Heading into this championship rematch for the WEC Middleweight Championship (Filho had defeated Sonnen once before, also for the championship), Filho was arguably one of the WEC’s best assets. Filho’s record stood at an impressive 16-0, and with a combination of great submission wins, a couple of (T)KO’s sprinkled here and there, and only one Split Decision win (the rest were all unanimous), Filho looked like a phenomenon just waiting to happen.

The up-and-down Sonnen hadn’t quite emerged into the UFC Championship contender he is today, but was still a great fighter. Sonnen had a huge amount of experience going into this fight, both from the first fight and with his overall record of 20-9-1 going into this second fight. While extremely basic, the story of the grizzled veteran trying to put an end to the young (by comparison) champion just beginning to hit his stride usually results in some wildly entertaining back-and-forth action. But as we all know, everything took an abrupt turn for the worse once that blue door closed and the WEC Middleweight Championship was put on the line…except it wasn’t.

Filho couldn’t even make weight for this fight, and to Sonnen’s credit, he allowed the fight to be a non-title affair. For all the controversy that he’s recently caused with his constant trash-talking directed at current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen has never been a man that turns down a fight. So the fight was on, but no one was home in the head of Paulo Filho.

What we got in this fight was fifteen minutes of Paulo Filho flushing his career down the toilet. Filho was sluggish, unwilling to engage, and some of his behavior in the fight was just plain bizarre. Who could forget WEC announcer and former UFC Heavyweight and Interim Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir’s disgusted tone when he said “What is he looking at?” as Filho stared blankly across the cage while Sonnen started to circle him? Some insider reports say that Filho was even talking to himself during this fight.

It’s never been revealed what exactly went wrong with Filho that put him into such a morbid mental state: some have pointed to a bad weight cut, others have pointed to personal problems or some type of illness, and a resounding majority seems to point to some kind of drug use. Filho’s baffling performance against Sonnen would prove to only be the tip of the iceberg, as Filho would go on to miss weight, cancel fights, and generally slip further down the long slope that leads to rock bottom.

It’s saddening, frustrating, even a bit infuriating to see someone with so much obvious potential squander it. At one time, there were serious talks about Filho having “best in the world” status, and even those that believed that he wasn’t near the top just yet could concede that Filho would be something big if he kept winning. Would I have seen a UFC Middleweight Championship in his future if Filho hadn’t thrown it all away? Maybe not, but I could have easily seen him go on to become a fantastic addition to a division that, at the time, was still recuperating from the all-out nuclear holocaust Anderson Silva had rained down upon the UFC Middleweight division. This one fight ruined the future of one of the most promising fighters in the business, so there’s no doubt that this is an “Infamous Moment in MMA History”.

For someone as talented as Paulo Filho, his personal life seems to be eating away at him. This isn’t the first fight that Filho has struggled to make weight for; and there’s no sign of this unfortunate trend stopping anytime soon. Impact FC should count its blessings that Filho showed up at all, as it’s also become a trend for him to back out of fights. Whether or not his reasons for cancelling a fight are justified is debatable, but one thing is for sure: the risk is beginning to overshadow the reward when it comes to trying to book Paulo Filho.

I hate to get all preachy, but I think Filho really needs to get his life together. All I have to go on is rumors, which point to everything from family problems to heavy drug use as the cause for Filho’s recent, bizarre antics. Whatever it is, it needs to stop soon. For all his talent, Filho is digging his own grave and burning every bridge in sight with his actions. And that’s the truly sad part about all this: Paulo Filho is still one of the most gifted middleweight fighters in the world, but he’s squandering that gift.

For all his personal problems, Filho’s fighting ability has managed to pull him through every single one of his post-“breakdown” fights except for his loss to current UFC Middleweight Contender Chael Sonnen. Even fighting at a jacked-up Heavyweight (Filho’s last fight had him weighing in at 218 pounds), Filho has won four straight fights heading into his bout with Kang. Almost all of those four fights have seen Filho show up in a sorry state of mind and in lackluster physical condition, only to pull through based on pure talent alone. This unfortunate trend won’t be able to last much longer.

Trying to survive on talent alone will result in Paulo Filho’s further downfall. While his run in the UFC was lackluster, Denis Kang is more than a match for the current incarnation of Paulo Filho. It will only be a matter of time before Filho’s phoned-in performances and bizarre actions outside the ring/cage/etc. catch up to him in the same way they did when he fought and was completely dismantled by Chael Sonnen. You can only survive on talent alone for so long, and Filho’s time is rapidly running out.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Will Filho ever pull himself out of this rut, and what do you think the future holds for him?

Tatame quotes Conan Silveira, Lombard’s jiu-jitsu instructor at American Top Team, saying, “We’re ready for anything. I just came from Australia, I didn’t know if Paulao had signed it yet.  That’s a sad situation because Paulao comes from the same school that I came, from Carlson’s, he’s my friend, but this is professional.”

Filho submitted Tatsuhiko Nishizaka (3-5-1) at Bitetti Combat 5 in São Paulo December 12.

Lombard defended his Australian Cafe Fighting Championships belt in Sydney March 12 with a TKO of “Pachuco” Art Santore (18-8).

The comments seem to have foreshadowed Filho’s bailing out of a matchup versus Yuki Sasaki (22-15-1) which Bitetti Combat attributed to personal problems.

But, Filho has publicly denied Bitetti Combat’s explanation.  He told Tatme, We didn’t have a financial agreement. The purse was too low comparing from what I’m used to receive and it’s bad for the fighter’s career.”  He added, “They said I’m having problems with drugs and medicines. You can test me and you’ll see I’m great.”

But, Soares seems to have contradicted his fighter to MMA Junkie.  He added, “Ever since that situation with Chael Sonnen, he’s been fighting through [issues].”

But, Friday Filho told Tatame that it was money that convinced him to miss the fight.

Filho said, “We didn’t have a financial agreement. The purse was too low comparing from what I’m used to receive and it’s bad for the fighter’s career.”  He added, “They said I’m having problems with drugs and medicines. You can test me and you’ll see I’m great.”

Filho told Tatame that he probably won’t fight in Brazil or for Bitetti anymore.  “I’m not worried with fighting in Brazil anymore. I like the event, Amaury is my friend, but this event doesn’t pay what I deserve.”

Filho submitted Tatsuhiko Nishizaka (3-5-1) at Bitetti Combat 5 in São Paulo December 12.

Sakuraba finished “Benkei” Zelg Galesic (8-4) in a kneebar at DREAM.12 in Osaka last October.

Distak said, “Sakuraba is a legend. If they confirm it, this fight will put Paulao at the tops again.”

That sums it.

Until last year, UFC President Dana White boasted that his top-down authority over MMA led to matchups between the two best fighters in any division, unlike boxing where fighters were matched according to marketability wich has led to the unmarketability of boxing.  And, until November 2008 White was right.  But, in the past year-and-a-half or so, the matchups in the UFC have been determined by market more than sport.

The top challenger to Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) is second-ranked Strikeforce champion Jake Shields (24-4-1).  And, it’s a good matchup on paper too, Silva being the best striker in the sport and Shields being at the top of his grappling game.

But, I understand the business and give White a pass for not collaborating on big fights with competing promotions.  So, the next best matchup for Silva in the UFC was third-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7).  But, White wouldn’t pony up the cash to keep Hendo in the Octagon to make the fight.  Henderson abandoned White and the UFC and signed with Strikeforce.

It happens.  Then, the next best matchup for Silva is fourth-ranked “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2), whom Silva himself calls the next king of the division.  But, Marquardt was passed over.

Instead, eighth-ranked “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) will challenge Silva at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi April 10 in a more marketing stand-up war between two big names.  But, Marquardt is right.  Belfort has been in and out of the middlweight division and his most recent TKO of “Ace” Rich Franklin (26-5) at UFC 103 in Dallas September 19 was at 195 pounds.

But, as the hype behind Silva-Belfort barely simmers, a better matchup between Shields and Henderson at Strikeforce boils hot.

Shields is expected defend his Strikeforce title from newly-signed Henderson on CBS in April.  That’s the biggest fight in the division, bigger than the UFC’s title fight the same month.

The champion, Shields, is a long-time holdout from the UFC who has managed nonetheless to put together an outstanding record versus established talent.  Henderson was to be Silva’s next challenger in the UFC and, therefore, even White can’t talk-down Henderson’s ranking.  So, whichever fighter leaves the cage with the Strikeforce title in April is the legitimate world’s top contender to Silva.  And, he’s not in the UFC.  It’s a better matchup on paper, it’s a better matchup in the division rankings, and there’s a lot more on the line.

Fighters.com’s January Middleweight Top Ten

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)

2. Jake Shields (24-4-1)

3. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7)

4. “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2)

5. “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (23-2-1)

6. Demian Maia (10-1)

7. Chael Sonnen (23-10-1)

8. “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8)

9. “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-2)

10. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-1)

This fighter grappled to a draw with former UFC two division champion “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8) in a 2006 submission grappling contest and has only lost to fifth-ranked “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (23-2-1) in MMA since 2003.

Souza’s climb up the ranks, second-ranked Jake Shields‘s (24-4-1) hold on the top contender spot, and Strikeforce’s signing of third-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7) gives Strikeforce four fighters in the 185-pound top ten.  (Of course, Mousasi has abandoned the division to take the Strikeforce 205-pound title.)

It’s likely Shields and Hendo’ will settle the top contender spot and fight for Strikeforce’s title in April, with the winner legitimately claiming the rank of best matchup for Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4).

Silva will fight tenth-ranked “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) at UFC 109 in Las Vegas February 6.  Belfort can’t be overlooked at 185 pounds with Silva coming off of elbow surgery and five months hiatus.

Fourth-ranked “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) and seventh-ranked Chael Sonnen (23-10-1) will battle the same night for the next title shot.

And sixth-ranked Demian Maia (10-1) will test strong prospect Dan Miller (11-2), making a trio of UFC 109 fights with maximum impact on the division rankings.

Also in December, ninth-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-1) submitted Tatsuhiko Nishizaka (3-5-1) at Bitetti Combat 5 in São Paulo December 12.  If Filho can get his act together, Fighters.com wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Strikeforce soon.

Fighters.com’s December Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)

2. Jake Shields (24-4-1)

3. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7)

4. “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2)

5. “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (23-2-1)

6. Demian Maia (10-1)

7. Chael Sonnen (23-10-1)

8. “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-2)

9. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-1)

10. “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8)

In his second consecutive fight for Bitetty Combat, Filho submitted Tatsuhiko Nishizaka (3-5-1) in 3:00 of round one in the main event.

Filho is the former WEC middleweight champion and has challenged Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi (23-2-1).  But, Filho recently bailed on a scheduled fight at DREAM 12 in Osaka October 25 and Strikeforce has shown no public interest in signing Filho and making the fight.

Rua TKO’d Golden Glory’s Jason Jones (3-9-1) at 3:20 of round two in a light heavyweight fight.  Rua hinted that he might continue to fight at 205-pounds.

Shields reminded Fighters.com of Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2) during his relentless press on the mat versus Miller.  Of course, Shields doesn’t have St. Pierre’s striking skills, and no one is in Silva’s striking league.  But, Shields shows no pretense of fancying himself a striker either.

At the opening bell Saturday night, Shields put Miller right on his back.  Both fighters were working their game plan.  Shields is going to put every opponent on their back.  Knowing that, Miller relented and hoped to wear Shields out by going rag-doll while defending Shields’s submission attempts.  But, Shields never wore down Saturday night and walked away with a UD and the Strikeforce title.

Now, if Silva has an exploitable weakness, it’s been on his back.  Versus “Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (10-5) at UFC 67 in Las Vegas in February 2007, Lutter briefly took control of the fight from top position before wearing down and succumbing to Silva’s barrage of elbows.  Third-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (24-7) was the first UFC fighter to win a round versus Silva and he did it from top position in the first round at UFC 82 in Columbus in March 2008, before fancying himself a striker and getting knocked silly and choked out in the second round.  That mistake still stings Henderson to no end.

But, Shields wouldn’t make the mistake Henderson made versus Silva.  Nor would he be so intimidated to shoot like former UFC title challenger Thales Leites (14-3) was at UFC 97 in Montreal April 18 that he’d just lay down and invite Silva into his guard.  Shields would take the fight to Silva and put him on his back.

Obviously, that guarantees nothing at all.  Despite looking beatable on his back at times, Silva has always regained his superiority and won in the UFC.  However, it’s interesting to note that two of Silva’s losses in the mysterious time before he emerged as the greatest middleweight in MMA history were by triangle choke to Daiju Takase (7-12-1) at PRIDE 26 in Yokohama in June 2003 and by flying scissor heel hook to “Piranha” Ryo Chonan (16-10) at PRIDE Shockwave 2004 in Tokyo on New Year’s Eve 2004.

I’m not ready to predict that Shields would beat Silva.  Only that Shields has the best shot at beating Silva among the current field of top ten middleweights.

And that field thinned in November as previously ninth-ranked “Ace” Rich Franklin (26-5) dropped out of the top ten for the first time since Fighters.com began ranking divisions. In his place, and the place of previous perenial top tenner “Sexyama” Yoshihiro Akiyama (14-2) who also fell out of the rankings this month, “Ely” Paulo Filho (15-1) skipped up to the eighth spot, “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (8-2) moved into number nine, and “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) claimed the final position.

Third-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7), fourth-ranked “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2), fifth-ranked “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (23-2-1), sixth-ranked Demian Maia (10-1), and seventh-ranked Chael Sonnen (23-10-1) all held steady.

Fighters.com’s November Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)

2. Jake Shields (24-4-1)

3. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7)

4. “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2)

5. “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (23-2-1)

6. Demian Maia (10-1)

7. Chael Sonnen (23-10-1)

8. “Ely” Paulo Filho (15-1)

9. “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (8-2)

10. “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8)

Arona beat “Beastman” Marvin Eastman (16-10-1), who nearly missed the fight due to Brazilian visa miscommunications. The win was Arona’s first MMA fight since getting KO’d in round one versus “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-4) at PRIDE 34 in Tokyo in April 2007. Arona had turned to professional surfing during his hiatus from fighting, but is now devoted to MMA.

Filho, himself on course for a sort of comeback after a disappointing conclusion to his WEC stint last year, beat Alex Schoenauer (13-10) controversially. Filho’s hometown crowd booed the judges’ decision.

Fellow Brazlian “Rock” Pedro Rizzo (17-9) also scored a three-round UD over “Snowman” Jeff Monson (31-9) in a rematch Rizzo had won by TKO at Art of War 3 in Dallas in September 2007.

“Ninja” Murilo Rua (17-10-1) TKO’d Alex Stiebling (18-11-1) in the first round with a head kick followed up with a barrage of punches.

The Pit’s Glover Teixeira (8-2) submitted “Chocolate” Leonardo Lucio Nascimento (7-7) in a guillotine choke in the first round.

Fabio Maldonado (5-1) won a three-round UD over Vitor Miranda (1-2).

Milton Vieira (9-6-1) won a three-round split decision over Luciano Azevedo (13-7).

“Besouro” Luis Dutra, Jr. (1-0) TKO’d “Chocolate” Henrique Nogueira (5-5-1) with punches in round one.

Cassiano Tytschyo (6-3) submitted Fausto Black (1-2) in a guillotine choke in round one.

“Pulga” Alexandre Pimental (2-0) won a UD over “Yzzy” Luciano Corea (1-2).

“People gets sad because I say the truth in my interviews, but I think he’s not enough to beat me and that’s it,” Filho told Tatame. “Mousasi didn’t like with the truth I said.”

Wary of the seriousness of Mousasi’s accusations, Fighters.com held the video interview in which Mousasi makes his accusation for a week and contacted Filho’s Brazilian manager, known as “Joinho”, three times for a response before posting the interview. Joinho only initially responded, “I think it might be a lawsuit.”

Satuday in Rio, Filho offered Mousasi a different resolution, “He’s very competent, has a beautiful future in MMA, but he said that and will have to be a man to face me inside the rings, after that he can say whatever he wants. He can be better in striking, what don’t say a shit to me, but we’ll fight and I have my jiu-jitsu and that’s it.”

However, Mousasi told Fighters.com he wouldn’t fight Filho without an athletic commission-administered drug test. “If there’s an athletic commission test, he can fight me everywhere, everywhere he wants.”

Both fighters are contracted to Japanese MMA promotion DREAM, but Mousasi won’t fight Filho in Japan. “What happened when [Filho] came to America, he wasn’t…he got beat up really bad. Now he’s back in Japan and he feels like a kid in a candy story, I think. He can use all kinds of steroids. You saw what happened when other fighters came from Japan, when they fought in the US, and how they performed.”

“It annoyed me, actually,” confided Mousasi. “Because I met Paulo Filho in PRIDE. He was a really nice guy.” Mousasi later added, “I don’t like to trash talk, but he says a lot of stupid things and I don’t like it. If he wants competition and trash talking, I can do it also.”

Filho told Tatame 20 August, “I want to fight Mousasi and show that against me is a whole different thing. He doesn’t have my strength, he doesn’t have my level on the ground. He can be a better striker, but he doesn’t have my strength and he’ll go down once and be submitted. He’s well trained, but I don’t think he’s healthy enough to beat me. If he wins, I don’t even want my salary. But, I guarantee he’ll be beaten more than he was against [Akihiro Gono (30-14-7)].”

Mousasi tapped to Gono in an armbar at PRIDE: Bushido 12 in Nagoya in August 2006.

Mousasi pointed out to Fighters.com, “What happened when [Filho] came to America, he wasn’t…he got beat up really bad. Now he’s back in Japan and he feels like a kid in a candy story, I think. He can use all kinds of steroids. And I think the steroids have gone to his head.”

Fighters.com queried Mousasi’s accusation further and the young fighter made his case explicitly, explaining, “[Filho] didn’t perform the same as he does in Japan as he does, how you say, in America. And now he suddenly has a big mouth again. I would say that he’s a little donkey that, he’s on steroids, he thinks he’s a running horse. But, he’s more like a little poney.” Mousasi later added, “I really believe that he used steroids. He also backed out a couple of times when he had to fight Chael Sonnen. He said he was crazy. Maybe he is crazy. I don’t know. I think he wasn’t feeling very good mentally because he cannot use his magic stuff.”

Mousasi also said, “You saw what happened when other fighters came from Japan, when they fought in the US, and how they performed.”

Fighters.com pointed out that Mousasi too fights in Japan, but Mousasi insisted, “I also fight in Japan and I don’t use anything.”

About fighting Filho, Mousasi said, “If there’s an athletic commission test, he can fight me everywhere, everywhere he wants.”

Though Filho’s Brazilian manger, Joinho, originally responded to Mousasi’s accusations threatening, “I think it might be a lawsuit,” Fighters.com provided Joinho with a preview video of the interview upon request. No further response has been made to Fighters.com.

Mousasi will next compete in DREAM’s Super Hulk tournament in Japan this autumn.

Filho will fight Alex Schoenauer (13-9) at Bitetti Combat in Rio de Janeiro 12 September.

Lithuanian “Whitemare” Marius Zaromskis (12-2) upset “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (32-9-3) and Jason High (7-2) both with fight-ending head kicks to win the Welterweight Grand Prix.

Returning to Japan after an odd stint in the WEC and returning to MMA after nine months off, Filho was rusty and lucky to exploit the chink that has resulted in three of Manhoef’s six losses: the armbar.

After eating murderous uppercuts and a left hook from the Dutch kickboxing champion, Filho slid into the fetal position in a corner of the ring and Manhoef followed. Filho may have been playing possum as he clammed up on his side and grasped for Manhoef’s wrists as Manhoef tried to sneak punches through Filho’s guard. But, Manhoef wisely stood out of the corner and invited Filho back to his feet.

Manhoef stalked Filho into the ropes, but a nifty hip toss from the clinch put Manhoef on his back with Filho passing from side mount to full mount swiftly. Filho secured Manhoef’s right arm and climbed his mount high on Manhoef’s chest before twisting into the armbar that left Manhoef slapping frantically to end the fight.

Filho won, but it should be noted that he missed weight for the second consecutive fight.

Wearing both trunks and matching leggings in the pattern of the Japanese flag, Aoki fended off Ribeiro, draped in Brazil’s colors, with an incessant left roundhouse kick to the body. Aoki threw little else, most were blocked, and a few were caught and countered with a stiff jab, straight, or single-leg takedown. But, the ones that landed left a red welt on “Shaolin’s” left rib cage, wearing on him and keeping him at bay. Midway into the second round, Riberio planted Aoki with a double-leg takedown, but the “Tobikan Judan” held on in adequate, if dull, defense for the judges’ unanimous decision.

Zaromskis went on a reckless, but effective tear through DREAM’s welterweight contenders, beginning with an almost inconcievable KO of Grand Prix favorite Sakurai. After walking through big punches and returning fire that left Sakurai with cuts over and under his left eye that required a doctor’s opinion, Zaromskis connected his left shin to Sakurai’s skull to move into the final versus High.

After handin Andre Galvao (3-1) his first loss in a split decisino, High crowded Zaromskis early in the final, taking him to the mat twice and controlling the grappling. But, after Zaromskis crawled to his feet, he struck like a scorpion with a right roundhouse kick that put High on his back, limp and unconcious.

Welterweight Katsunori Kikuno (6-0-1) TKO’d “Dida” Andre Amade (1-3) at 3:47 of round one. If Sakurai doesn’t secure a rematch with Zaromskis, Kikuno might step in to challenge the new DREAM champion.

The Ultimate Fighter alum “JT Money” Jesse Taylor (9-2) beat middleweight Dong Sik Yoon (2-7) by submission after Yoon injured his foot one minute into the first round.

Team Quest’s “Sponge” Tarec Saffiedine (2-0) won a two-round UD over Seichi Ikemoto (13-15-4) in the Welterweight Grand Prix reserve fight.

Ed Soares, Filho’s manager, said Filho will ship the belt to Sonnen as soon as he is able.

The fight Wednesday had originally been planned as a championship match.  However, with Filho failing to make weight, it was changed to a non-title fight, and Filho forfeited 25 percent of his purse to Sonnen.

Soares also said that after the fight Filho seemed not to know that the match had ended.  He was taken to the hospital when doctors noticed uneven dilation of his pupils, but was released later the same night.

WEC Champion Filho failed to make weight for his 5 November rematch with Sonnen and ended up losing the consequent non-title match via unanimous decision.

“The loss isn’t good, but that’s good to learn.  We need more focus, responsibility, and the weight is a problem,” Filho’s coach, Josuel Distak, said.

“What happened yesterday [at WEC 36] we’ll forget and start all over again.  We’ll train [in LA] and get our rematch with Sonnen, and then go to light heavyweight division.”

It is uncertain where the potential rematch would take place, as the WEC will drop both middleweight and light heavyweight classes after its 3 December event.

Brown took the title decisively following a right hand that laid the former champ out. 

Chael Sonnen (21-9-1) won a surprisingly boring unanimous decision over Fighters.com’s third-ranked middleweight and WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho (15-1) in a non-title fight that was heckled by fans throughout.  Official scores were 10-9 twice for Sonnen, 10-8 for Sonnen.

 ”Bad Boy” Leonard Garcia (11-3) dismantled “Little Evil” Jens Pulver (22-9-1) in a 1:12 TKO shocker to move up the ranks in the WEC’s stacked 145-pound division.

Jake Rosholt (5-0) powered to victory over Nissen Osterneck (4-1) in the second round via TKO stoppage.

Rani Yahya (12-2), Danny Castillo (4-1), “The Fury” Carmelo Marrero (9-2), Jose Aldo (11-1), “The A-Train” Aaron Simpson (2-0) and “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone (8-1) were all winners within the cage as well. 

Brown Shocks Faber To Take the WEC Featherweight Title

The arena was pumped for the title bout of the night as Mike Thomas Brown entered to a favorable home crowd.  The fight started quick as expected, but soon tied up into the clinch.  Both fighters threw leather, but Brown’s right hand set the tone for the surprise to follow. 

“I train with the best team in the world.  All I have to do is perfrom like I do in training each day.  I don’t have a lot of knockouts on my record, but I hit fucking hard, man,” announced the new WEC Featherweight Champion, Brown. 

Faber rushed in with a careless elbow attempt only to get tagged with a hard and heavy right hand from the challenger.  Faber went down to the mat and covered up as Brown plastered the champ with punches.  Referee Troy Waugh stopped the fight at 2:23 of the first round. 

Sonnen Glides To A Boring Victory Over An Overweight and Passive Filho

Filho’s entrance into the cage proved to be a metaphor for his performance to come as fans heckled loudly in disapproval in what most assume was a reaction to the veteran’s failure in making weight for the bout. 

The fight between Filho and Sonnen was an absolute deflation to an evening of otherwise exciting and fast-paced bouts.  Filho preferred to lay on his back for the majority of the fight resulting in continuous stand-ups by the referee.  During the fight, Sonnen definitely scored in the stand-up game, but showed hesitation at moments in answering Filho’s lackluster performance. 

Sonnen seemed satisfied to pepper his opponent with jabs and the occasional straight shot resulting in what appeared more as an exhausted round of western boxing set to a chorus of moans and vocal disappointment by the fans on hand. 

Sonnen took a unanimous decision win in this unfortunately boring mixed martial arts sequel. 

Garcia Stuns Pulver With Heavy Hands

Going into the fight,  Garcia hoped for a stand-up war with veteran “Little Evil”.  Although temporarily wobbled by a flurry of punches early from Pulver, Garcia weathered the storm to eventually land a strong right hand.

Pulver was immediately rocked falling to his knees and visibly hurt.  Garcia went in for the kill and unleashed a storm of punches resulting in a quick and surprising stoppage.  It was all over but the shouting at 1:12 of round one.

Rosholt Overpowers Osterneck

This middleweight challenge started out with the lightning fast pace of a typical featherweight affair.  Both fighters came out swinging with Nissen Osterneck (4-1) swarming Rosholt with a sloppy but continuous barrage of fists.  But, it wasn’t long before the superior wrestling skill of Rosholt took root and found Osterneck on the receiving end of pounding following numerous takedowns. 

Osterneck attempted a few submissions only to find himself mounted again and again by the feisty Rosholt. Momentarily in the second round Osterneck caught Rosholt with another flurry of punches, but the wrestler survived the clash only to get his hooks in again and score another strong mount.  The second round came to an official end via TKO stoppage at 3:48 with Rosholt pounding his way to victory.

The A-Train Railroads Avellan 

Pardon all the clichés here, but if ever there was an train wreck in the cage, this was certainly one for the ages.  “The A-Train” Simpson landed a devastating overhand right at 0:18 of the first round sending David Avellan (5-1) into the realms of unconsciousness.  It was a strong KO victory for Simpson augmenting his undefeated record in stunning fashion.

Yahya Chokes Maeda

Yoshiro Maeda (23-6-2) secured an early guillotine in what appeared to be a potentially tight and winning submission only to have Yahya escape and come back with a guillotine of his own.  Yahya hung on strongly to the choke, making Maeda tap at 3:30 of the first round. 

Castillo Stops Dias

Rafael Dias (12-5) was winning on the cards in round one with more technique all around against more wild shots coming from Castillo.  The fight was up and down with Dias looking the better of the two.

Round two found the two fighters in familiar exchange. Dias scored a takedown while Castillo attempted a guillotine. Castillo then tried for an armbar that proved too loose. Dias took Castillo’s back for a moment, but then wound up on the bottom.

But, it was a missed shoot by Dias that finally delivered the ending.  After missing the shoot, Castillo got on top and rained down punches until the fight was stopped at the 2:54 mark.

Marrero Wins The Split Over Steinbeiss 

Marrero’s wrestling skills came in handy for the UFC veteran in the bout against “The Hooligan” Steve Steinbeiss (4-2).

Taking Steinbeiss down often, Marrero avoided submission attempts.  The fighters utilized all weapons, exchanging body kicks in the second round before Marrero appeared gassed in the closing minutes.

Steinbeiss appeared fresh in round three, delivering shots to Marrero and temporarily stunning him.  Winning the round, Steinbeiss nearly got caught in a late guillotine attempt and took an elbow.  The final round ended with Steibeiss in the guard.

Marrero won a split decision with a 29-28 score twice against Steibeiss’ 29-28 third round score. 

Aldo Defeats Brookins In Late Round Stoppage

Aldo scored much better than Jonathan Brookins (8-2) through the first two rounds and winning on the cards.

Aldo came into the second round with a knot over his eye even though he handed out the worse of the stand-up punishment.  Brookins looked surprisingly crisp in the second, but eventually took a lot of damage via leg kicks.

In the third round, Aldo dropped Brookins with a left hook and laid down the leather.  Taking a lot of punches but also hanging in, referee Troy Waugh stepped in and stopped the fight at 0:45 of the final round. 

The Cowboy Disposes The Razor

“Razor” Rob McCullough (16-5) came out with strong low kicks against Cerrone, only to have them answered by the middle of the first round.  Cerrone dropped McCullough with a right and mounted the injured fighter.  An elbow cut McCullough and eventually resulted in a stop to inspect the cut.  The first round started back up; and, Cerrone dropped McCullough again, but was saved by the bell.

In the second, a right uppercut dropped McCullough yet again, but ended up with Cerrone on the bottom.  Cerrone then grabbed an armbar; but, McCullough escaped.

The third round found McCullough landing an overhand right; but, Cerrone soon answered with leg kicks.  There were equal exchanges, but Cerrone turned on the heat and scored a strong takedown.  Cerrone landed a combination of punches late in the final round that hurt McCullough yet again.

Cerrone won a very clear unanimous decision.

Filho initially weighed in at 192 pounds, seven pounds over the 185-pound limit.  He was given two hours to shed the weight, but was only able to drop to 189.

Filho and Sonnen will still fight, but for three rounds in a non-title affair.

The middleweights fought in December 2007, with Filho winning a controversial victory by verbal submission in round two.  Sonnen protested that he didn’t tap.

The rematch was originally set for March, but Filho withdrew to enter substance abuse rehabilitation.

The UFC seemed intent that sixth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (21-4-1) miss his de facto UFC top contender challenge of Silva, marketing Cote versus “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-3) in Las Vegas 5 July as an eliminator fight even before Okami pulled up lame with a broken hand.

Cote won by split decision.

Okami, who holds a DQ “W” over Silva from 2006, dropped a rank for August on the ascension of fourth-ranked EliteXC Middleweight Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-4).

In Stockton, east of San Francisco, 26 July, Lawler erased the ellipsis left at the end of his May No Contest with “Hands of Steel” Scott Smith (13-5) and etched in a exclamatory second-round TKO over Smith.

To make the scattering of middleweights across promotions more frustrating, the entire top three – Silva, second-ranked “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3), and third-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0) – are throwing their hats into 205-pound bull ring.

Filho, who announced in February that he intends to move to 205-pounds, will rematch Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) in Hollywood, north of Miami, 10 September.

Perhaps Filho’s announcement was amidst his mysterious malaise, for which he’s been successfully treated; but, the WEC will shit-can their middleweight division before the end of 2008 and Filho, who signed with the WEC to avoid a confrontation with his pal Silva, will have to make a decision about which UFC weight class to compete in: the middleweight division Silva rules or the light heavyweight division Silva’s getting his kicks in.

Fifth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1) returned from an eight-month holiday to tap woefully mismatched Katsuyori Shibata (2-5) in Osaka 21 July.

Sixth-ranked “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6) will return from a nine-month holiday to fight Olympic judoka Makoto Takimoto (4-4) at Sengoku in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 August.

Trigg’s deal with Sengoku could lead to a rematch versus eighth-ranked “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2), but not before Misaki makes his North American debut versus a yet-to-be-named opponent at Strikeforce 19 September in Los Angeles.

Ninth-ranked “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-1) has drawn legit kickboxer “Benkei” Zelg Galesic (9-3) in DREAM’s Middleweight GP, to be fought in Saitama 23 September.

“Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-6) holds steady at tenth without any announced or rumoured bouts.

August Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (22-4)

“Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger.

2. “Ace” Rich Franklin (22-3)

Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last year.

3. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0)

Filho’s perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback in the September rematch will solidify Filho’s ranking.

4. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-4)

“Ruthless” rides a five-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Scott Smith, Murilo Rua, and Joey Villasenor.

5. Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1)

The Zainichi judoka ran the gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the the result was a NC. He choked out Katsuyori Shibata in his July comeback.

6. “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4)

Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes.

7. “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6)

With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch.

8. “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2)

Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1.

9. “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-1)

“Jacare” finally fulfilled the hype surrounding the BJJ world champion by overwhelming Miller on the way to a UD in June, but besides “Mayhem” his record needs bolstered with better opponents.

10. “Mayhem” Jason Miller (20-5)

Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years.

But, the cold, hard ledger reveals Hendo’ hasn’t had a win at 185-pounds in two years.

Hendo’s previous rank was filled by tenth-ranked “Mayhem” Jason Miller (20-6), falling a notch to newly ninth-ranked “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-1).

Souza debuted in the top ten after pulling off a tight two-round unanimous decision over Miller in DREAM’s Middleweight Grand Prix 15 June.

Also in June Japanese action, “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2) cemented his seventh ranking with a UD over “Pink Pounder” Logan Clark at Sengoku.

Misaki now seeks revenge over new Sengoku add-on, seventh-ranked “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6).

No Sengoku match-up has been announced for Trigg; but, one would assume Misaki’s home nation promotion wants to match the old enemies as soon as Trigg is ready.

Sixth-ranked “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) was pulling away from “Hands of Stone” Scott Smith (13-4) in the third round of their EliteXC title fight 31 May in Newark, west of New York City, when a thumb to Smith’s eye rendered the result a No Contest.

Lawler held steady in June, as did the entire middleweight top five.

Fighters.com’s Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4) wisely avoided a move to 205-pounds to fight fourth-ranked light heavyweight “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) in September.

The UFC’s July match-up between “Predator” Patrick Cote (12-4) and “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-2) is being marketed as winner-get-Silva.

Baffling, since the UFC’s obvious top contender is fifth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4), who seems to be lingering in limbo after knocking out former UFC Champion Evan Tanner (32-7) in March.

Fighters.com predicts Okami will draw “Hitman” Martin Kampmann (16-2).

Fourth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1) continues to flirt with DREAM and will probably be the Middleweight GP champion’s first mandatory.

Third-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0) is out of rehab and training for a September WEC title defense rematch versus Chael Sonnen (20-9-1).

Second-ranked “Ace” Rich Franklin (22-3) is being pressured by the UFC to move to 205-pounds to clarify their middleweight rankings, but Franklin is resisting.

June Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4)

“Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger.

2. “Ace” Rich Franklin (22-3)

Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July.

3. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0)

Filho’s perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback in the September rematch will solidify Filho’s ranking.

4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1)

The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback.

5. “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4)

Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes.

6. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4)

“Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses.

7. “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6)

With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch.

8. “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2)

Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1.

9. “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-1)

“Jacare” finally fulfilled the hype surrounding the BJJ world champion by overwhelming Miller on the way to a UD in June, but his besides “Mayhem” his record needs bolstered with better opponents.

10. “Mayhem” Jason Miller (20-5)

Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years.

Filho tapped Sonnen in an armbar last December; but, Sonnen complained after the fight that he hadn’t actually tapped.

The rematch was planned for March until Filho entered substance abuse rehabilitation in his native Brazil.

Filho has completed his rehabilitation.

“We’ll give Sonnen a rematch because he keeps saying that he didn’t tap and all those things; and, now Paulo well keep hurting him until the judge tells him to stop”, said Josuel Distak, Filho’s coach.

In April, second-ranked “Ace” Rick Franklin (23-3) finessed out of an armbar executed by TUF champ “Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5) to pick apart the Texan in two rounds, but Franklin has no where to go after two stoppages to Silva.

As mentioned in 3 May’s Bushido Sheet, Franklin was offered a main event versus tenth-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7) at UFC 85, but turned down the fight.

Franklin continues to consider interesting match-ups at 205-pounds.

Hendo’ dropped a rank in May after his 2006 UD over eighth-ranked “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) fell from his two-year record leaving “Hollywood” without a win at 185-pounds in two years.

His March stoppage to Silva leaves him with few good match-ups but for Franklin.  At this point, Hendo’ just needs a win in the Octagon.

The trail on the “Hitman” Misaki has gone cold since his March submission of Siyar Bahadurzada (13-2-1) at Sengoku.

Third-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0) is recovering from a substance abuse problem in Brazil.

He’s scheduled for a rematch with Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) to defend his WEC title, but don’t hold your breath for a Silva versus Filho title unification bout.

Filho and Silva are friends and refuse to fight each other; and, Filho plans to move to 205-pounds win, lose, or draw to Sonnen.

Fourth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama‘s (10-1) run at the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix championship ended before it began when he re-injured a nasal bone fracture in training, causing him to withdraw.

Fifth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4) remains the most likely candidate to take a swat at “Spider”, but no official word yet.

Sixth-ranked “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) may be the face of the division when his EliteXC title defense versus “Hands of Stone” Scott Smith (13-4) is broadcast on national television across North America at the end of May.

Ninth-ranked “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5) debuted before the Nipponese in May with a first-round TKO of Katsuyori Shibata (2-4), but the “W” does little to propel him forward in the division.

May Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4)

“Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger.

2. “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3)

Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July.

3. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0)

Filho’s perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback and top-ten challenge will solidify Filho’s ranking.

4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1)

The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback.

5. “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4)

Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes.

6. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4)

“Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses.

7. “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6)

With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch.

8. “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2)

Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1.

9. “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5)

Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years.

10. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7)

“Hollywood” served Silva his first losing round in two years, but couldn’t follow-up in round two.  Yo-yoing between weight classes has resulted in a mixed record for the last PRIDE champion in two weight classes.  If he wants 185, he’ll have to commit.

“We’re still trying to figure that out,” White admitted, but added, “We’re going to make the WEC the smaller weights and the UFC will be the heavier weights.  We’ll probably take some of the guys in the higher weights, the champions over there and bring them into UFC.”

The WEC currently features featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, and light heavyweight divsions.  The UFC includes lightweight up to heavyweight divisions.

The UFC has recently lost several top heavyweight talents, including Fighters.com’s third-ranked heavyweight “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (24-4), who was released by white and signed by Adrenaline MMA.

Fighters.com’s second-ranked heavyweight, “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8) “resigned” from his UFC contract in October 2007; though, White continues to consider Couture a co-holder of the UFC heavyweight title with “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1).  Friday, White repeated his invitation to Couture to settle the championship versus Nogueira.

Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked heavyweight “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (12-5) is currently a free agent and expected to leave the UFC, though White repeated Friday his optimism in re-signing Arlovski.

Former top-ranked heavy “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) was also recently released from his UFC contract after losing two straight.

Champions who could be changing promotions are WEC Light Heavyweight Champion “All American” Brian Stann (6-0), WEC Middleweight Champion and Fighters.com third-ranked 185-pounder “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0), and UFC Lightweight Champion and Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked 155-pounder “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn (12-4-1).

White also mentioned his desire to match WEC Featherweight Champion “California Kid” Urijah Faber (20-1) versus “Kid” Norifumi Yamamoto (17-1).  The two fighters are considered the world’s best at 145-pounds.  White stated that “Kid” “comes with a big price-tag.”

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4)

“Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger.

2. “Ace” Rich Franklin (22-3)

Despite two Silva stoppage losses, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July and out-classed “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald before that.

3. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0)

Filho’s perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback and top-ten challenge will solidify Filho’s ranking.

4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1)

The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback.

5. “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4)

Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes.

6. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4)

“Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses.

7. “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6)

With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch.

8. “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2)

Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1.

9. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7)

“Hollywood” served Silva his first losing round in two years, but couldn’t follow-up in round two.  Yo-yoing between weight classes has resulted in a mixed record for the last PRIDE champion in two weight classes.  If he wants 185, he’ll have to commit.

10. “Mayhem” Jason Miller (20-5)

Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years.

Filho, the WEC Middleweight Champion, bailed out of the rematch with Sonnen after checking into a Brazilian clinic for substance addiction.

Baker, a student of “Wildman” Thomas Denny (25-16), had won all of his fights by stoppage until a split decision over Eric Schambari (7-1) last December.

The convo’ revolved around “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0), and took a serious turn quickly.

“Are you saying Filho may be a juicer?”  Caplan quizzed.

“Well that’s my opinion anyway,” Hendo admitted.  “He hasn’t looked good since he left PRIDE.  I think that’s what not being able to use steroids will do to you.”

In an entirely unrelated story…

Filho’s on-again-off-again WEC middleweight title rematch with Hendo’s stablemate Chael Sonnen (19-9-1) is off…again.

From the suits at WEC headquarters: “WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho has chosen to withdraw from his March 26th title defense against Chael Sonnen after voluntarily checking himself into an undisclosed rehabilitation center in Brazil on Thursday morning, March 13, to seek help for a substance abuse problem.”

But, Tatame had documented Filho’s intention days before.

“I wasn’t on a good moment, had depression,” Filho revealed to the Brazilian website.  “I wasn’t motivated to train, wasn’t training well, so I decided to do what the contract says and transferred the fight to June.”

Maybe it was something in the water in PRIDE, as they say.

Filho’s fellow PRIDE standout, “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (22-6-2), misplaced his motivation around the same time his urine came under the scrutiny of American state athletic commissions too.

“I was empty before fights, depressed, I hated myself,” Cro Cop told DREAM’s first press conference about his nightmare in the UFC.

Later, on his blog at www.mma-id.com/CROCOP, Filipovic elaborated.  “The losses came from a lack of motivation.  I was really empty, I had no fire left in me.”

Cro Cop joined the UFC after winning PRIDE’s Open Weight Grand Prix by knocking out “The Axe Murder” Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) and submitting “The Babyface Assasin” Josh Barnett (21-5) on strikes on the same September night in 2006.

It was the pinnacle of Cro Cop’s career.

But at his new address, Filipovic lost consecutive battles with “Napao” Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) and Cheick Kongo (11-4-1), nearly filing papers for his retirement pension in the cage with Kongo.

Of course, with three current UFC belt-holders having 43 PRIDE fights among them, not all PRIDE fighters have shared the same sudden depression and lack of motivation after joining the big show.  And, those who haven’t are naming names…

“I knew Dan would knockout Wanderlei [Silva],” “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (29-6) said during a conference call promoting his light heavyweight title unification bout with Henderson last September in the UFC.  “Wanderlei wasn’t allowed to use that juice he like to use,” ‘Page explained about the 2007 Vegas PRIDE fight in which Hendo punched out Silva in the third round.

Silva, known for his sustained balls-to-the-wall MMA onslaughts, debuted in the UFC last December versus “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) sporting a noticeably more svelte physique and a new, energy-conscious fight game even the crunchies at Greenpeace could be proud of.

Now, Silva, the former long-time PRIDE 90-kilogram champ who fought Filipovic weighing more than the heavyweight, is openly contemplating a drop to 185-pounds.

Anyone can peep my 16-inch guns and know I’ve never used performance enhancing drugs, nor experienced the withdrawal symptoms of quitting the junk; but, a quick perusal of the “Anabolic Steroids” fact sheet at the Center for Substance Abuse Research reveals depression, mood swings, and fatigue as withdrawal symptoms of “that juice”, as Rampage called it.

And, one needn’t be Columbo to deduce that lost muscle mass is another clue.

Fighters talk to me too.  The dish is that those who seemed to have bottomless tanks over seas, but suddenly gas State-side; like, say…in round three of a 205-pound scrap versus a lovable, but lower-ranked opponent, are minus a lab-detectable dose of EPO.

Erythropoietin (EPO) is abused by endurance athletes to increase the number of red blood cells oxygenating their blood stream.

It’s Big Bear in a bottle; or, the canned equivalent to circuit training while wearing a snorkel.

It’s important to note that none of the athletes mentioned in this muse have failed drug tests, that I’m aware of.  I presume they’re all clean.

For all UFC fighters, their Octagon performance is their staunchest alibi or their bitter betrayer.

And the most bitter withdrawal symptom of abusing performance enhancing drugs is the lube-less mind-fuck on your pride.

One day your chin is high, standing atop a mound of crumpled opponents, tough mothers in their right, but confident in your ability, your stature in the world’s toughest athletic contest.

Now, the training regiment you once ate up is nearly impossible.  When you leave the gym, you have just enough energy to dread going back the next day.  Suddenly, you hate training.  You muddle through, sure the smell of blood will right your ship, but it’s no longer in you to best a fighter you would’ve beaten like a red-headed stepchild before.

Were you ever the beast you knew you were?  Was it ever you, or was it always what was in the bottle?  Can you ever stand atop that mound on your own?

To avoid coming to Jesus, a man might scurry back to a place that doesn’t ask for a urine sample, or check out of a fight that could force answers his ego can’t handle.