Paulo Filho (Pictures) has joined Team Link, the WEC middleweight champion told Sherdog.com.

After a series of seminars in September in the United States, Filho aligned himself with the Ludlow, Mass., gym where Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures) trains.

"Now I am part of the team of my friend Marco Alvan, which is also where Gabriel ‘Napão' trains," Filho said. "I was there to give seminars and liked the structure a lot. I felt a great affinity with them … and now I am Team Link. I fight for Team Link from now on."

Undefeated in 15 MMA bouts, the Brazilian plans to move soon to the United States and establish residence in the country.

"I'm seeing what the situation will be with my father, but I want to move there because that is where the MMA business is," Filho said. "It will be good for me because there are a lot of good training partners. There is ‘Napão,' and there are guys from wrestling -- a lot of people to train with. They have a lot of new kids arriving and wanting to train hard."

A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a sport in which Filho won three world championships and five national titles, "Paulão" spoke enthusiastically about his future home and the advantages it will bring him.

"The trainers are extremely good," he said. "The athletes there are cardio machines. The academy is giant, has boxing bags, has an Octagon, has a ring and has everything there. And the city is very calm, is very good for training because it does not have anything distracting. A lot of green, some very clean lakes and even a hydroponic market -- those foods without agrotoxics. It's a very good city for an athlete to live."

Filho has thrived as a fighter with one of the most efficient ground games in the sport. His next fight is Dec. 12, against a to-be-named opponent in a non-title bout, though fans would love a champion versus champion showdown against UFC titleholder Anderson Silva (Anderson Silva' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures).

That bout, however, doesn't particularly interest Filho at the moment. He thinks he needs to prove his value in the United States before clashing with the UFC champion.

"As I already said other times, Anderson already is stabilized in the category," Filho said. "He's making brilliant fights. But me, I still need to be known in America. I have to show my work there. If everything works right for me, and I'm making it happen and arriving where he's arrived…. First I have to prove that I deserve to fight with him in America. But I do not have much interest in fighting him because he's a guy that I like a lot. We used to talk, and he respects me. I do not have much purpose to fight him."

Filho always keeps an eye on potential adversaries. He pointed to those prominent contenders in the UFC, saying that if he went there, he would succeed.

"This category has excellent fighters," he said. "Rich Franklin (Pictures) is a very tough guy. There is Anderson, who also is very tough, Nate Marquardt. There is Thales Leites (Pictures), who, to me, is one of the biggest names of the category, a guy that would give a hard fight to anyone. I think that I will make a very good presentation there. It will be hard to hold me there. In America they give more time to the ground work. The Octagon is bigger and better for me because I have more space to work my jiu-jitsu. As I usually stay in top position, the cage is very good for my game."