Sherdog’s Top 10: Best Fighters Never to Compete in the UFC

Mike SloanFeb 24, 2016

9. Paulo Filho

Filho was for a time in the best-middleweight-in-the-world discussion, and it seemed inevitable that the Brazilian would eventually make his way to the UFC. He was 11-0 when he entered the 2006 Pride welterweight grand prix and quickly rattled off three wins, two of them via armbar submission, to reach the tournament final. However, an injury left Filho unable to compete.

Soon after, Filho signed with World Extreme Cagefighting and made an immediate impact. He stopped Joe Doerksen with first-round punches to capture the promotion’s middleweight crown and then successfully defended it by submitting Chael Sonnen with a second-round armbar at WEC 31. Sonnen was granted a rematch a little less than 11 months later, only to see Filho miss weight. The American won a unanimous decision in the non-title bout. It was during this time that Filho began to show signs of inner turmoil. He had checked himself into a rehab facility in the months before the rematch and seemed disoriented and disinterested in the cage.

When the WEC merged into the UFC, Filho became a free agent. Though he won his next four bouts, the Brazilian grappler was never the same. Filho has not fought since February 2014, when he lost a unanimous decision to Andre Muniz under the Bitetti Combat banner. His resume includes victories over Murilo Rua (twice), Melvin Manhoef, Ryo Chonan and Kazuo Misaki.

Number 8 » Sergei Kharitonov