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View Full Version : Paulo Filho... out of rehab en klaar om weer te knokken



Tony
30-05-2008, 09:30
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World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight champion Paulo Filho (16-0) has completed his substance-abuse recovery program, and the WEC is hoping the Brazilian will return to action later this year, according to WEC vice president Peter Dropick.

Dropick shared the developments during Wednesday's media conference call to promote Sunday night's "WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver" event.

"Last I heard out of Brazil is that Paulo is out of rehab, and he's doing well, and he's just getting back in shape to fight," Dropick said.

Little has been heard from Filho since the 30-year-old elected to withdraw from a March 26 title defense with Chael Sonnen due to "personal reasons." Filho, currently considered one of the world's top-five middleweights, later shared that he was suffering from depression and chemical-dependency issues.

During the call, Dropick reiterated the WEC's support for Filho's decision to pull out of his bout with Sonnen.

"As I mentioned before, we supported Paulo," Dropick said. "He obviously did the right thing, and we hope that he's taking care of his personal issues and he gets better and gets back in to the cage."

Although no specific dates were mentioned, Dropick is optimistic that Filho will defend his title before year's end.

"Hopefully, later this year [Filho will] be fighting," he said.