to fight.
People bought into Filho (at least I did) because of his unbeaten record against decent fighters. That shouldn’t be enough to make someone the #2 fighter in any division. If one doesn’t beat top fighters, one shouldn’t be considered a top fighter, no matter how impressive the win/loss record. Filho needs to start over and try to rebuild himself, and he needs to fight the very top guys, win or lose. He has been exposed as a young guy with great BJJ talent who still has a long way to go.
by Fred on Nov 9, 2008 11:56 AM EST reply actions
we could see a new Evan Tanner thing if this goes on..
by RoB on Nov 9, 2008 11:51 PM EST reply actions
Serious!! I cant believe more parallels are not being made to Tanner.
by The Anomaly on Nov 10, 2008 4:48 AM EST up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
