WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho fought Chael Sonnen in the co-main event of the evening in a rematch of their WEC 31 title fight, where Filho won via a controversial submission. The rematch was also supposed to be a title bout, but became a non-title fight after Filho failed to make weight. After losing the fight (but not the title) to Sonnen, Filho pledged to mail the belt to Sonnen,[2] but the division was absorbed into the UFC on December 3, before future plans for the title could be determined, making this the last middleweight fight in WEC history.
Danillo Villefort was supposed to make his WEC debut against Jake Rosholt at this event, but was pulled from the bout after his visa expired.[3] He was replaced by fellow WEC newcomer Nissen Osterneck.
This event was originally scheduled for September 10, 2008 but was postponed due to the threat of Hurricane Ike. [1]
The event drew an estimated 497,000 viewers on Versus.[4]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Florida State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the WEC.[7]