Red Devil fighter Gegard Mousasi jettisoned his habitually laid-back demeanor and opened fire on former WEC champion Paulo Filho earlier this week, labeling him "a little donkey on steroids", covered here by The Garv.

Mousasi's venom-laced comments were a retort to Filho's instigative boasting on Tatame, and now Filho has sustained the verbal volley by responding to Mousasi's highly-inflammatory steroid accusation.  Originally posted on terra.com.br, Filho had the following to say in the interview:  (translation via MMABay)

“I didn’t take any steroid. How could I have taken steroids before losing 9 kilos?” “It’s his fault. He wants to talk, but the truth is he is afraid. He watched me in the past and I also watched him. He didn’t change his game too much. He’s the same: paper-thin and just put on some weight.” “And it’s clear he doesn’t respect the opponent because he always has this ‘superior’ look on his face. He’s in good momentum right now but the Brazilian light-heavyweights are able to beat him up - and I’m one of them.” “The fight isn’t signed yet but it will happen. DREAM and Strikeforce have connection. Wherever he wants to face me off, we’ll fight. Be sure we will put on this challenge.” “Depending on the position I will punish him on the ground. All fights end up clinched and he falls easily. I’ll use my jiu-jitsu base to annul his game.”

Filho was widely considered one of world's top fighters before his lackadaisical and disappointing performances stateside in the WEC middleweight division.  Mousasi has recently abandoned the 185 pound class to do battle at 205, and created quite a stir and answered many questions in his LHW debut by annihilating Renato "Babalu" Sobral with a quick KO to attain the Strikeforce LHW belt. With Strikeforce's recent business plan incorporating co-promotion with M1 and DREAM, this is a fight that could actually take place, although considering Filho's recent fizzle and Mousasi's astounding rise to 205, the Red Devil fighter would rightfully be the heavy favorite.

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