This time around the two will meet at a catchweight of 194 pounds. Though not official, each man has indicated the fight could serve as the last of his respective career.

News of the match-up was confirmed with Filho’s management by TATAME after Rua went on Twitter to reveal some basics.

Rua and Filho have struggled as of late to capture the same success they once experienced in Japan with each losing two of his last three outings. However, both men were at one point considered among the toughest competitors in MMA based on successful showings against the likes of Kazuo Misaki, Mario Sperry, and Chael Sonnen.

PHOTO CREDIT – FEG

The not-so-happy ending to his run in Mixed Martial Arts will come on November 26 in Poland where he’ll face Mamed Khalidov at a KSW event, a far cry from the fame and fortune many predicted Filho would procure after emerging as a top middleweight a few years back based on an overwhelming amount of success in Japan/Brazil including wins in his first sixteen scraps.

The emotional 33-year old announced his decision in a recent conversation with Tatame.

“I don’t want this anymore,” he said frankly. “I believe I always defended Jiu-Jitsu with all my heart, (was) always an honest guy. I never ducked anyone, never chose opponents. I fought in worst conditions, but never ran away. Nobody had the privilege to finish me. I’m very sad in this moment.”

No detail was given in terms of what’s next for Filho after his appearance in Poland but his future appears to be somewhat grim given the financial pressure he’s under. According to the Brazilian, one of his managers recently swindled him for a good deal of money and he debts have begun to stack up to the point he claims his life may be in jeopardy.

“I’m kind of disappointed with this stuff, fighting and not getting paid… I don’t want people comforting me. I just want what is mine. (My last bout was) the third time I (fought) and (did) not get paid. I was the threatened of death by people I owe here in Niteroi.”

During Filho’s run in MMA he compiled a 22-4-2 record (Khalidov result not withstanding) with ten submission stoppages including wins over Melvin Manhoef, Ryo Chonan, Murilo Rua, Kazuo Misaki, and Chael Sonnen. He last fought in September where he went to a Draw against former Olympian Satoshi Ishii.

PHOTO CREDIT – DSE

This past weekend, unfortunately, brought another example of how the mighty mat-based machine has fallen with Filho losing to an opponent most Mixed Martial Arts fans have never heard of (Marcos Rogerio de Lima) at the First Class Fight 5 event in Sao Paolo.

Filho fell via unanimous decision to his countryman who in turn ran his undefeated streak to 7-0 with the victory. The result was the first time De Lima had gone the distance in his career with five TKOs and one strike-based submission to his credit entering the match-up.

Despite the defeat, Filho is still 4-1-1 in six bouts since parting ways with WEC in 2008 on the heels of a bizarre showing against Chael Sonnen. His overall record is 20-2-1 and features wins over Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Kazuo Misaki, and Ryo Chonan during his name-making run in PRIDE.

In a recent interview with Tatame.com, Filho was quoted as saying,”[Mousasi] doesn’t have my strength, he doesn’t have my level on the ground. He can be a better striker, but he doesn’t have my strength and he’ll go down once and be submitted.”

Now as you may have noticed, Filho mentioned his perceived strength advantage twice in comparing himself to the Strikeforce champion. Strength Mousasi feels more than likely come from “special powers” and he doesn’t mean that Filho was bit by a radioactive spider, as he would explain in an interview with Fighters.com,”What happened when he came to America? He got beat up, now he’s back in Japan and he feels like a kid in a candy story I think. He can use all kinds of steroids. I think the steroids have gone to his head.

“He didn’t perform the same as he does in Japan as in America, and now he suddenly has a big mouth again.”

Referring specifically to Filho’s recent loss to Chael Sonnen on American soil , Mousasi speculated,”I think he wasn’t feeling very good mentally because he cannot use his magic stuff.

“I would say that he’s a little donkey on steroids that thinks he’s a running horse now, but he’s more like a little pony.”

Mousasi would go on to explain that although he would love to teach Filho a lesson for his recent remarks, under no circumstances would he face the Brazilian in Japan, or anywhere drug tests aren’t conducted for that matter.

Gegard would stop just short of calling the whole Japanese fighting community out on there long-standing practice, or non-practice, of failing to drug test their fighters, explaining,”You saw what happened with other fighters that came from Japan, when they fought in the U.S., and how they performed. So…. I don’t know….. it annoyed me, what he said.”

The two are scheduled to butt heads at DREAM 10 which has been scheduled for July 20.

Manhoef is without a doubt one of the most vicious finishers currently competing in the sport, finishing twenty two of his twenty three victories by either KO or TKO for an astounding 95% knockout ratio.

Not known for knocking his opponents senseless by any stretch of the imagination, Filho believes that he holds the antidote to the feared Dutch kickboxer’s poison, and that antidote does not include trading shots with Manhoef in Japan.

“He’s coming from a sequence of knockouts, nice, but I’m more complete in the MMA game,” explained Filho in a recent interview with Tatame.com. “Anyone who thinks I’ll exchange punches with him is wrong. I’ll do my game, try to take him down and define the fight where I’m good. He’s very tough but I believe that I can beat him.”

“It would be an honor, I’m very happy to have received this invitation and tell him to wait for me… What he needs from me, I’m here to help” Filho was quoted as saying to Tatame.com concerning the invite.

Filho last competed at WEC 36 where he was handed his first loss at the hands of Chael Sonnen in an extremely lackluster bout that had the crowd jeering more often than not.

However, although Filho was the WEC’s middleweight champion at the time, he missed weight which caused the bout to be changed to a non-title bout at the last minute which resulted in the title never switching hands.

Tatame.com is reporting that Filho will fight a yet to be named opponent in the light heavyweight division.

Fihlo made his name fighting for Pride FC where he 8-0 by defeating such stars as Kazuo Misaki, Ryo Chonan and Murilo “Ninja Rua. He came to the United States with a perfect 14-0 record and was ranked as the number two middleweight by many major publications.

He signed with Zuffa and was immediately given a shot at the WEC middleweight title where he defeated Joe Doerksen via first round TKO. He then went on to successfully defend his title against Chael Sonnen but not without controversy. He was being handled pretty easily by Sonnen but was able to secure an armbar while on his back late in the second round. Sonnen verbally said he didn’t want to tap but the referee feared that his arm would snap and halted the bout setting up a rematch.

The two were scheduled to fight March 26th 2008 at WEC 33 but Filho pulled out of the bout and went into rehab for an undisclosed problem. The fight was rescheduled for WEC 36 but Filho weighed in at an outrageous seven pounds over the 185 pound limit, and after given time to shed the weight only managed to drop three more pounds, thus changing the fight from five rounds to three. Sonnen went on to defeat Filho by unanimous decision but the attention was on Filho as he looked to be talking to someone while in the cage. Filho did give Sonnen the belt after the fight but the championship was still Filho’s.

Zuffa decided to release the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and he has been on the shelf until now. He did turn down a chance to participate in the Bellator Fighting Championship middleweight tournament but felt the contract was too restrictive. Now the Japanese fans will get to see if he is back to the fighter he was and maybe fighting as a light heavyweight will suit him better. The report stated that Filho has been training with Ronald “Jacare” Souza to help him prepare for his return.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney confirmed the news during an exclusive interview with Five Ounces of Pain on Friday.

“We’re absolutely interested in Paulo,” Rebney responded when asked if rumors that the promotion had engaged in talks with Filho were true. “…Paulo Filho is one of the best fighters in the world at his weight and a tremendously exciting guy to watch. If you look back, not long ago he was on everyone’s top ten list so he’s a guy we’re absolutely interested in.”

However, Rebney acknowledged recent reports in regard to some of Filho’s issues outside of fighting and cautioned that Bellator didn’t want to rush him back into competition before he is ready.

“He’s obviously had some difficulties of late,” said the founder and former owner of Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing. “He’s got an illness in his family with his dad, who he is obviously very close to, and that would tear up any of us and cause any of us to have a difficult time in pursuing our career, especially if it involved getting in a cage in front of millions of people on television and fighting… For right now, we’re trying to be more of a human being and my thoughts would be that I hope he gets into a better place so that he can come back and be the Paulo Filho that we all enjoy watching. And if that happens, I think any promotion in the world would be interested in a fighter of his caliber.”

Filho, 16-1, was released from his contract with Zuffa and the WEC soon after suffering the first loss of his career during a non-title matchup vs. Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 on Nov. 5. The Filho vs. Sonnen rematch was originally scheduled to be a title fight but the bout was changed to a three-round non-title affair after Filho was unable to make weight.

During the fight itself, Filho appeared uninterested in fighting and refused to engage with Sonnen, which led to a three-round unanimous decision loss that fans in attendance booed heavily.

WEC officials had made three prior attempts to schedule a rematch between both fighters with the fight being postponed once in September due to weather concerns, However, the first two postponements were due to the fact that Filho was in no condition to fight. Earlier this year it was reported that Filho sought inpatient treatment to deal with depression and chemical dependency.

“Not only will Paulo Filho’s middleweight championship be forgotten, but Filho himself will be after his performance on the show, as it’s all but a lock that Filho won’t be moved to UFC,” one excerpt states.

However, later in the issue, while addressing Fabricio Werdum’s UFC departure, an even more definitive statement is made.

“There is zero criticism I’ve seen of (Zuffa) cutting Paulo Filho, who was 16-0 coming into his fight (vs. Chael Sonnen) but his cut wasn’t over money but that the person who was in that cage has no business fighting at this time,” writes Observer publisher Dave Meltzer.

Filho received $30,000 for his unanimous decision loss to Sonnen at WEC 36 earlier this month. He had been scheduled to earn $41,000 as his “show” guarantee but was forced to forfeit a portion of his purse to Sonnen after failing to make the contracted weight limit of 185 pounds. It is believed that had Filho made weight and won that he could have earned an additional $41,000 in the form of a win bonus.

Filho’s middleweight title had been scheduled to be at stake but the fight was changed to a non-title affair after the native Brazilian weighed in at 192.5 pounds during his initial weigh-in attempt. The former PRIDE Bushido standout was given two additional hours to make weight but he registered at 189.5 pounds during his second and final attempt.

Zuffa will be officially closing the WEC’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions following its WEC 37 event on Dec. 3. Top names such as Sonnen, Steve Cantwell, Brian Stann, Mark Munoz, and Jake Rosholt have been confirmed as being transferred to the UFC. Filho was considered to be a strong candidate for the move as well but his erratic behavior, failure to make weight, and pay scale likely contributed in a decision to drop cut his contract.

Additionally, Filho also been adamant that he would not face current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva due to their friendship and had expressed a desire to compete as a light heavyweight. Taking away the UFC’s ability to match Filho up with its champion at 185 coupled with a stated desire to compete in the UFC’s stacked light heavyweight division despite being listed as only 5’8″ no doubt further hurt his stock in the eyes of Zuffa.

A request for comment by Five Ounces of Pain from Filho’s manager, Ed Soares, was not immediately returned.

WEC 36

Urijah Faber was unable to defend his title against Mike Brown and was defeated in the first round via TKO. Brown stood with Faber for the opening moments of the fight and Faber ate some good shots that sent him reeling into the cage. Upon rebounding from the cage, Faber tried to throw a back elbow and ended up running directly into a right hand that hit on the button. From there Brown took Faber’s back and rained down blows upon the champion, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

After the fight Faber said that he just made a small mistake and that Brown was able to capitalize on it. It would appear that Faber, due to his stature within the company and his long title reign, will most likely receive an immediate rematch.

In other action, Chael Sonnen was able to grind out a unanimous decision victory over an extremely sluggish and ill prepared Paulo Filho. Filho was unable to mount any kind of offense as Sonnen tried to keep the fight standing for the most part. The first round mostly played out with Filho on his back and Sonnen standing, kicking Filho’s legs and landing a punch from time to time while the other two rounds were spent mostly on the feet with Sonnen picking apart Filho with jabs and straight left hands. While not the most exciting of fights, Sonnen was able to execute his strategy and grind out the victory over an opponent that many consider one of the best middleweights in the world.

In a clash of two former UFC fighters, Jens Pulver took an unexpected loss to Leonard Garcia via TKO in the first round. Both fighters came out willing to trade punches and Garcia got the better of the exchange by landing a mean left hook and then a right hand that rocked Pulver back against the cage. Garcia smelled blood and pounced in for the finish, loading up bombs and dropping them on Pulver against the cage, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Garcia told the crowd afterwards that he wanted a shot at the featherweight title whether it be Mike Brown or Urijah Faber. Garcia has made a strong case for a title shot after knocking out Hiroyuki Takaya and taking it to Jens Pulver on the feet.

In a fight between two middleweight prospects, Jake Rosholt was able to control his fight with Nissen Osterneck with his top level wrestling. It’s clear that Rosholt has some work to do in the standup as Osterneck routinely dominated him whenever the fight was standing. Rosholt’s chin proved strong and his ground control was excellent as he weathered the storm in the striking game and was able to take the fight to the ground when he wanted. Every time the fight hit the ground it was all Rosholt and he was able to mount Osterneck in the secound round and pound out a TKO victory.

Full results from the card are below:

MAIN CARD

Mike Brown def. Urijah Faber by TKO (Strikes) at 2:23, Round 1
Chael Sonnen def. Paulo Filho by Unanimous Decision
Leonard Garcia def. Jens Pulver by TKO (Strikes) at 1:12, Round 1
Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck by TKO (Strikes) at 3:48, Round 2
Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough by Unanimous Decision

PRELIMINARY CARD

Rani Yahya def. Yoshiro Maeda by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:30, Round 1
Danny Castillo def. Rafael Dias by TKO (Strikes) at 2:54, Round 2
Carmelo Marrero def. Steve Steinbeiss by Split Decision
Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Brookins by TKO (Strikes) at 0:45, Round 3
Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan via KO (Punch) 00:18, Round 1

“If that’s the fight that the world wants to see, then I guess we’re going to have to sit back and talk about it,” Soares said. “I think that’s going to be a hard one to get across to both sides. They’re friends, they’ve been together. But at the end of the day, it’s a business, and sometimes you’ve gotta go in there, and you shake hands. They’ve been on each other for free in training. I can just tell you that it would really have to be something that makes sense for both guys.”

Keep your fingers crossed, ladies and gentlemen. Before that fight comes close to happening however, Filho needs to take care of business against Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 in September. Filho is one of the only people at middleweight that many people believe can truly test Anderson Silva. It’s a fight that hardcores would drool over. Here’s to hoping that the two can come to a compromise as competitors and athletes.

Rumors began to circulate about this matchup last week but Clementi just recently got official word from Joe Silva of the UFC that the match is indeed on. (click for latest UFC 79 fight card)

But before he fights Guillard, Clementi will be taking on Antoine Skinner this Saturday on the campus of LSU on a card promoted by his own fight company, No Love Entertainment. It’s believed to be the first time an MMA event has ever been held on LSU’s campus.

Clementi has matched himself up with a tough opponent in Skinner and isn’t giving himself a layup. Overall, it’s going to be a busy week for him because he’s not only fighting on a show that he’s promoting but the show is being held in conjunction with a car show, which is believed to be another first.

Rich has worked hard with boxing regulators in Louisiana to improve the level of regulation in the state when it comes to MMA and he’s known for putting on high-quality shows. If you’re in the area, support local MMA by checking out his show.

For more information about the show or to purchase tickets you can call 888-FIGHT-90 or visit SteelCageFighting.com.