WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho will return to action in September for a rematch with top contender Chael Sonnen.

The website Tatame.com recently reported the bout.

As MMAjunkie.com reported in late May, Filho, who hasn't competed since his December 2007 second-round submission victory over Sonnen, recently completed a substance-abuse recovery program and has returned to training.

At the time of the late-May conference call, WEC vice president Peter Dropick was optimistic that Filho would defend his title before year's end.

It now appears it'll happen Sept. 10 at World Extreme Cagefighting 36, though the organization hasn't yet officially announced the event.

Filho's original meeting with his opponent ended in controversy when Sonnen claimed he never verbally tapped, which is what the referee claimed. They were then scheduled to rematch in March, but the 30-year-old Filho elected to withdraw from the event due to "personal reasons." He later shared that he was suffering from depression and chemical-dependency issues.

Sonnen instead fought Bryan Baker at World Extreme Cagefighting 33: Filho vs Sonnen 2 and secured a unanimous-decision victory.

Source: mmajunkie.com