Mirko first made the announcement of the fight on the Croatian sports show “Gol” and Nelson later confirmed the fight on his twitter account.

A former IFL heavyweight champion, “Big Country” got off to a fast start in his UFC career, knocking out Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve in his first two UFC bouts. He’s run into trouble in his last two fights though, dropping unanimous decisions to top heavyweight contender Junior dos Santos last August and to former heavyweight champ Frank Mir this past May. After the loss to Mir, UFC President Dana White suggested that Nelson lose some weight and abandon the large gut that he’s become known for. While we may not see a slimmer Nelson grace the cage in October, we hope to see a healthier and better conditioned Nelson, who was suffering from walking pneumonia the night he fought Mir.

Many thought the career of Cro Cop was over after suffering another KO loss to Schaub at UFC 128 in March. White said after the bout that Mirko was done in the UFC, but with one fight left on his current contract and the desire to still compete, it appears that he’ll be given one more chance to prove that he has something left in the tank. Once the most feared striker in the heavyweight division, Mirko has fallen on hard times in the UFC, posting a 4-5 record with four of his five losses coming by way of (T)KO.

UFC 137 is scheduled for October 29 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Along with the “do or die” heavyweight contest, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre looks to defend his title once again against former Strikeforce welterweight king Nick Diaz.

In fact, each of the event’s participants were issued some sort of layoff from action, though only one, Mirko Filipovic, received more than a month-long mandated break from competition. “Cro Cop” has been suspended indefinitely due to the eye-injury he sustained against Junior Dos Santos which ultimately forced the former member of Croatian Parliament to verbally submit in what will likely be his final appearance inside the Octagon.

The remaining medical suspensions are as follows:

Vitor Belfort (9/27)
Rich Franklin (10/20)
Junior Dos Santos (9/29)
Paul Daley (9/27)
Martin Kampmann (10/20)
Josh Koscheck (9/27)
Frank Trigg (10/20)
Tyson Griffin (9/27)
Hermes Franca (10/20)
Efrain Escudero (9/27)
Cole Miller (10/20)
Tomasz Drwal (9/27)
Drew McFedries (9/27)
Jim Miller (9/27)
Steve Lopez (10/20)
Nick Lentz (9/29)
Rafaello Oliveira (9/29)
Rick Story (9/27)
Brian Foster (9/27)
Eliot Marshall (9/29)
Jason Brilz (9/29)
Vladimir Matyushenko (9/29)
Igor Pokrajac (9/29)
Rafael Dos Anjos (9/29)
Rob Emerson (9/29)

“Isn’t that a dirty (expletive) thing to do?” White said. “He (expletive) me. The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he (expletive) me.”

However, White’s comments were only half the story, and Cro Cop responded to what White said about him.

“By the time I landed from Europe, Cro-Cop called me 600 times. He said, ‘I didn’t sign with anybody,” White said.

White recanted more of the conversation between himself and Cro Cop.

“You’re calling me this and that. I said, ‘I didn’t call you anything. I said that if you did sign then that’s what I would have called you,” White said.

Now that the two have made peace and Cro Cop signed for three more fights with the UFC, White placed the blame for the miscommunication completely on the location of Cro Cop’s last employer.

“Some sneaky bad (expletive) goes on all the time in Japan. The day of Cro Cop’s fight for me they released the info in Japan. They did it the day of the fight,” White said.

Cro Cop is set to take on Junior Dos Santos at UFC 103 in Dallas, Tx.

It appears as though Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic may very well be making his return to the UFC after all.

Shockwaves were sent through the MMA community after it was reported that the feared Croatian knockout artist had plans of signing with the DREAM promotion in Japan following his recent stoppage of Mustapha al Turk at UFC 99. UFC president Dana White had reportedly done a verbal agreement for three fights with Cro Cop prior to his return to the UFC.

It has been reported on the Croatian website Index.hr that UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta flew out to Croatia this morning on a private jet to have a two hour conversation with Filipovic on his own turf.

The article goes on to state that both Mirko and Lorenzo were all smiles following the meeting and it is reported that Cro Cop was made an offer that would be difficult to refuse.

DREAM has yet to announce a bout for Filipovic, and it now appears very likely that Mirko will pick up where he left off in the UFC.

Credit to Fighters Only Magazine for the find

Filipovic has agreed to face off with heavy handed K-1 knockout artist Siala “Mighty Mo” Siliga at Dream 10.

The event is scheduled for July 20 in Saitama, Japan.

Cro Cop recently fell under an umbrella of controversy after Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports reported his intentions to leave the UFC after a one fight stint with the organization despite giving UFC President Dana White and UFC fans his word that he would continue to compete with the promotion.

The victory over Al Turk didn’t come without it’s own controversy as Cro Cop brutally gouged Al Turk’s eyes with his fingers just prior to the disputed TKO stoppage.

Mighty Mo has amassed a 14-9 record during his kickboxing career and a record of 3-1 during his time in MMA. He suffered his first mixed martial arts defeat on New Years Eve 2008 when he was caught in a Semmy Schilt triangle choke after going 3-0 with three knockouts to start out his career.

Mo is an extremely dangerous and naturally large striker with dynamite in his fists. He poses a real threat to put Cro Cop back in the loss column after three straight wins.

I even saw a few comments from the good folks here at Five Ounces that made me laugh accusing me of being Dana White himself.

I make no apologies though. I respect Dana as a businessman. I think he’s a smart guy and I truly respect people who build themselves up from nothing and become a huge success.

Those people really fascinate me.

On the other hand, I don’t always agree with how White handles himself on a personal level. I don’t agree with the way he treats people sometimes, including fighters.

Some argue that the way he acts will hurt the UFC in the long-term and only allow it to reach a certain level of success. I think that’s a legitimate argument.

So while I do respect the way White has built up the UFC with his take-no-prisoners approach to doing business, I had to chuckle when I heard his reaction to what Mirko Cro Cop did to him.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the story by now. After his TKO victory over Mustapha Al-Turk at UFC 99, Cro Cop informed White that he was leaving the UFC to fight for DREAM.

Cro Cop had officially signed just the one-fight deal but according to White, the two had agreed in principle for Cro Cop to fight two more bouts after UFC 99.

It was not to be. White believes Cro Cop was just using his quick stop in the UFC as a tune-up fight before moving on to DREAM. White was predictably outraged when he found out what had gone down.

“He [expletived] me,” White said. “The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he [expletived] me.

“He didn’t keep his word. He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletived] me.

“He fed me this bull [expletive] about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this. He turned down every other [expletive] fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn’t just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too.”

As Bill Murray would say, “I had to laugh.”

The first thing I thought off when I read those comments was: How does it feel Dana?

How many fighters over the years do you think have said the exact same thing about you? How many people have you screwed over in your life to get where you are today? How many “handshake deals” have you turned your back on?

Hey, I don’t judge. I do whatever I need to do to get ahead. But I also don’t cry wolf when karma kicks me in the ass like it has done once or twice before. When you screw people over to get on top, you can’t cry if someone else does the exact same thing to you.

I’m not saying I agree with what Cro Cop did. Personally I think he’s one of the most overrated fighters in the sports over the last three years. He’s just not the same guy he was back in his PRIDE days, so I don’t see this being a huge loss for the UFC.

However, I think Dana White has a lot of balls, both good and bad.

He has the balls to take a dying company and turn into a multi-million dollar business. He has enough balls to make bold decisions without caring what other people think and let’s give the guy his due, he’s right a lot more times than he is wrong.

On the other hand, he has a lot of balls to cry like a baby when one fighter out of 10,000 finally screws him. Take the Tito Ortiz incident for example.

Ortiz didn’t like the way he was treated in the UFC and White has gone out of his way to slam Ortiz in every interview he does.

Ortiz is a UFC legend Dana. Nothing you do or say will ever change that, so stop acting like a girl who got stood up at the prom. Be the bigger man for once.

Tito needs the media attention. Just let him have it and move on. Don’t try and make it seem like he never meant anything to the UFC because it cheapens the sport for people like me who have followed it since the mid-90’s.

Now with this whole Cro Cop fiasco; let it go. So the UFC doesn’t have Mirko Cro Cop. Who cares? There is no need to drag this on in interviews for the next five years and hold some kind of stupid grudge because you didn’t get your way one time in your life.

You aren’t the Godfather. You are the President of the UFC. Sometimes you need to act like a president of a company and not one of the fighters it employs.

Remember, you may have gotten screwed by Cro Cop but my guess is that White is still way ahead on the “Screwed” scoreboard. And again, when you screw people over for a living even you are going to get caught every now and then.

That’s just life. Deal with it.

The news comes courtesy of a recent report from Kevin Iole over at Yahoo! Sports.

Just one month ago UFC President White did something almost completely unprecedented in the promotions history when he made a verbal agreement with Filipovic for a one fight deal at UFC 99. Cro Cop texted White expressing his desire to return to the UFC and initially declined on numerous opponents before finally settling on Al Turk.

It is being reported that White had also negotiated on two additional fights during a follow up two hour telephone conversation between himself and Filipovic. Those two fights will not be coming to fruition and it now seems extremely questionable if the Croatian striker would ever be welcomed back to the organization with open arms again.

“He [expletived] me,” White was quoted as saying. “The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he [expletived] me.

“He didn’t keep his word. He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletived] me.

“He fed me this bull [expletive] about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this. He turned down every other [expletive] fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn’t just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too.”

Filipovic returned to the win column after two consecutive defeats in the Octagon in his bout with Al Turk but wasn’t impressive doing so. He stumbled Al Turk with punches and eventually gouged him in the eye before the bouts inevitable conclusion.

As of this writing, who and when Cro Cop will be fighting at DREAM is a big question mark.

“I don’t eat vegetables, I’m afraid I have to say that’s an excellent part of a diet, but I could never eat that. I honestly don’t want to see that at the table, when I see that it makes me want to faint,” confessed Mirko in a recent interview with DNEVNIK.hr.

However that’s not the only oddity Cro Cop has employed to become one of MMA’s most devastating finishers. According to Filipovic, it’s all in the undies.

“When I have a fight I wear a shirt inside-out, I always make sure I’m in the same underwear,” continued the fearsome Croatian striker. “I have a pair of underwear which I only use for the day of the fight.”

And you can bet that Cro Cop will have his lucky briefs in tow when he ventures to Germany to make his return to the Octagon against Mustapha Al-Turk at UFC 99 this Saturday.

After a dissapointing 1-2 record in his previous stint with the promotion Mirko has been able to take some much needed time away from the sport to clear his head and refocus on the task at hand , which is returning to his old form of kicking his opponents into an unconscious stupor.

“I feel great, I would even say that this small break came in handy,” explained Cro Cop. “That same old flame I had once has returned and I can’t wait to train, even though I train a lot already, every training brings enormous satisfaction and I honestly feel great.”

For those that may be worried that Filipovic may be returning to the UFC for a one fight deal, feel free to breathe a sigh of relief. Mirko has a few more years ahead of him in the game before he starts considering his departure.

“I absolutely have a couple of more years, I can be in good shape for three years and totally ready,” said the always dangerous thirty four year old veteran. “When I think to myself, I give myself about three more years.”

Mirko would be the first to admit that walking away from the sport that has become a way of life for him will inevitably be easier said than done.

“Every day I think about that, and that’s what worries me, how will I make peace when that day comes when I decide that that was the last fight or when I decide to announce that last fight,” admitted Filipovic. “All that worries me, what will I do after and how. I’m not talking financially: I wasted enough sweat and blood to secure my future, I mean I can’t sleep everyday until 12, and waste my time roaming around the city in the afternoon. I have to do something with my time”

UFC 99 is scheduled for June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.

This will mark Cro Cop’s first return to MMA since stopping Korean goliath Hong Man Choi at K-1 Dynamite which was held on New Years Eve 2008. His previous time spent with the UFC was widely seen as a huge disappointment following an Octagon record of 1-2.

Al-Turk will be looking to bounce back fro a TKO stoppage loss suffered to Cheick Kongo at UFC 92.

A complete list of the bouts scheduled for UFC 99 are listed below:

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva
Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders
Dan Hardy vs. Marcus Davis
Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo
Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Mustapha al Turk
Terry Etim vs. Justin Buchholz
Stefan Struve vs. Denis Stojnic
Dale Hartt vs. Dennis Siver
Paul Taylor vs. Peter Sobotta
Paul Kelly vs. Roli Delgado
John Hathaway vs. Ricky Story

According to a post attributed to Filipovic on his official page at the European social MMA networking site MMA-ID.com, Cro Cop’s first fight back in the Octagon will be against Mustapha Al-Turk.

“So we have some big news!,” the post under Cro Cop’s official account began. “I decided to fight in the UFC again, because of the stronger competition in the heavyweight division. My next opponent will be Mustapha Al-Turk.”

The UFC has yet to make any official announcement regarding Cro Cop’s return.

Speculation has been running rampant since the post that Cro Cop will return on June 13 at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany, but he did not reveal a specific date for his bout vs. Al-Turk.

Flilpovic, 24-6-2, has not competed in the UFC since a unanimous decision loss to Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 on Sept. 8, 2007. After accepting a lucrative offer to leave PRIDE, the defeat dropped his Octagon record to a disappointing 1-2 and prompted UFC officials to allow him to compete elsewhere.

In three fights outside of the UFC, Cro Cop went 2-0 with a no contest while competing for DREAM and sibling promotion K-1. In his post at MMA-ID, Cro Cop expressed his appreciation for being given a second chance and acknowledged he has a lot to prove.

I didn’t do well in my first three appearances – I wasn’t myself. By returning to the cage I want to prove that I can still fight at highest level, no matter when or where.

“I want to say thank you Mr. Dana White for your interest and for an invitation back to the UFC,” his official page states. “I owe you a lot from our first deal, and I’ll make it up to you.”

According to a report from British MMA magazine, Fighters Only, Filipovic has been offered a new three-fight deal from DREAM/K-1 that would include a fight with Alistair Overeem conducted under K-1 rules, as well as a possible future match-up with Fedor Emelianenko.

Filipovic had stated in recent weeks that he was considering a move back to the UFC where he went 1-2 with the company back in 2007. After drawing a ton of hype upon his debut in the UFC where he defeated Eddie Sanchez via first round TKO, “Cro Cop” went on to drop his next two consecutive bouts to Cheick Kongo and Gabriel Gonzaga which then led to his mutual release from the company. Filipovic then headed back to Japan where he has gone 2-0-1 since then.

The report also states that DREAM is looking to run a heavyweight grand prix this year that could include Emelianenko, Filipovic, Semmy Schilt, and others.

Overeem revealed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com’s Cory Brady last week that he had signed for the bout. However, reports have surfaced in the last week that Cro Cop never signed the bout agreement for reasons that have yet to be specified.

During a recent press conference to promote “Dynamite,” FEG executive Sadaharu Tanigawa revealed that Overeem vs. Cro Cop II won’t be happening on New Year’s Eve.

“Alistair is begging for this fight but this fight will not go ahead on New Year’s Eve at ‘Fields Dynamite!!’,” Tanigawa informed the press. “We will look to match them up on a different card.”

Cro Cop is still expected to be involved with “Dynamite!!,” which will feature fighters from both K-1 and DREAM. Rumors have circulated in recent days that instead of fighting Overeem, Cro Cop instead could be matched up with former PRIDE heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov.

In other “Dynamite!!” news, officials with M-1 Global have revealed that DREAM middleweight Grand Prix winner Gegard Mousasi will return to action on the card in a K-1 rules fight vs. Japanese kickboxing standout Musashi.

The former PRIDE star made the announcement during an exclusive interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com contributing writing Cory Brady that will be appearing later this week.

Overeem, Strikeforce’s current heavyweight champion, fought to a no contest against Cro Cop at DREAM 6 this past September. The match was called to a stop in the first round after Cro Cop was the recipitient of multiple low blows from Overeem and was unable to continue fighting.

The two heavyweights engaged in a great deal of public trash talking leading up to the bout and the manner in which it ended has only added additional fuel to the heated feud.

Overeem has already competed in the wake of the Cro Cop fight, improving his record to 29-11 following a first round submission against Gary Goodridge courtesy of a Kimura during “Glory 10” on November 19 in the Netherlands.

In addition to Overeem vs. Cro Cop II, FEG’s “Dynamite!!” will also bouts between DREAM lightweight champion Joachim Hansen vs. Gesias “J.Z. Calvan” Calvancante in a non-title affair and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura. Olympic Judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii, who is now reportedly a contracted FEG fighter, will make an appearance on the show as well.

Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli rematch rumored for K-1 Dynamite!! 2008

Okay, I can see where this makes some sense. If you know anything about Japanese MMA you know that they like freakshows. I would say that Kimbo Slice, while trying to be a legit MMA fighter, qualifies as a freakshow in Japan. Right along the lines of Bob Sapp. And Seth Petruzelli, is well, not a draw there at all but Kimbo sure would be. Bob Sapp is a freaking god over there and he’s just awful at MMA. His looks, his personality, and his charisma make him popular. It has nothing to do with his skill or lack thereof. Kimbo in Japan is what makes the most sense for him right now even if he has to fight Petruzelli again. We all know that Kimbo will more than likely lose to Petruzelli a second time but his aura and his personality will do him wonders in Japan, win or lose.

Mirko Cro Cop’s nuts are okay, set to fight Alistair Overeem on New Year’s Eve

According to a recent interview, Cro Cop is back to training and getting ready for a fight with the man who made mincemeat out of his testicles (particuarly the right one), Alistair Overeem. Now I have no doubt that not only will we not see the Cro Cop of old but we won’t even see the same Cro Cop we saw in the last fight. Overeem, if he can keep from kneeing the Croatian square in the nuts, should be able to control this fight just like the last one. Cro Cop has admitted that his knee is injured and will need surgery immediately after the fight so what makes him think he’ll be able to defeat Overeem on a bum knee? Overeem should be able to effectively take Cro Cop down and beat him in the face or submit him rather easily. I know Cro Cop wants to avenge his nuts but he’s in for a beating, folks.

Patrick Cote thinks he messed Anderson Silva up bad

If you saw the interview with Patrick Cote where he basically said that he “f-cked Silva up” then you’ll recognize not only the fact that Patrick Cote is a terrible liar but that he’s also hammered. And bragging that you took Anderson Silva into the third round is really the most ridiculous thing to gloat about. You didn’t take Anderson Silva into the thrid, round. Anderson Silva took you to the third round. In fact, he practically carried you there. If Cote doesn’t think Anderson Silva could have ended the fight at practically any moment then he’s nuts. You didn’t get the better of Silva, you were behind on the scorecards, and you definitely do not deserve a rematch. End of story.

Anderson Silva wants to fight on November 15, Chuck Liddell fight rumored

Whoa, calm down Andy. November 15 might be pushing it a bit. We know you’re game for it and came away from the fight with Patrick Cote unscathed but finding an opponent with the balls to fight you on three weeks notice is next to impossible. I mean Brandon Vera wouldn’t fight Machida on short notice. What makes you think anyone, besides James Irvin again, would fight you on November 15? Chill out, take your time off, revel in the fact that you’re a badass and then come back at light heavyweight and start tearing fools apart at 205 lbs. It only makes sense and the rumored fight with Chuck Liddell would not only be a big payday but also an opportunity to show the world that you’re a very legitimate threat at 205 lbs. If Anderson Silva fights Liddell do you think there’s anyone, besides a hardcore Liddell fan, picking Chuck to win that fight? Not a chance. Destroy Chuck and start on a path for two titles, that’s the next logical step for Silva.

That does it for this week’s edition of Sprawl ‘N Brawl. The news this week is slim but things are going to heat up here in the next couple of weeks as we ramp up for Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture at UFC 91. Keep it tuned to Five Ounces of Pain for all your MMA news and rumors!

Cro Cop also confirmed that he will be fighting on an injured knee that will require surgery almost immediately after the fight.

“I’ve had several operations this year, and I’ll have to undergo another one straight after the NYE event. It’s frustrating to have to undergo all these operations but that’s the sportsman’s life. Many others have had it worse then me,” the Croatian said during the interview.

The first bout between the two, which was mostly controlled by Overeem’s ground game, ended in a no contest due to inadvertent groin strikes. Overeem hit Cro Cop with two strikes to the groin, the second strike sending Cro Cop to the mat for good. The pain was so unbearable that Cro Cop was unable to continue. During the broadcast, commentators Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice were notified that Cro Cop’s right testicle had been knocked back up inside his body.

Cro Cop has not been too successful since signing with the UFC in 2006, going 2-2 in his last four fights with wins over lackluster opponents in Eddie Sanchez and Tatsuya Mizuno and losses to Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo plus the no contest with Overeem.

Overeem, on the other hand, was riding a three fight win streak into last month’s fight with Cro Cop, notching wins over Paul Buentello, Tae Hyun Lee, and Mark Hunt.

K-1 Dynamite!! 2008 is set to feature five kickboxing matches and five MMA fights including a bout between American Top Team’s Gesias Calvancante and DREAM lightweight champion Joachim Hansen.

DREAM has made it official that Mirko Cro Cop will be taking on current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistar Overeem. Additionally, the promotion has announced that former PRIDE star Sergei Kharitonov will be fighting for the promotion against K-1 standout Siala “Mighty Mo” Siligia.

The heavyweight bouts will complement the semifinals and finals of DREAM’s middleweight Grand Prix that will feature Gegard Mousasi vs. Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Zelg Galesic with the winner of each semifinal fighting one another for the title later that night.

Under the gun to draw ratings, the company is attempting to put together middleweight Akiyama against heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop, the country’s most popular foreign fighter.

Really? A top tier middlweight against a top tier heavyweight? Is DREAM doing so bad that it would really put this matchup together? It seems a little farfetched, especially since Cro Cop vs. Alistair Overeem is being rumored for the next DREAM, but Japanese promotions have done crazier fights in the past. Usually freakshow fights favor one fighter heavily over the other, such as Choi vs. Fedor, but this is a matchup that I have no interest in seeing. Perhaps the Japanese simply want to see Akiyama get smashed by Cro Cop because they hate him so much? That’s the only plausible reason I could see for putting on this fight. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t happen, but don’t color me surprised if it does.