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Check out Paulo Filho’s new tattoo. Right on his face just like Mike Tyson.

“It’s like what Tyson has on his face. The tattoo looks good, I’m the one who doesn’t! Come here and take a picture of the new Paulao to show people what’s to come. I’m off drugs. This business about no one wanting me is a lie. There are a number of events around the world wanting me to fight for them.”

Hey speaking of Iron Mike, he’s apparently boxing again.

DREAM.12 featuring the debut of the “White Cage” kicks off an hour after UFC 104 ends late tomorrow night at 2AM ET on HDNet. A short promo for the event is posted above along with a handful of pre-fight interviews below (the rest can be seen on DREAM’s YouTube channel). A couple final news items:

• Paulo Filho has withdrawn from the event due to visa issues. Filho’s scheduled opponent, Dong Sik Yoon, will reportedly take on Tarec Saffiedine instead.
• officially announced for the card.

The official DREAM.12 fight card can be found in our fight cards section.

Remember when DREAM hinted they would be using a cage at DREAM.12 instead of a ring? Well, today they confirmed it with the release of this promo video for the Oct. 25 event in Osaka, Japan. I’m not sure I like this…at all.

A few weeks ago, Paulo Filho called out Gegard Mousasi in an interview with Tatame.com.

Closing a deal to bring Fedor Emelianenko to Strikeforce wasn’t the only major announcement Scott Coker had this week.

Melvin Manhoef vs Paulo Filho

More fights and results after the jump.

No surprises here. Following an abysmal performance against Chael Sonnen at WEC 36, Paulo Filho has been released from his Zuffa contract. Dave Meltzer was the first to report the possibility in this week’s edition on The Wrestling Observer.

Cage Potato, however, was able to confirm the news with Filho’s manager, Ed Soares, earlier today.

“It’s true. We’ve received paperwork that they’re releasing him from his contract. The WEC’s been great throughout everything, but it’s understandable. He’s had a rough year. We have faith that he’ll be back. I still believe he’s one of the best middleweights in the world.”

I’m not going to lie, when I was watching his last fight, I got pretty fired about what I was watching unfold, or better yet not unfold, in front of my eyes. After cooling off though and taking his personal problems into consideration, I’ve been a little more understanding. I hope Filho takes this time to deal with whatever problems he has and worries about fighting again after that. I’m sure if Filho overcomes his demons and comes back better than ever, Zuffa will likely take him back with open arms. After all, he wasn’t widely regarded as the second best middleweight in the world for nothing.