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July 19, 2010
Former WEC middleweight champ Paulo Filho took on UFC and PRIDE veteran Denis Kang at Impact FC in Australia.
Notoriously eccentric Filho entered last Saturday's matchup at 20-1 overall, that said, Kang gave him all he could handle and then some. Denis Kang and Paulo Filho were originally set to meet in November 2006 in the finals of Pride's 183-pound grand prix. Nearly four years later in Sydney, the two standout middleweights battled to a highly contentious split draw.

"I feel like I won at least two rounds. I’ll even give up one round but there’s no way,” Kang explained from his hotel room in Sydney Sunday night. “I think I won two rounds. I don’t agree with the judge who gave me all three. If you went by PRIDE rules – by damage and by who was trying to finish the fight, I would have won for sure."

What’s frustrating Kang says is that they were told by referee Big John McCarthy prior to the show that he would be officiating the bout based on similar criteria to that used in PRIDE.

"I know he isn’t a judge, but Big John met with some of us before the fights for a rules meeting– he only reffed three or four of our fights – and he said, ‘Look guys, tonight it’s all about damage.’ I asked, ‘What about improving position and advancing?’ and he said ‘I don’t care about that. If you’re just advancing your position and not doing anything, I’m standing you up. I want to see damage and aggression,’" Kang explains. "I wish the judges had have seen it that way as well."

According to the PRIDE and UFC veteran, the promotion has expressed a strong interest, given the somewhat questionable outcome of the bout, in an immediate September rematch in Brazil and although he would love a chance at redemption, since the fight left a bitter taste in his mouth, he says he likely won’t fight Filho in his own backyard.

"They want to do a rematch September 25 in Rio. I’m not doing it in Rio; we’ll do it some place neutral. I’ll do a rematch, just not in Brazil. They still want me on the card, though," he says. "They mentioned either [Murilo] Ninja [Rua] or [Jesse] JT [Taylor] as possible opponents, but we’ll see what happens."

SOURCES: Cagepotato.com, Sherdog.com

YOU BE THE JUDGE - Watch it here > http://www.aroundtheoctagon.com/?p=5216