WEC 36: Chael Sonnen Beats Paulo Filho in Boring Unanimous Decision

World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight champion Paulo Filho suffered the first loss of his career tonight, falling to Chael Sonnen in a boring unanimous decision at WEC 36.

The first round got the fight off to a frustrating start, as Filho spent most of the time on his back, hoping to catch Sonnen in a submission, which Sonnen was just trying to avoid.

In the second, Sonnen controlled the round by knocking Filho down and then forcing him to stand back up, but that didn't produce much action. Sonnen didn't try to push the pace of the fight, but Filho didn't try to do anything at all.

For a long stretch in the third round, Sonnen stood over Filho and peppered him with light strikes and kicks, taking no chances, doing no damage and winning the fight the safe way. It then turned into a boxing match for a long stretch, and the fans booed and offered profane chants. It was about as boring a fight as the WEC has ever promoted.

The judges awarded it to Sonnen by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 30-27 for Sonnen.

Filho entered the fight considered by many to be the second-best middleweight in the world after UFC champ Anderson Silva, but the way he fought tonight, he looked like he needs to find another line of work. Filho's pro MMA record falls to 16-1. Sonnen improves to 21-9-1.