The Brazilian submitted Sonnen with an armbar at WEC 31 in December, and though Sonnen claimed afterward that he had not tapped out, replays showed otherwise. His refusal to admit defeat rubbed Filho the wrong way.
“He attacked my pride last time,” Filho said in an exclusive video interview with Sherdog.com. “He could have acted like a man, a professional, but he acted like a teenager, a spoiled brat. He will pay for that in the cage. He’s fighting someone who’s there to kill or get killed and doesn’t give up.”
The WEC plans to eliminate its middleweight and light heavyweight divisions at the end of the year, meaning the winner of the Filho-Sonnen rematch may get the last word in a brief but heated rivalry.
Both men seem destined to land in the UFC after their rematch, as they could add quality depth to what has become one of the promotion’s weaker divisions.
Click here for an exclusive video interview with Paulo Filho.