Paulo Filho(I)
Paulo Fernando de Souza Filho is a former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competitor.
Filho first learned martial arts at a Carlos Gracie-owned academy in his native Brazil. Filho first entered martial competition as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. In 1997, Filho entered the IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation) World Championships competition.
He defeated Marcio Corleta to win the gold medal in the heavyweight division. His future ventures into grappling was less successful, losing to the likes of Murilo Bustamante, Rodrigo Medeiros , and Amaury Bitetti.
Paulo Filho debuted in MMA in the year 2000 in Brazil with a defeat of Luiz Claudio Das Dores. In 2001, Filho first competed in Japan, experiencing the first of many successes in that country. At Deep 1 Impact, he beat Kei Yamamiya (Deep 1 Impact) by technical knockout. He would later win unanimous decisions over Ikuhisa Minowa at Pancrase 93, and Yuki Kondo at Deep 2 Impact. Filho debuted for Pride Fighting Championships (1997) at Pride 22: Beasts from the East 2 (2002), and submitted Akira Shoji by arm-bar in the first round. He next fought and defeated Silmar Rodrigo in Brazil's Bitetti Combat. In 2004, Filho made his South Korea debut for the Gladiator promotion. He beat Daijiro Matsui by decision. That year he returned to Pride Fighting Championships for a rematch with Akira Shoji at Pride Bushido 4 (2004). Filho was awarded a split decision for his second win over Shoji.
For his first bout in 2005, Filho competed at Pride Bushido 6 (2005), submitting Amar Suloev by a first-round arm-bar. That same year, he also defeated Ryuta Sakurai by a round one arm-bar at Pride Bushido 9 (2005). In 2006, Filho's undefeated streak in MMA continued. First, he won a unanimous decision over Murilo Rua at Pride Bushido 10 (2006). Then he won his second unanimous decision that year after he fought Gregory Bouchelaghem at Pride Bushido 11: Bushido Survival (2006). At Pride Bushido 12: Bushido Survival 2nd Round (2006), he fought Ryo Chonan and defeated him by an arm-bar in the first round. Filho's next bout was more competitive when he fought Kazuo Misaki at Pride Bushido 13: Bushido Survival Finals (2006). Misaki eventually succumbed to an arm-bar by Filho.
In 2007, Paulo Filho competed in the United States for the first time after signing with World Extreme Cagefighting (2001). In his WEC debut, Filho fought Joe Doerksen for the vacant WEC Middleweight Championship at WEC 29: Condit vs. Larson (2007). Filho hurt Doerksen with punches in the first round to become the WEC Middleweight Champion. For his first defense of the title, Filho fought Chael Sonnen at WEC 31: Faber vs. Curran (2007). The fight was stopped near the end of round two after Filho secured an arm-bar on Sonnen. Controversy ensued after Sonnen complained that he never submitted. As a result, Sonnen would later be granted at rematch against Filho. By this point, Filho had started suffering from depression and frequently used medications. He also started using cocaine to counter some of the side effects of the medications. Those factored into Filho coming in overweight for his rematch with Chael Sonnen at WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown (2008). As a result, the match was downgraded to a non-title fight. Sonnen won by unanimous decision, giving Filho his first loss in MMA. Filho was later released from his contract with WEC.
Despite his personal issues, Filho remained a formidable competitor. In 2009, he returned to Japan for a bout in the new Dream promotion. He was matched up against Melvin Manhoef at Dream. 10: Welterweight GP Final 2009 Final Round (2009). Filho survived an early onslaught of punches from Manhoef, Filho took him to the ground, and submitted him by arm-bar. Back in Brazil, Filho resumed a winning streak against the likes of Alexander Schoenauer and Daniel Villegas. Filho traveled to Australia to compete against Denis Kang for Impact Fighting Championships. At Impact FC 2, Filho and Kang fought to a split draw. Filo returned to Brazil, and experienced his second MMA loss against Marcos Rogerio de Lima in 2010. Filho rebounded by defeating Yuki Sasaki and Jackson More Rodriguez in Brazil. Filho would have two losses in a row after he fought Ronny Markes and Norman Paraisy in 2011. He fought Satoshi Ishii to a draw at Amazon Forest Combat 1, and beat Murilo Rua by technical knockout at Best of the Best 1.
In 2013, Paulo Filho returned to the United States to compete for the new promotion, World Series Of Fighting (WSOF). He fought David Branch at World Series of Fighting 2: Arlovski vs. Johnson (2013) and lost by a unanimous decision. That year he would compete in Brazil and fought Rodney Wallace to a draw. In 2014, he lost to André Muniz at Bitetti Combat 19. After a long break from MMA competition, in 2018, a much heavier Filho competed for the WAWAN promotion in Kuwait. In a heavyweight bout, he submitted Mohamed Ashraf by a reverse arm-triangle choke early in the first round. It was Filho's last MMA bout.
Paulo Filho debuted in MMA in the year 2000 in Brazil with a defeat of Luiz Claudio Das Dores. In 2001, Filho first competed in Japan, experiencing the first of many successes in that country. At Deep 1 Impact, he beat Kei Yamamiya (Deep 1 Impact) by technical knockout. He would later win unanimous decisions over Ikuhisa Minowa at Pancrase 93, and Yuki Kondo at Deep 2 Impact. Filho debuted for Pride Fighting Championships (1997) at Pride 22: Beasts from the East 2 (2002), and submitted Akira Shoji by arm-bar in the first round. He next fought and defeated Silmar Rodrigo in Brazil's Bitetti Combat. In 2004, Filho made his South Korea debut for the Gladiator promotion. He beat Daijiro Matsui by decision. That year he returned to Pride Fighting Championships for a rematch with Akira Shoji at Pride Bushido 4 (2004). Filho was awarded a split decision for his second win over Shoji.
For his first bout in 2005, Filho competed at Pride Bushido 6 (2005), submitting Amar Suloev by a first-round arm-bar. That same year, he also defeated Ryuta Sakurai by a round one arm-bar at Pride Bushido 9 (2005). In 2006, Filho's undefeated streak in MMA continued. First, he won a unanimous decision over Murilo Rua at Pride Bushido 10 (2006). Then he won his second unanimous decision that year after he fought Gregory Bouchelaghem at Pride Bushido 11: Bushido Survival (2006). At Pride Bushido 12: Bushido Survival 2nd Round (2006), he fought Ryo Chonan and defeated him by an arm-bar in the first round. Filho's next bout was more competitive when he fought Kazuo Misaki at Pride Bushido 13: Bushido Survival Finals (2006). Misaki eventually succumbed to an arm-bar by Filho.
In 2007, Paulo Filho competed in the United States for the first time after signing with World Extreme Cagefighting (2001). In his WEC debut, Filho fought Joe Doerksen for the vacant WEC Middleweight Championship at WEC 29: Condit vs. Larson (2007). Filho hurt Doerksen with punches in the first round to become the WEC Middleweight Champion. For his first defense of the title, Filho fought Chael Sonnen at WEC 31: Faber vs. Curran (2007). The fight was stopped near the end of round two after Filho secured an arm-bar on Sonnen. Controversy ensued after Sonnen complained that he never submitted. As a result, Sonnen would later be granted at rematch against Filho. By this point, Filho had started suffering from depression and frequently used medications. He also started using cocaine to counter some of the side effects of the medications. Those factored into Filho coming in overweight for his rematch with Chael Sonnen at WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown (2008). As a result, the match was downgraded to a non-title fight. Sonnen won by unanimous decision, giving Filho his first loss in MMA. Filho was later released from his contract with WEC.
Despite his personal issues, Filho remained a formidable competitor. In 2009, he returned to Japan for a bout in the new Dream promotion. He was matched up against Melvin Manhoef at Dream. 10: Welterweight GP Final 2009 Final Round (2009). Filho survived an early onslaught of punches from Manhoef, Filho took him to the ground, and submitted him by arm-bar. Back in Brazil, Filho resumed a winning streak against the likes of Alexander Schoenauer and Daniel Villegas. Filho traveled to Australia to compete against Denis Kang for Impact Fighting Championships. At Impact FC 2, Filho and Kang fought to a split draw. Filo returned to Brazil, and experienced his second MMA loss against Marcos Rogerio de Lima in 2010. Filho rebounded by defeating Yuki Sasaki and Jackson More Rodriguez in Brazil. Filho would have two losses in a row after he fought Ronny Markes and Norman Paraisy in 2011. He fought Satoshi Ishii to a draw at Amazon Forest Combat 1, and beat Murilo Rua by technical knockout at Best of the Best 1.
In 2013, Paulo Filho returned to the United States to compete for the new promotion, World Series Of Fighting (WSOF). He fought David Branch at World Series of Fighting 2: Arlovski vs. Johnson (2013) and lost by a unanimous decision. That year he would compete in Brazil and fought Rodney Wallace to a draw. In 2014, he lost to André Muniz at Bitetti Combat 19. After a long break from MMA competition, in 2018, a much heavier Filho competed for the WAWAN promotion in Kuwait. In a heavyweight bout, he submitted Mohamed Ashraf by a reverse arm-triangle choke early in the first round. It was Filho's last MMA bout.
