(Either on his way to corner a fighter or commit a break-in. You just never know.)
All day long I’ve been waiting to hear details on exactly what combination of prescription drugs, nachos, and crippling depression was responsible for Paulo Filho showing up seven pounds overweight and then fighting like a bored schizophrenic at last night’s WEC. Judging by his remarks to Tatame, however, it sounds as if Filho is going to try and play this one off as nothing more than a bad night after a bad training camp:
“What can I do, it’s sad… The fact is that I have no excuses, he (Sonnen) went there and did his job to neutralize me and that’s what happened, he did the right job and he has all merits… It was good to give me a new spirit.”
A new spirit? I guess that’s a start. The old one looked pretty worn out, if not non-existent. As far as how he’s planning to turn things around, Filho seems to think the answer consists of moving to Los Angeles and eventually going up a weight class.
“Here will be good, everybody is coming here and that’s because it works. At Brazil we hadn’t a good training camp, and here I believe we’ll have a high level training. The loss isn’t good, but that’s good to learn. We need more focus, responsibility, and the weight is a problem… What happened yesterday we’ll forget and start all over again. We’ll train here and get our rematch with Sonnen, and then go to light-heavyweight division.”
Oh great, a rematch. That’s just what we all want to see after last night’s odd snoozer of a fight. Going up to light heavyweight might be a decent idea, but at 5′9″ Filho is far from your typical 205-pounder. The better approach might be to stay at middleweight and simply become more disciplined with his diet and training.
Or just moving to L.A. and calling it good. I’m sure that will fix things.
(“Boys, please, can’t you settle your differences with words?” Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)
The California Kid invades Hollywood (Florida), Chael “RE/MAX” Sonnen aims to do a bit of closing on Paulo Filho’s middleweight title reign, and Leonard Garcia will be smuggling nothing but his fists and feet across the border that is Jens Pulver’s face. I’m coked-out Mauro Ranallo and I’ll be your liveblogger tonight — the specials are honor, glory, pumpkin crème brûlée, and maybe some championship gold?
Just kidding, it’s only me, BG. Hit that “More” link and refresh the page every few minutes to get all the latest from tonight’s live event on Versus. Should be a monster.
Whoa, are you guys watching this Sports Soup shit? Garbage! Joel McHale is not to be imitated. And alright, here we go…
I like this intro. Leonard Garcia just punched some guy so hard that he turned into glass and shattered. Literally. Florida is “not a swing state tonight,” according to this commentator whose name I didn’t catch. Frank Mir is in the house, of course, wearing what seems to be an outfit from Penn Jillette’s closet. “See how we elect a champion in the WEC,” says Mr. Dude. Mauro Ranallo is spinning in his martini right now.
Jake Rosholt vs. Nissen Osterneck (middleweights)
Both men are undefeated and are making their WEC debuts tonight; interesting, considering the WEC is reportedly folding their middleweight division after this event. I wonder if they know? Rosholt is a three-time NCAA wrestling champion. Mir makes the bold claim that Rosholt might be the third-best college wrestler ever. Round 1: Osterneck rushes forward throwing punches in bunches, but Rosholt clamps on and scores a takedown. He moves from side control to back control, and tries to set up a choke but Osterneck wriggles out. Osterneck looks for an armbar from the bottom. He gets up and rocks Rosholt with punches. Again, Rosholt tries to stop the damage with a clinch, but Osterneck bashes him off. Rosholt tries to clinch against the cage and eventually gets Osterneck down, throwing punches from the top. Rosholt throws a big knee into Osterneck’s body, then one to the shoulder, close to the head, that earns a warning from the ref. Osterneck tries to create some space after kicking off Rosholt, but Rosholt sticks right back on. Rosholt throws elbows into Osterneck’s body. Rosholt takes Osterneck’s back and drills punches into the side of his head. Osterneck rolls and Rosholt takes half-guard. Rosholt tries to set up a choke as the bell rings.
Round 2: Rosholt’s face is mad swollen. Leg kicks from Osterneck. Rosholt shoots and wraps Osterneck’s leg up, but Osterneck is able to flip Rosholt to the ground, looking for a kimura. Rosholt escapes and gets on top. He takes a breather for a moment, then gets side-control. Rosholt continues to lie on top of Osterneck and the crowd boos. They get to their feet and Osterneck slugs Rosholt with a punch combo and a knee. He misses a spinning backfist and gets taken down, and Rosholt is on top bashing Osterneck in the side of the head. He turtles up and Rosholt jackrammers him until the fight is stopped. Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck via TKO, 3:48 of round 2.
Hey look, a Urijah Faber No Fear commercial. “What do I fear? I’ll let you know when I find it.” Cool, but I’m still not gonna wear those t-shirts.
Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia (featherweights)
Garcia, for some reason, comes out to “Jukebox Hero” by Foreigner. And it looks like Pulver’s double black-eyes have cleared up in time for the match. Monte Cox is in Pulver’s entourage, wearing a XXXL TapouT shirt. And Garcia tweaks his nipples when he’s introduced! It’s over, Jens! Round 1: Hard leg kick from Garcia. Jens moves forward with some nice punches, rattling Garcia. Head kick from Garcia off Pulver’s glove. Garcia sticking/moving nicely, now he’s landing some brutal punches. Pulver stiffens up against the cage and Garcia finishes him off with power shots. Very impressive. Leonard Garcia moves one step closer to a title shot against Faber. (Or, Mike Brown, obviously. Cough.) Leonard Garcia def. Jens Pulver via TKO, 1:12 of round 1. Garcia says he’s the #1 contender now, but a guy named Wagnney Fabiano just signed to the WEC, so we’ll see.
David Avellan vs. Aaron Simpson (middleweights)
I don’t really know who these guys are, but SOMEBODY’S ‘O’ MUST GO! Round 1: Simpson slips in the overhand right death-blow in the opening seconds, Rashad Evans style! Knockout. That’s all she wrote, bros. Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan via KO, 0:18 of round 1.
Paulo Filho is backstage, hitting pads in his signature sleeveless flannel shirt. Do you think he has an entire closet full of those things? Or does he just have the one, that he never washes?
Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen (middleweight quasi-title fight)
Filho has a rather cavalier attitude regarding his missed weight. Sonnen, on the other hand, is incredibly pissed about it. “I promised my father on his death bed that I would win this title…and now I won’t be able to.” Filho? Beware the ghost of Chael Sonnen’s father. And then Filho comes out. Somewhere, Larry the Cable Guy is walking around shirtless. The crowd boos Filho. The announcer shouts out Tapout’s slogan as “Arrogant, Inyaface, and American.” FAIL. Round 1: Filho shoots and hangs on to one of Sonnen’s legs after some feeling-out. Sonnen sprawls and throws some fists into Filho’s body. Sonnen gets up and cracks Filho twice in the head. Filho rushes forward with a punch and falls over. Sonnen throws a punch down from the top, then a kick to Filho’s leg, then another punch. Filho aint doin’ dick but eating blows. Sonnen stupidly goes to the ground with Filho briefly, but backs off. The crowd boos the stalemate. Sonnen moves in and almost gets caught in an armbar. Sonnen stomps on Filho’s foot, and Filho rushes forward for a leglock attempt. Sonnen escapes and Filho goes to his back again. Bullshit fight. Sonnen should just let Filho up and end it. Sonnen kicks Filho’s legs, and Filho returns the favor. The horn sounds, the crowd roars angrily.
Round 2: Filho with a nice reverse kick, then a couple leg kicks. And another. Filho shoots, then clinches, but Sonnen falls on top in Filho’s guard. He lets Filho up. Filho shoots again and gets kicked in the head. He falls on his back, and Sonnen lets him up again. The crowd is back into this fight. Filho looks sluggish as hell. Filho grabs on and tries to pull guard, but Sonnen slams him hard and backs off. Filho misses a left hook and lets his arm swing back lazily. Can he possibly be gassed? Sonnen misses some punches. Filho shoots again, Sonnen sprawls. Sonnen punches Filho in the face and Filho rolls on his back; Sonnen backs off. Now Filho seems to be waking up, and he tries to steal the round with strikes, but the horm sounds before he can do much damage.
Round 3: Sonnen working his jab. Filho does nothing except try a lazy shoot that he gives up on. Filho just flops on his back, Nick Serra style. This is sad. Sonnen tagging him with kicks to the legs and body punches from the top just to get up on the scorecards. The ref orders Filho up. Sonnen throwing some light punches, then lands a good combo. Sonnen keeping busy, but he’s not over-committing on the punches; he’s just waiting out the bell. The crowd hates it; they chant “bullshit.” Filho tries to clinch and takes an elbow. He swings weakly and gets tagged. Filho whiffs a big reverse head kick. Sonnen drills a knee to the body and circles until the final horn. Pathetic. This is the #2 middleweight in the world? Not anymore. Filho probably blew his shot at the UFC entriely. Sonnen didn’t deserve that fight. The judges put this sad spectacle to an end, calling it 30-27 x 3 for Sonnen in a unanimous decision. And I guess it’s back to rehab for Filho. Or fat camp, maybe?
“There will be no dangling chad in Florida tonight…” says the announcer. BITCH THAT REFERENCE IS EIGHT GODDAMNED YEARS OLD. Is a Monica Lewinsky joke next?
Hurry the hell up, it’s 9:50 already. No word from backstage yet on whether Filho fulfilled his gentleman’s agreement to give up his worthless belt to Sonnen if he lost.
Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown (featherweight title fight) Round 1: Faber with a body kick. Urijah shoots in with a left, then a right. They clinch and separate. Head kick from Faber off the glove. Brown catches Faber with a couple right hooks and pushes him against the cage. Knee from Faber, but Brown returns, and they’re free after Faber tumbles backwards. Brown rushes forward and cracks Urijah with a punch, shaking him badly. Faber springs forward with an elbow, but runs directly into Brown’s fist, and he goes down. Brown swarms Faber on the ground, firing punches until the ref stops it. Mike Brown is the new WEC featherweight champion. WTF?!? Mike Brown def. Urijah Faber via shocking the world, 2:23 of round 1. Craaaazy. Mike Brown chokes up during the post-fight interview. Urijah Faber loves life, and is a happy person, and will be back to get that belt. So he won’t be killing himself after the show, is what I think he’s trying to say. Good for him. Mike Brown has to be helped out of the cage; it looks like he effed up a rib. So, it’s bittersweet, I guess.
Anyway, I’m out, because I love life and I’m a happy person. Flannel party at Fatty Filho’s place!
In preparation for his bout with Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on Nov. 15, Randy Couture is doing just about the only thing you can: tussling with big wrestler-types. He looks to be handling them pretty well in this video. Then again, none of these dudes is Brock Lesnar. Just saying.
Below, Chael Sonnen absolutely refuses to complain about his somewhat controversial loss to Paulo Filho and talks about his plan for this Wednesday’s WEC rematch.
From Sherdog — for the first time since checking into a Brazilian rehab facility last month, undefeated WEC middleweight champ Paulo Filho speaks about his condition and his delayed rematch with Chael Sonnen. Apparently, Filho was addicted to “Rupinal” (possibly referring to Rohypnol, aka “the date rape drug”), and had been suffering from depression even before his first fight in America. As far as Sonnen, “What I have to say is the lion does not deal with men.” Wait a minute Paulo…are you high right now?!
(Mark Miller (L) will attempt to knock Jay Hieron’s shades off.)
Quiet out on the MMA plains this evening, but here are a couple of news pieces to check out:
— The official weigh-in for tomorrow night’s IFL show in Jersey came and went today, and all went smooth. The show kicks off at 7:30 pm (ET) and goes live on HDNet at 8:30 pm (ET).
Here are the weigh-in results:
Title Fights
Jay Hieron (170) vs. Mark Miller (170.4)
Wagnney Fabiano (145.4) vs. Shad Lierley (145.8)
Vladimir Matyushenko (205.4) vs. Jamal Patterson (205.6)
Non-Title and Team Fights
Delson Heleno (170.8) vs. Brad Blackburn (171)
Jim Miller (155) vs. Bart Palaszewski (155.5)
Nate Lamotte (155.8) vs. Chris Horodecki (154.6)
Mike Ciesnolevicz (206) vs. Carmelo Marrero (205.8)
Emyr Bussade (170) vs. Jesse Lennox (170)
Rafael Dias (145.6) vs. L.C. Davis (145.6)
Alex Schoenauer (204) vs. Brendan Barrett (205.5)
We would post video of the weigh-ins, but it was just too intense for a Thursday.
— Keith Kizer and his NSAC boys weren’t able to bust any of the fighters from WEC 33. Fighters were tested for the normal perf-enhancing drugs and those of abuse. Brian Stann, Doug Marshall, Logan Clark, Alex Serdyukov, Richard Crunkilton, Chael Sonnen, Bryan Baker, Steve Cantwell, and Marcus Hicks were given a pass for their piss. Kizer said that the state of Nevada has had “no positive tests yet this year, although we have tested way more fighters in January through March 2008 than in any other January through March period of years past.” Brag, much?
We would post video of the piss — and other — tests, but it’s too early on a Thursday for that sort of thing.
Chael Sonnen earned some real estate commission-sized doughthis week at WEC 33, raking in $34k. The official payouts for all 20 of the event’s participants have been released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Sonnen was the night’s big money winner. The event saw Chael easily handle Bryan Baker, and also saw the light heavyweight title switch from Doug Marshall to Brian Stann. The total payout for the night hit $213k, or about what Kimbo makes for winning a fight. After looking at the WEC’s payments, the phrase “salary commensurate with experience” comes to mind.
Here’s the dish:
– Brian Stann ($18,000) over Doug Marshall ($10,000)
– Chael Sonnen ($34,000) over Bryan Baker ($5,000)
– Marcus Hicks ($10,000) over Ed Ratcliff ($7,000)
– Steve Cantwell ($8,000) over Tim McKenzie ($6,000)
– Hiromitsu Miura ($8,000) over Blas Avena ($6,O00)
– Brock Larson ($24,000) over John Alessio ($15,000)
– Richard Crunkilton Jr. ($20,000) over Sergio Gomez ($4,000)
– Alex Serdyukov ($12,000) over Ryan Stonitsch ($3,000)
– Chris Manuel ($3,000) in a draw with Kenji Osawa ($5,000)
– Logan Clark ($12,000) over J. Scott Harper ($3,000)
Fighters in the win column got 50% of their haul as base and the other half as a win bonus. Sucks to be Kenji Osawa and Chris Manuel, who fought to a draw and got stuck with only their “to show” money. NSAC head Keith Kizer confirmed to MMAJunkie that the fighters are not given a bonus if a draw happens. That fine print will get you every time.
As always, none of this includes subtractions for insurance, taxes, etc. Let’s just hope the fighters had some healthy sponsors to help off-set this brand of payday. We’re talkin’ Chael Sonnen style sponsorship.
(Sergio Gomez swings at Rich Crunkilton in the goriest fight of the night. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
Doug Marshall’s light-heavyweight belt ended up around another guy’s waist last night, as Brian Stann got the better of the Rhino in a brief but wild brawl at WEC 33. Marshall took it to the Marine early and seemed to have him in trouble after landing some power punches, but in the midst of the barrage Stann fired off a left hook that connected perfectly, sending Marshall to the mat. Stann threw up his hands in victory before realizing the fight hadn’t been stopped yet; after Stann landed a couple of finishing blows from the top, Herb Dean stepped in and called the match at the 1:35 mark. Afterwards, an emotional Stann told the crowd, “All my Marines came with me in this ring. You’re all here. This belt represents all of my Marines that were with me, that couldn’t be here, that died in combat with me.” The win brings Stann’s record to 6-0, with all six of his victories coming via first-round TKO.
Chael Sonnen was also dominant in his match with Bryan Baker, spending most of the fight brutalizing Baker with ground-and-pound, and scoring some dramatic takedowns. Though Sonnen wasn’t able to earn a victory by stoppage, the judges’ scores reflected how lopsided the action was: 30-26, 30-25, and 30-25.
Also notable was the three-round war between Richard Crunkilton Jr. and Sergio Gomez. An elbow from Crunkilton slashed the back of Gomez’s head in the first round, opening a gash that spit blood for the remainder of the fight. Though Gomez had his moments during the standup exchanges, Crunkilton’s takedowns, GnP, and submission attempts were too much for Gomez to handle, and the judges awarded Crunkilton a unanimous decision.
Full results are below…
— Brian Stann def. Doug Marshall via TKO, 1:35 of round 1
— Chael Sonnen def. Bryan Baker via unanimous decision
— Marcus Hicks def. Ed Ratcliff via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:42 of round 1
— Steve Cantwell def. Tim McKenzie via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:13 of round 1
— Hiromitsu Miura def. Blas Avena via TKO at 2:35 of round 1
— Brock Larson def. John Alessio via disqualification (illegal knee) at 1:50 of round 1
— Rich Crunkilton def. Sergio Gomez via unanimous decision
— Alex Serdyukov def. Ryan Stonitsch via submission (triangle choke) at 1:35 of round 1
— Kenji Osawa and Chris Manuel fought to a draw
— Logan Clark def. Scott Harper via TKO at 4:37 of round 1
UPDATE: Here’s the video of the main event. Notice the opening staredown, where Marshall seemed unable to maintain eye contact with Stann.
(Doug Marshall will be hunting for his third title defense.)
WEC 33 goes down tonight at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas; if you have Versus, you can watch the action live starting at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m PT. Unlike the last two WEC events which featured three title fights each, only the light heavyweight belt is on the line at #33, with champ Doug “Rhino” Marshall — 7-2, and coming off a 55-second tapout victory over Ariel Gandulla at WEC 31 — facing Brian Stann, who has ended all five of his professional fights by first-round TKO. The complete fight card is below:
MAIN CARD
Doug Marshall vs. Brian Stann (light heavyweights)
Chael Sonnen vs. Bryan Baker (middleweights)
Ed Ratcliff vs. Marcus Hicks (lightweights)
Steve Cantwell vs. Tim McKenzie (light heavyweights)
Hiromitsu Miura vs. Blas Avena (middleweights)
UNDERCARD
John Alessio vs. Brock Larson (welterweights)
Sergio Gomez vs. Richard Crunkilton Jr. (lightweights)
Ryan Stonitsch vs. Alex Serdyukov (welterweights)
Chris Manuel vs. Kenji Osawa (bantamweights)
Logan Clark vs. Scott Harper (middleweights)
— BloodyElbow has weigh-in results and photos here.
— MMA Analyst posted (and yes, analyzed) WEC 33’s betting odds yesterday. Unsurprisingly, Chael Sonnen is the night’s biggest favorite, at -355 to Bryan Baker’s +285. Somewhat surprisingly, Doug Marshall is a +130 ‘dog, compared to Brian Stann’s -160 line.
— Websites that care a lot more than we do ran down the matchups here and here.
— While describing Doug Marshall, Sherdog dropped a David Draiman reference without any sort of explanatory clause or link. But I suppose if you’re reading Sherdog you’re already pretty well-versed in nu-metal singers.
Real Estate hawker Chael Sonnen just picked up 250k. Not for a commission on a house sell, but on a soon-to-be-unveiled clothing line, Nasty Threads. The organization has signed Sonnen as their first sponsored fighter — to the tune of $250,000 for six fights, in a conditional contract. InsideFighting reports:
The money amount, exclusivity, accountability and organization seem to separate this endorsement contract from the typical MMA fighter sponsor deals, according to Sonnen.
“All of the athletes will be exclusive, from the shirts, shorts and hats they wear whereas a lot of guys now a days are like NASCAR drivers [with sponsors all over them],” Sonnen says.
“They are expecting things out of you. You realize that you are working with a professional and that this is a business deal and that does two things for me. One, there is a lot of clarity and a lot of confidence in them and two; I understand that they are expecting things from me. Certain things like I have to be a good person. If you are out in the world being a bad person you lose your contract. Usually that type of thing is exclusive to companies like Nike and more recognized athletes,” Sonnen says.
“Being a bad person?” What does that constitute? Because now my mind is racing and I think I just might be a bad person in Chael Sonnen’s eyes. But in my defense, that old lady could walk her self across the street. Anyway, the irony is not lost on his “bad person” comment since he is reppin’ a company called Nasty Threads.
On the good-humanitarian-side, the company will give some of every buck earned to support Autism.com and research for the condition. Sonnen will also donate 10% of his purses to the Autism cause. Chael believes this type of contract will change how sponsors deal with fighters from here on out. The company is really pushing him, too — he was given the keys to an office at Nasty’s HQ in Lake Oswego (reportedly somewhere in Oregon, but I don’t have an Altas handy).
Amazing for a guy of Sonnen’s level to score this type of deal. I wish we could watch the contract signing, just because…oh, wait, we have the video! Check out Chael Sonnen signing the contract below. Almost certainly made by the amazing team of Fred and smokin’-hot Sharon.
