Following his disappointing and bizarre loss to Chael Sonnen at WEC 36, WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho (16-1) has been cut from Zuffa LLC and will not be heading to the UFC next year when the organization absorbs the WEC's middleweight and light-heavyweight classes.
While speaking with MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com), Ed Soares, Filho's manager, confirmed reports of the fighter's departure from Zuffa.
Soares couldn't fault the UFC for its decision, but he said Filho is already considering other options. One of them might be a spot on a new MMA reality show/competition promoted by Bellator Fighting Championships that's expected to air on ESPN Deportes next year.
Filho, who suffered his first career loss in 17 professional fights with the unanimous-decision defeat to Sonnen, failed to make weight for the Nov. 5 fight. Filho initially weighed in at 192 pounds and could only get to 189 -- four pounds over the 185-pound limit -- despite two additional hours of cut time.
The contest then became a non-title fight, which garnered the once-highly regarded Filho the wrath of the MMA world.
"I think right now he's taking a little time to think about what happened," Soares said. "Right now, he's got to make some changes in his life, and he has to dig deep and get motivated. Hopefully he learned from this experience.
"People who have seen Paulo Filho fight saw the kind of performance he put in (at WEC 36). Anyone who's watched Paulo Filho's fights knows that's not his usual performance. That's no excuse. I'm not taking anything away from anyone, including Chael Sonnen, but the reality is he didn't show up to fight. I thought he was going to put on a good performance. He was in good spirits all week. Something happened, and we don't know what it is. With all the things going on in his life, though, he still manned up and took the fight."
Filho defeated Sonnen a year ago, and the rematch had been scheduled for earlier this year. However, Filho had to pull out of the fight to seek treatment for depression and chemical dependency. The Nov. 5 fight was his first since the original Sonnen match in December 2007.
"With the circumstances that led up to [the WEC 36 fight], I think the UFC had to make a decision and do what's best for them," Soares said. "With Paulo's performance, I think we knew it could happen that way. But who knows. Maybe Paulo gets some wins under his belt and comes back and puts everything back in place one day."
With a 16-1 record, the PRIDE veteran shouldn't have trouble finding work. Although Filho's behavior was baffling -- he seemed dazed and distracted during the WEC 36 fight -- he remains one of the world's top-10 middleweights and has one blemish an otherwise stellar 17-fight career.
As for Filho's next home, Soares said they "have some things in the works."
Could that mean a contract with an organization such as Strikeforce or the Japanese-based DREAM?
"They're possibilities," Soares said. "Or it could be a new event that's not even out yet."
Such as Bellator Fighting Championships, which is expected to air an MMA reality competition on ESPN Deportes beginning in the spring of 2009?
"It could be," Soares said.
If Filho is chosen for the project, which is being promoted by Bjorn Rebney (a former "Friday Night Nights" boxing executive), he'd join a list of rumored participants that already includes former Cuban Olympic Judo competitor and Cage Fighting Championship middleweight champion Hector Lombard (17-2-1), highly ranked lightweight Eddie Alvarez (15-1) and World Victory Road/Strikeforce veteran Jorge Masvidal (13-5).
Regardless of Filho's future home, Soares is determined a silver lining can be found in the situation.
"Sometimes you learn more from your losses than your wins," he said. "I think if he had won the fight in the state he was in and not preparing himself, the way he didn't prepare himself for the fight, it probably would have been a bad thing, too, because he would thought he could always do it that way.
"It's been a rough year. Paulo's had some troubles and a lot of personal issues. But in the end, it'll make him a stronger person."
