Paulo Filho Pulls Out of WEC Fight With Chael Sonnen

WEC champion Paulo Filho has backed out of his title fight on March 26. (MMAweekly.com Photo)

Undefeated World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight champion Paulo Filho (16-0-0) has pulled out of his fight against Chael Sonnen (19-9-1), scheduled for March 26 in Las Vegas, Nev.

Now, instead of fighting Sonnen for the WEC 185-pound belt, Filho will be fighting a substance abuse problem at a rehabilitation center in Brasil, according to his manager Ed Soares.

"This is horrible news, but we’re proud of him for stepping up and recognizing his problem," he tells wec.tv. "At times like this you realize who your true friends are and who really supports you, and the people around him now are supporting him and are gonna be with him when he comes back. Paulo apologizes to his fans but he thanks them for their support and he promised that the next time they see him, he’ll be back at 100 percent and will be the Paulo Filho everyone expects to see."

Last week, Filho told Tatame.com that he had pulled out of the match due to depression but the statement was dismissed by his management.

In their first fight, Filho defeated Sonnen by armbar in the second round. Afterwards, Sonnen protested the referee stoppage, saying he had not tapped out.

The main event on the card will now be the WEC light heavyweight title bout between Doug "Rhino" Marshall (7-2-0) and Brian "All American" Stann (5-0-0).

World Extreme Cagefighting 33
Wednesday, March 26, Las Vegas, Nev

• Doug Marshall vs. Brian Stann
• Brock Larson vs. John Alessio
• Kenji Osawa vs. Chris Manuel
• Marcus Hicks vs. Ed Ratcliff
• Nissen Osterneck vs. Bryan Baker
• Jeff Bedard vs. Ian McCall
• Dave Terrel vs. Ryan Stonitch
• Tim McKenzie vs. Steve Cantwell
• Rich Crunkilton vs. Sergio Gomez

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