Chael Sonnen

Sonnen, Maia Ready for Middleweight Clash

In the above video, former WEC title contender Chael Sonnen and skilled grappler Demian Maia discuss their upcoming middlweight bout at UFC 95, which takes place this Saturday in London, England.

Maia: “I’m Fighting Chael Sonnen at UFC 95”

UFC middleweight contender and grappling wizard Demian Maia will attempt to stay undefeated in welcoming WEC standout Chael Sonnen back to the UFC when the two clash at UFC 95, which will take place on February 21 in London, England.

Maia revealed that he had signed to fight Sonnen at the event in a recent statement on his official website.

The Brazilian remains undefeated thus far in his professional career and has been victorious in all of four of his UFC contests. Maia made his UFC debut at UFC 77 in October of last year where he made quick work of veteran Ryan Jensen, submitting him in the first round.

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Chael Sonnen: “I’m Fighting Anderson Silva”

Take it with a grain of salt, but Chael Sonnen has told GracieMag.com that he will be moving to the UFC after the WEC does away with it’s middleweight divison at the end of this year. Not only that, but he says that he’s fighting Anderson Silva:

You are one of the best fighters in the WEC. Are you thinking of heading to the UFC?

Truth is, after this fight I’m going to the UFC.

Do you have an idea who your first opponent in the UFC will be?

Once I’m in the UFC, my first adversary will be Anderson Silva.

Really? Has that been confirmed?

Yes, it’s confirmed. Once I’m in the UFC I’ll fight Anderson Silva. I think he’s a great fighter, but I’m only going to start thinking about that after my fight with Paulo Filho. If you want to ask me about it after tonight, I’ll be happy to answer.

Obviously the interview took place before Sonnen fought Filho for the second time last week, so it’s possible that some deal could have been worked out if Sonnen beat Filho, which he did. Still, if the UFC wants to do away with the claims that Silva is bored with his opponents these days, matching him up against freaking Chael Sonnen of all people isn’t going to help things. Silva will eat him alive.

WEC 36 Post-Fight Press Conference Video

Here’s some video from the post-fight press conference for WEC 36. Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber discusses his first-round TKO loss to Mike Brown at the event in the above video. After the jump are comments from Leonard Garcia and Chael Sonnen.

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WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown Live Results

We will be going live at 5:30 PM ET with complete results from tonight’s WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown event, which will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The show’s televised main card will air on Versus starting at 8 PM ET.

WEC 36 is headlined by Urijah Faber once again defending his featherweight title against gritty top contender Mike Thomas Brown. In addition, WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho will meet Chael Sonnen in a non-title rematch of their December 2007 fight and former UFC lightweight title holder Jens Pulver will look to get back on track against rising featherweight Leonard Garcia.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments throughout the evening. Detailed live results are after the jump. 

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Sonnen Could Still Earn Belt From Filho

Even though his scheduled WEC middleweight title bout for tomorrow night as been changed to a non-title affair courtesy of Paulo Filho’s inability to make 185 lbs, Team Quest product Chael Sonnen could still end up getting his championship belt if he defeats Filho:

Perhaps more interesting is that Filho’s cornerman indicated to Lindland that they would give up the title belt if Sonnen wins. “His cornermen told us that they would walk across the cage and hand Chael the belt if he wins. When Chael whoops his ass, I expect them to live up to their word.

It remains unknown if the WEC would recognize the above as an official title change and Filho relinquishing the belt. Still, even if the bout was still for Filho’s middleweight title, Sonnen winning it wouldn’t have much bearing as the WEC is still set to dissolve it’s 185 lb. division by the end of the year.

Filho Misses Weight; Sonnen Fight Now Non-Title Affair

WEC middleweight title holder Paulo Filho came in an astounding seven pounds over the 185 lb. limit at the weigh-ins for WEC 36 on Tuesday afternoon, putting his championship rematch against Team Quest product Chael Sonnen in jeopardy.

After the two-hour allotted time limit, Filho was only able to cut down to 188 lbs, making his showdown against Sonnen a non-title affair. Sonnen will be awarded 25% of Filho’s purse.

In addition, featherweight title challenger Mike Brown came in a half pound over the featherweight limit and jiu-jitsu wizard Rani Yahya weighed-in one pound over the bantamweight requirements for his fight against Yoshiro Maeda. Brown was quickly able to shed the extra baggage while Maeda has agreed to face Yahya without forcing him to cut weight again.

Complete weigh-in results are after the jump.

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WEC Announces Full Card for Sept. 10 Show

World Extreme Cagefighting today officially announced the complete lineup of fights that will take place at the organization’s scheduled September 10th event in Hollywood, Florida.

The most notable bout made official today involves former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver looking to solidify himself as a contender once again in the WEC’s featherweight division as he will take on fellow heavy-hitter Leonard Garcia. The bout will be part of the event’s televised main card on Versus.

Pulver is coming off of a failed attempt to dethrone reigning 145 lb champion Urijah Faber while Garcia will be fighting for the first time since being charged and eventually cleared of involvement in a New Mexico drug ring.

Additional matchups announced for the card this afternoon included Rani Yahya vs. Yoshiro Maeda, Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone, Jake Rosholt vs. Danillo Villefort, Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov, Tim McKenzie vs. David Avellan, and Ed Ratcliff vs. Danny Castillo.

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Report: Filho-Sonnen II Booked for September

The long-awaited rematch between reigning WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho and the division’s top challenger, Team Quest product and former standout college wrestler Chael Sonnen, will reportedly take place at a yet-to-be-announced World Extreme Cagefighting event in September.

The news comes from a report by Sherdog.com.

The two were slated to rematch at a WEC event in March but the fight was postponed after Filho had opted to withdraw from the fight after checking himself into a local rehabilitation center in order to receive help for an alleged substance abuse problem. Sonnen went on to defeated Bryan Baker at the event via unanimous decision.

Filho has not fought since submitting Sonnen in controversial fashion last December. With Sonnen trapped in an armbar and his face grimacing in pain, referee Josh Rosenthal stepped in and stopped the bout, claiming that Sonnen had verbally submitted. Sonnen has since kept his stance that he did not tell Rosenthal to stop the bout.

According to Sonnen, Filho seems to be taking the fight personally, using Sonnen’s past remarks about his opponent’s character as motivation towards delivering a legitimate ending to the long-standing rivalry between the two.

“I wasn’t trying to be a heel with Paulo before the first fight, he’s just a dirtbag in real life,” Sonnen said in the report. “The only reason I fought him is because no one else would. There is this idea of being respectful to other fighters. That’s the new word. But this isn’t Britney Spears insulting Christina Aguilera from halfway across the country through the media. I’m going to get in a cage and fight about it, so if he thinks I’m using fighting words, it’s because I’m planning to fight him.”

Filho Released from Rehab

WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho has been released from a Brazilian rehabilitation center by doctors after receiving help for reported depression symptoms and an alleged substance abuse problem.

The news comes from Sherdog.com‘s Gleidson Venga, who confirmed Filho’s status with his manager, Jorge Guimaraes.

Filho, who has returned to his home in Niteroi, Brazil, will apparently start training again on Monday.

“The doctor has released Paulo from the rehabilitation center and Monday he returns to train,” Guimaraes said. “Paulo is already running and making a set diet. He is leading a normal life and is well motivated. About his return, the WEC will decide the ideal date, but he will be ready when they call.”

Filho checked himself into a local rehabilitation center earlier this month, forcing his scheduled title defense rematch against Chael Sonnen to be postponed until the summer.

Sonnen won a unanimous decision over Bryan Baker Wednesday and remains the number-one contender for Filho’s title.