Former WEC champ Paulo Filho to undergo second leg surgery after being shot in Brazil

Paulo Filho was shot in the leg at a party in Rio de Janeiro, and the PRIDE veteran finally opened up about everything that happened on Oct. 26.

It was reported on Oct. 29 that Filho had been hospitalized after being shot, but few details were available at that moment. Five days later, Filho spoke to MMAFighting.com about the incident, and revealed that he will have to undergo a second surgery on Thursday.

“They will insert a metal rod, just like they did with Anderson Silva, into my femur,” Filho said. “It was an open fracture, so they kept me on antibiotics for a week before doing another surgery.”

Filho underwent surgery on Oct. 29 at Miguel Couto hospital, and was transferred on Wednesday to Tijutrauma, also in Rio de Janeiro. According to the MMA veteran, doctors said he almost died.

“He shot at the floor first, and then shot at my thigh,” Filho said. “I fell on the floor and lost a lot of blood. The bullet went a couple inches away from my femoral. If it had hit my femoral, and would have died. I had an open fracture on my femur, so you can imagine how bad it was.”

The former WEC middleweight champion plans to sue the attacker, but he doesn’t know yet exactly who shot at him.

“I never saw who shot at me. If he stands right in front of me now, I wouldn’t know,” he said. “I had an argument with a guy, but we never fought. I’m a professional athlete, man.”

“They say I beat up three security guards, but I don’t have a single scratch on my face,” he continued. “Even Fedor (Emelianenko) at his prime can’t beat three men without getting hit in the face at least once. And I’m a peaceful guy.

“When I was shot, I look at the wound, at all that mess, and tried to stay calm. I tried to look at who shot at me, but the security crew took his gun and got him out of there. I just heard ‘are you crazy? Are you crazy?’ and he was gone.”

“I heard he’s a cop, but our lawyers are still checking that,” Filho’s mother, Dena, told MMAFighting.com. “I hope my son can recover and be back to what he was, or I’m coming after that man. He destroyed my son’s life.”

Paulo Filho, who last fought in February against Andre Muniz, losing via unanimous decision at Bitetti Combat 19, doesn’t know if he will ever come back to a MMA cage.

“He put my career on jeopardy. I already had my issues, and it’s even harder now. I was still trying to get back, and it’s over now,” he said. “It’s harder to get back now. I’m getting older.

“I’m a little confused. I have to get out of this situation first. I was depressed for 30 days, getting treatment at home, and this happened on the first day that I left home. I will use this time to continue my treatment.

“I can’t say I’m coming back (to fight) or not. I’ll think about it when this nightmare is over.”

Paulo Filho was shot in the leg at a party in Rio de Janeiro, and the PRIDE veteran finally opened up about everything that happened on Oct. 26.

It was reported on Oct. 29 that Filho had been hospitalized after being shot, but few details were available at that moment. Five days later, Filho spoke to MMAFighting.com about the incident, and revealed that he will have to undergo a second surgery on Thursday.

“They will insert a metal rod, just like they did with Anderson Silva, into my femur,” Filho said. “It was an open fracture, so they kept me on antibiotics for a week before doing another surgery.”

Filho underwent surgery on Oct. 29 at Miguel Couto hospital, and was transferred on Wednesday to Tijutrauma, also in Rio de Janeiro. According to the MMA veteran, doctors said he almost died.

“He shot at the floor first, and then shot at my thigh,” Filho said. “I fell on the floor and lost a lot of blood. The bullet went a couple inches away from my femoral. If it had hit my femoral, and would have died. I had an open fracture on my femur, so you can imagine how bad it was.”

The former WEC middleweight champion plans to sue the attacker, but he doesn’t know yet exactly who shot at him.

“I never saw who shot at me. If he stands right in front of me now, I wouldn’t know,” he said. “I had an argument with a guy, but we never fought. I’m a professional athlete, man.”

“They say I beat up three security guards, but I don’t have a single scratch on my face,” he continued. “Even Fedor (Emelianenko) at his prime can’t beat three men without getting hit in the face at least once. And I’m a peaceful guy.

“When I was shot, I look at the wound, at all that mess, and tried to stay calm. I tried to look at who shot at me, but the security crew took his gun and got him out of there. I just heard ‘are you crazy? Are you crazy?’ and he was gone.”

“I heard he’s a cop, but our lawyers are still checking that,” Filho’s mother, Dena, told MMAFighting.com. “I hope my son can recover and be back to what he was, or I’m coming after that man. He destroyed my son’s life.”

Paulo Filho, who last fought in February against Andre Muniz, losing via unanimous decision at Bitetti Combat 19, doesn’t know if he will ever come back to a MMA cage.

“He put my career on jeopardy. I already had my issues, and it’s even harder now. I was still trying to get back, and it’s over now,” he said. “It’s harder to get back now. I’m getting older.

“I’m a little confused. I have to get out of this situation first. I was depressed for 30 days, getting treatment at home, and this happened on the first day that I left home. I will use this time to continue my treatment.

“I can’t say I’m coming back (to fight) or not. I’ll think about it when this nightmare is over.”