Paulo Filho back in against Yuki Sasaki, Thales Leites added to Bitetti Combat 6 (Updated)

by Jesse Holland on Feb 22, 2010 9:19 AM EST

PRIDE veteran and former WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho had withdrawn from his Feb. 25 bout against Yuki Sasaki at Bitetti Combat 6 due to "personal problems" according to a report from Tatame.com.

Now he's back in after Yuki Sasaki threatened to walk says Sherdog.com.

Apparently Sasaki wasn't too keen on fighting last minute replacement Thales Leites and Filho has agreed to rejoin the card to save the main event.

Thales Leites will remain on the card against Rico Washington.

The talented-but-troubled Filho has been all over the map, both figuratively and literally since his bizarre loss to Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 in November 2008. After submitting "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef in July of 2009, "Ely" skipped out on a return to Japan for a match against Dong Sik Yoon at DREAM 12, citing VISA issues as the culprit.

He quickly erased that snafu with a submission win over the absurdly-overmatched Tatsuhiko Nishizaka at the Bitetti Combat 5 event last December. Promoters were trying to secure a battle with Kazushi Sakuraba for the upcoming show but in the end had to settle for Sasaki.

Filho has world class skills that are unfortunately hampered by world class problems.

Leites on the other hand sails into Brazil after getting the boot from the UFC following back-to-back losses to Anderson Silva and Alessio Sakara. He had the opportunity to rebuild his name up north when he debuted for Maximum Fighting Championship last December but turned in a wretched performance against Dean Lister at "Unstoppable."

The submission specialist will have a chance to get things turned around this week in Brazil.

Here is how the Bitetti Combat 6 card is shaping up:

Paulo Filho vs. Yuki Sasaki
Thales Leites vs. Rico Washington
Glover Teixeira vs. Jeff Monson
Fabio Maldonado vs. Guto Inocente
Cristiano Marcello vs. Emiliano Cobra Vatt
Ediene "India" Gomes vs. Amanda Nunes
Luiz Firmino "Buscapé" vs. Francisco Drinaldo "Massaranduba"
Danillo "Indio" Villefort vs. Cassiano Tytschyo
Yuri Villefort vs. Julio Cesar Merenda
Leandro Batata vs. Johnny "Little" Eduardo

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on Bitetti Combat 6, including full results and recap as the event unfolds later this week.

Tweet Comment 8 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Here we go again....

Paulo must have a legit mental disorder, bi-polar or clinical depression or something…

That said, Thales by SUB.

"If we fight for money, I'll stop hitting you when you ask me to. If we fight for honor, I'll stop hitting you when i feel like it." - Rickson Gracie

by ---Cole--- on Feb 22, 2010 10:09 AM EST reply actions

He's got a bad case of the Karo's

"To me, MMA is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography and the dancers hit each other."

by Buster Bluth on Feb 22, 2010 10:13 AM EST up reply actions

I’m guessing chemical dependence…

Haven't you heard that the bird is the word?

by James Anthony on Feb 22, 2010 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

Guto Inocente, write down this name.

We’re pretty close, guys. He’s BJJ brown belt, great boxer (four times Brazilian champion) and vice kickboxing world champion – who watched the fight said he won. I wanted to see Thales Leites vs Paulo Filho but it’s done for “personal problems”. Bitetti has invited B-level Japanese fighters while there are plenty of tough guys here in Brazil. The most exciting fight puts face-to-face Danillo Villefort vs Cassiano Tytschyo. Let’s see whether Monson comes over this time.

"Once Flamengo, Flamengo until die"

by Eduardo Cruz on Feb 22, 2010 10:24 AM EST reply actions

He'll never make a comeback

Filho is done, to many psychological issues, hopefully one day he gets better… looks down at his Mike Tyson tattoo and goes “what the F*ck was I thinkin?”

by THORAZINE on Feb 22, 2010 4:33 PM EST reply actions

According to Tatame, Filho is back on against Sasaki.

edit Here’s more info: http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Update-Filho-Back-in-Against-Sasaki-22795

by faybio on Feb 22, 2010 7:24 PM EST reply actions

idk why people hating...

a couple years ago before he lost to sonne,this guy was the number two ranked guy,and most people believed would be andersons biggest challenge,but wouldnt happen cus they were friends.i remember reading the rankings and asking myself who this guy was.lol.great fighter,needs to get shit together.

"When are people going to realize that G.S.P is half man half amazing!!!"
Peter Merino(myself)...no im not famous but my quote was published on the ufc website

by mmasavvy on Feb 23, 2010 1:02 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Bitetti Combat Live Stream from Brazil

BUY YOUR PAY PER VIEW for $12.95 at http://www.bitetticombatppv.com/

Bitetti Combat 6 will stream live from Brazil on February 25th at 5 pm Eastern Time. It will feature Paulo Filho vs Yuki Sasaki, Jeff Monson vs Glover Texeira, Thales Leites, Leandro Batata, Fabio Maldonado and many more upcoming MMA fighters from Brazil. A total of 11 bouts are scheduled for this Thurday night, and we are looking at 3 hours of live streaming. BitettiCombatppv.com is a joint venture between www.jiujiutsuprogear.com, www.grabandpull.co.uk and the event promoters.

"Even though it is short notice, the technology and structure we have put together will bring a great quality stream," said Gilberto Faria. "We will broadcast at 500kps rate so we will all have a great experience. I look forward to having a great live event and hope to have all MMA fans on board so we can keep doing Live events from Brazil, as often as we can."

BC6 is co-promoted by sherdog.com, portaldovaletudo.com.br and intheguard.com. As part of the promotion, Sherdog.com will stream live the undercard, about three fights for free so our viewers can get a taste of the quality of the web stream and the level of fights put together for BC6. The free live stream on Sherdog will be open to up to 5,000 viewers on a first-come first-serve basis.

BITETTI COMBAT 6 FIGHT CARD
EDIENE INDIA GOMES X AMANDA NUNES
LUIZ CESAR X FELIPE MONGO ARINELLI
LEANDRO BATATA X GUSTAVO SAMPAIO LABAREDA
LUIZ FIRMINO BUSCAPE X FRANCISCO DRINALDO MASSARANDUBA
YURI VILLEFORD X JULIO CESAR MERENDA
CRISTIANO MARCELLO X EMILIANO COBRA VATTI
CASSIANO TYTSCHYO X DANILO INDIO VILLEFORT
FABIO MALDONADO X GUTO INOCENTE
THALES LEITE X ADVERSARIO A COMBINAR
GLOVER TEIXEIRA X JEFF MONSON
PAULO FILHO (PAULAO) X YUKI SASAKI

by gilbertojjpg on Feb 23, 2010 4:03 PM EST reply actions