Paulo Souzo Filho (Template:IPA-pt; born May 24, 1978) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter as well as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo practitioner, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Filho was the last WEC middleweight champion, and is often compared (in fighting style and appearance) to his former teammate Ricardo Arona.[1] He currently trains with Team Link, in Ludlow, Massachusetts, along with UFC heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga.[2]
Pride FC[]
During his stint in PRIDE, Filho was the only undefeated entrant in the 2006 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix, but he did not win the tournament as an injury kept him from the tournament finals. In the semi-finals of the tournament on PRIDE Bushido 13, November 5, 2006, Filho defeated Kazuo Misaki by armbar. Unfortunately, Filho suffered a ruptured membrane in his knee during the fight, forcing him to withdraw from the Grand Prix finals match against Denis Kang, who also suffered injury with a torn biceps in the semi-finals.[3] Filho was replaced by Misaki, who went on to defeat an already injured Kang and claim the Grand Prix title.
Filho's most notable wins include Kazuo Misaki, Amar Suloev and Yuki Kondo, as well as Murilo Rua and Ikuhisa Minowa.
World Extreme Cagefighting[]
He signed with the WEC and fought for the vacant middleweight title on August 5, 2007, at WEC 29. Filho defeated Canadian jiu-jitsu fighter Joe Doerksen via TKO (strikes) at 4:07 of the first round. His first title defense occurred at WEC 31, where he was awarded a controversial win over 2-time NCAA Wrestling Champion Chael Sonnen by armbar at 4:55 in the second round. Due to controversy stemming from the fight stoppage (Sonnen's screams of pain were taken as a verbal submission by the referee, despite his objections), a rematch has been announced to headline WEC 34. However on March 14 Filho pulled out of this bout due to the fact that he had checked into a substance abuse rehab facility. Filho faced Sonnen at WEC 36 on November 5 live on Versus. Filho missed weight for this match, however the contest went ahead as a non-title three round fight.[4][5] Sonnen dominated the fight and took a unanimous decision victory. Throughout the fight Filho seemed disturbed, disoriented, and confused.[6]
DREAM[]
Filho made his DREAM debut on July 20, 2009 when he took on light heavyweight Melvin Manhoef at DREAM.10 in Saitama, Japan. He defeated Melvin Manhoef via armbar on the first round. Filho showed great perseverance and a good chin in the fight, weathering an onslaught of strikes from the dangerous Manhoef before executing a powerful takedown that immediately put him in half guard, which he then swiftly transitioned into a full mount whilst at the same time trapping Melvin's left arm. He quickly secured an armbar to win the bout in the first round.
Filho was scheduled to face Yoon Dong-Sik on October 25, 2009 at DREAM.12[7], but failed to show up and was replaced on the card.[8]
Bitteti Combat[]
Filho made his debut in one of Brazil's top Promotions Bitteti Combat, On September 12, 2009 at Bitetti Combat MMA 4 against Argentina's top MMA fighter Alex Schoenauer, Filho controlled throughout the whole fight and pulled off a Unanimous Decision. He then fought Tatsuhiko Nishizaka on December 12, 2009 at Bitetti Combat MMA 5. He easily took the fight to the ground, controlled and secured a Kimura in the very first round. Bringing his MMA record to 19-1.
He was scheduled to fight Yuki Sasaki in the main event at Bitetti Combat MMA 6 on February 25, 2010, but it was announced on February 22 that he had withdrawn from the bout due to "personal problems". Later that day, it was confirmed that Filho would in fact be fighting Sasaki. Filho then failed to show for the event's weigh-in, forcing a last minute cancellation of his bout with Sasaki.[9]
Bellator Fighting Championship[]
Filho is currently scheduled to face Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard in a non-title fight in May.
Championships and accomplishments[]
CBJJ World Championships
1999 Black Belt Pesado : 2nd Place
1998 Brown Belt Pesado : 2nd Place
1997 Purple Belt Pesado : 1st Place
CBJJ Brazilian Championships
2000 Black Belt Pesado: 2nd Place
1999 Black Belt Pesado: 2nd Place
1998 Brown Belt Pesado: 1st Place
1996 Blue Belt Esadissimo: 1st Place
He got his black belt in Judo in '96 from Clube de Regatas Flamengo. His black belt in BJJ was awarded in 1998, from Carlson Gracie.
Mixed Martial Arts[]
- WEC Middleweight Champion
MMA record[]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 25 | 19 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 2 | 0 |
| By submission | 9 | 0 |
| By decision | 8 | 1 |
| Record | Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19-1 | 20/05/2010 |  Hector Lombard
|
Bellator 19 | ||||||
| 19-1 | 12/12/2009 | Win |  Tatsuhiko Nishizaka
|
Bitetti Combat MMA 5 | Submission (Kimura) | 1 | 3:00 |  São Paulo, Brazil
|
Fought at 205 lbs |
| 18-1 | 9/12/2009 | Win | File:ARG flag.svg Alex Schoenauer | Bitetti Combat MMA 4 | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
Fought at 205 lbs |
| 17-1 | 7/20/2009 | Win |  Melvin Manhoef
|
DREAM.10 Welter Weight Grand Prix 2009 Final Round | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 2:35 | Saitama, Japan
|
|
| 16-1 | 11/5/2008 | Loss |  Chael Sonnen
|
WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | Hollywood, Florida, USA
|
Bout changed to non-title fight after Filho failed to make weight |
| 16-0 | 12/12/2007 | Win | Chael Sonnen
|
WEC 31: Faber vs. Curran | Technical Submission (Armbar) | 2 | 4:55 | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
|
Defended WEC Middleweight Championship |
| 15-0 | 8/5/2007 | Win |  Joe Doerksen
|
WEC 29: Filho vs. Doerksen | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 4:07 | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
|
Won Vacant WEC Middleweight Championship |
| 14-0 | 11/5/2006 | Win | Kazuo Misaki
|
PRIDE Bushido 13 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 9:43 | Yokohama, Japan
|
PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Semifinal |
| 13-0 | 8/26/2006 | Win | Ryo Chonan
|
PRIDE Bushido 12 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 2:30 | Nagoya, Japan
|
PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal |
| 12-0 | 6/4/2006 | Win |  Gregory Bouchelaghem
|
PRIDE Bushido 11 | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan
|
PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix First round |
| 11-0 | 4/2/2006 | Win | Murilo Rua
|
PRIDE Bushido 10 | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| 10-0 | 9/25/2005 | Win | Ryuta Sakurai
|
PRIDE Bushido 9 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 3:49 | Tokyo, Japan
| |
| 9-0 | 4/3/2005 | Win |  Amar Suloev
|
PRIDE Bushido 6 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 4:22 | Yokohama, Japan
|
Fought at 205 lbs |
| 8-0 | 7/19/2004 | Win | Akira Shoji
|
PRIDE Bushido 4 | Decision (Split) | 1 | 8:05 | Nagoya, Japan
| |
| 7-0 | 6/27/2004 | Win | Daijiro Matsui
|
Gladiator FC - Day 2 | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |  Seoul, South Korea
| |
| 6-0 | 4/1/2004 | Win | Silmar Rodrigo
|
Bitetti Combat Nordeste 3 | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| |
| 5-0 | 9/29/2002 | Win | Akira Shoji
|
PRIDE 22: Beasts From The East 2 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 2:48 | Nagoya, Japan
| |
| 4-0 | 8/18/2001 | Win | Yuki Kondo
|
DEEP: 2nd Impact | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan
| |
| 3-0 | 3/31/2001 | Win | Ikuhisa Minowa
|
Pancrase: Proof 2 | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | Osaka, Japan
| |
| 2-0 | 1/8/2001 | Win | Keiichiro Yamamiya
|
DEEP: DEEP 2001 | KO (Punches) | 2 | 0:29 | Nagoya, Japan
| |
| 1-0 | 7/24/2000 | Win | Luiz Claudio das Dores
|
Heroes: Heroes 1 | Submission (Punches) | 2 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
External links[]
Template:S-start Template:S-vac Template:S-ttl Template:S-vac Template:End
Notes[]
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/20060412165751/www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/topten.asp?articleid=14&zoneid=15
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=9468
- ↑ Filho Discusses PRIDE GP Injury and Future Plans - Sherdog.com, November 14, 2006
- ↑ http://sherdog.com/news/news/filho-misses-weight-for-wec-36-title-bout-15040
- ↑ http://www.wec.tv/index.cfm?fa=eventdetail.fightCard&eid=1538
- ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/mma_experts/post/Absolutely-baffling-performance-by-Filho?urn=mma%2C120019
- ↑ Melvin Manhoef vs. Zelg Galesic and Paulo Filho vs. Yoon Dong Sik set for DREAM.12. mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved on 2009-10-09.
- ↑ Paulo Filho Out of Dream.12. mma.fanhouse.com. Retrieved on 2009-10-23.
- ↑ Paulo Filho withdrawals from Bitetti Combat MMA 6. fight.ie.com.com. Retrieved on 2010-02-25.
fr:Paulo Filho ja:パウロ・フィリォ pt:Paulo Filho