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\nAnderson Silva once called Paulo Filho the best middleweight in
\nthe world. | Marcelo Alonso\/Sherdog.com<\/p>\n
Considered one of the most technically skilled black belts under Retired since 2018, Filho spoke with Sherdog on Monday and pointed “Similar game. I was a judoka with Carlson’s Jiu-Jitsu, which Filho pointed to another champion born in the Caucasus mountains \u201c[Ilia] Topuria is undoubtedly the greatest MMA fighter today,\u201d he \u201cIf he\u2019s healthy, I believe Makhachev is capable of beating all the Filho applies the same reasoning if Chimaev moves up to face \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good thing for him. Of course, he can take In Filho’s opinion, Pereira wouldn\u2019t be the favorite in a potential “Jones is exceptional. He manages to dominate opponents in their Silva\u2019s No. 1 “In my opinion, it’s Paulo Filho<\/a>,\u201d It’s worth contextualizing that at that moment Anderson was The fact is that even without winning the belt, after submitting Following the end of Pride, Filho moved to the WEC and won the belt “Paulo on top was a nightmare, an absurd pressure game, without a Falling Prey to Addiction
\nCarlson Gracie and named by Anderson
\nSilva<\/a> as the best middleweight in the world of MMA in 2007,
\nPaulo
\nFilho<\/a> was known in the
\nPride Fighting Championships<\/a> era for his ground game, very
\nsimilar to that imposed today by the Caucasus champions Islam
\nMakhachev<\/a> (Dagestan) and Khamzat
\nChimaev<\/a> (Chechnya).<\/p>\n
\nout similarities with the Caucasus champions in the early years of
\nhis career, when he was undefeated for 16 fights, dominating his
\ndivision in Pride and later winning the
\nWEC<\/a> belt.<\/p>\n
\nalways aimed for submission, and these guys from the Caucasus,
\ntheir art is basically sambo, which is essentially a mix of judo
\nand jiu-jitsu. Their ground game isn’t as refined as ours. In terms
\nof takedowns, they don’t rely solely on double- and single-leg
\ntakedowns; they use many judo ashi throws, as well as osoto gare
\nand uchi mata,\u201d Filho said.<\/p>\n
\nregion, but in Georgia, as his favorite fighter.<\/p>\n
\nsaid. \u201cBesides the imposing game of Khabib and Chimaev, he has a
\nvery high technical level both standing and on the ground, in
\naddition to knockout power and great physical strength. I saw a
\ncompilation of him for almost 40 minutes and I was very impressed
\nwith his ability in all areas. It’s really a shame he’s going
\nthrough these personal problems. I hope he resolves them soon.\u201dAvoiding Super Fights
\n
\nFilho believes that Makhachev and Chimaev have everything to
\ncontinue reigning in their divisions and only sees risk in two
\nsuper fights.<\/p>\n
\ntop fighters in the [welterweight] division. I just don\u2019t think
\nit\u2019s a good idea for him to come down to face Topuria in a super
\nfight. Besides also having excellent takedown defense, the Georgian
\nis far superior on his feet and has knockout power. I see him as a
\nbad matchup for Islam. In my opinion, he is superior in all
\nfundamentals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAlex
\nPereira<\/a> in the light heavyweight division.<\/p>\n
\n\u2018Poatan\u2019 down, but it\u2019s difficult to keep him on the ground. He\u2019ll
\neventually get tired, and Poatan only needs one punch to finish the
\nfight. Besides, I noticed a technical flaw in him in the fight with
\n[Dricus] Du Plessis; he doesn\u2019t know how to take back control, and
\n\u2018Poatan\u2019 has been developing his defensive game a lot with Glover
\n[Teixeira]. Will he be able to control \u2018Poatan\u2019 for 5 rounds? I
\ndon\u2019t see that happening. Sooner or later, \u2018Poatan\u2019 will manage to
\nland a punch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nfight with Jon Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nown disciplines, he took down Cormier, submitted Belfort, submitted
\nLyoto. I don’t know how he is now, but without a doubt Chimaev
\nwould be an easier fight for \u2018Poatan.\u2019”<\/p>\n
\n
\nIn January 2007, Anderson
\nSilva<\/a>, who had just won the
\nUFC<\/a> belt, was asked if he considered himself the greatest
\nmiddleweight in the world, and he didn’t hesitate.<\/p>\n
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\ntraining at Brazilian Top Team and Filho, considered one of the
\nmost technically skilled black belts under Carlson Gracie, had won
\nall four of his fights in the Pride Bushido Grand Prix, having
\ninjured his knee in the semifinal when he submitted Kazuo Misaki<\/a>
\n(who had defeated Dan
\nHenderson<\/a> in the quarter final). With the Brazilian unable to
\nfight the final, Misaki returned and defeated Denis Kang<\/a> in
\nthe grand prix final.<\/p>\n
\nMisaki, Filho emerged as the moral champion of the most competitive
\nGrand Prix in the world at that time. Hence Silva’s sincere
\nopinion.<\/p>\n
\nin the second largest American promotion, submitting Chael Sonnen<\/a>
\nwith an armlock in the second round. The fact is that in September
\n2008, the month Khabib
\nNurmagomedov<\/a> had his first MMA fight, the most dominant
\ngrappler in the sport was the BTT athlete, who at that time had a
\n16-0 record. A black belt in judo and jiu-jitsu, Paul\u00e3o was
\nconsidered within BTT itself, which at that time had Antonio
\nRodrigo Nogueira<\/a>, [Ricardo]Arona, and Alexandre
\nFerreira<\/a> at their peak, as having the most imposing ground game
\non the team, marked by top pressure without losing position.<\/p>\n
\ndoubt one of the toughest sparring partners I had at BTT during my
\ntime as Pride champion,” Nogueira said.<\/p>\n
\n
\nUnfortunately, after winning the WEC belt, Filho discovered his
\naddiction, which led to the downfall of his career. But unlike the
\nMark
\nKerr<\/a>, who became addicted to painkillers, Filho discovered his
\naddiction through the ephedrine-based thermogenic, Rip Fuel. The
\nephedrine addiction led him to seek prescription sleeping pills.
\nAnd this on-off cycle, with increasingly higher dosages, ended up
\nleading to the downfall of the career of this man who was
\nundoubtedly one of the greatest talents trained at the Carlson
\nGracie school.<\/p>\n