After going at it for three rounds, Filipovic sent the fans home happy by coming away with a decision victory where he not only looked relatively sharp but also ate a few shots without showing any signs of slowing down.

Filipovic made a name for himself in Japan with a series of high-profile wins including success against Wanderlei Silva, Kevin Randleman, and Josh Barnett. He then brought his talents to the UFC where age/ability caught up with him, being finished a number of times inside the Octagon despite wins in the infamous eight-sided cage over Pat Barry, Eddie Sanchez, and Anthony Perosh.

“Cro Cop” exits MMA with an overall record of 27-10-1 and a 17-7 mark in kickboxing.

PHOTO CREDIT – FEG

According to Ray Sefo via Twitter, who is a decorated striker in his own right, the two are set to collide in Croatia on March 10 as part of a kickboxing event in Filipovic’s proverbial backyard. The show will be promoted by a Croatian television network called Fight Channel Promotions and it is believed “Cro Cop” will call it quit for goods after the bout regardless of result.

Though neither man has actively competed in the sport for years both have experienced a high level of success in the past including numerous wins under the K-1/ISKA banners. Filipovic’s last kickboxing match came in 2003 and capped off a four-fight winning streak including victories over Mark Hunt, Bob Sapp, and Remy Bojansky. Comparably, Sefo didn’t take to the ring in 2011 but had a handful of appearances in years prior including three wins in his last four fights.

PHOTO CREDIT – FEG

The 37-year-old, who will face Roy Nelson at UFC 137, is just 3-3 inside the Octagon, including back-to-back defeats at the hands of Frank Mir and Brendan Schaub. And when I say hands, I mean hands, as both Schaub and Mir have earned knockout victories over Filipovic.

So, despite his name recognition and past successes, “Cro Cop” knows that his upcoming bout with Nelson is a do-or-die situation.

“I must win this fight,” said Filipoic, in a recent interview with MMAFighting. “I will have to beat him, and I will do it. I trained six months for this fight. I will do it. Some people, many people, have buried me alive because I lost twice in a row. I just want to prove to everything that I’m still ‘Cro Cop’.”

For the former PRIDE World Grand Prix open-weight champ, the feeling of victory extends past having his hand raised. And by going over a year without enjoying that feeling, Filipovic is ready to enjoy it once again.

“I want to feel that feeling when the referee raises my hand. I want to take that shower – it’s a special moment for me, taking that shower after my victory, and I’m so happy,” Filipovic said. “I got back to the hotel and the next day, I’m so happy.”

UFC 137 will take place October 29 from Las Vegas, Nevada with a main event featuring B.J. Penn against Nick Diaz with other match-ups on the card including Matt Mitrione vs. Cheick Kongo, Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran, and Donald Cerrone vs. Dennis Siver.

PHOTO CREDIT – FEG

While it was first reported Stefan Struve had emerged as his opponent in a report by Sportsnet, and confirmed by other outlets, according to Fighters Only Magazine it now looks like Filipovic is being considered for the slot opposite Schaub.

Five Ounces of Pain has since confirmed with sources close to Schaub’s camp that the contract to fight Filipovic was inked this morning, meaning the match-up is now official.

“The Hybrid” originally expressed his interest in fighting Mir, as well as Filipovic, after coming off a victory over Gabriel Gonzaga in October with Mir responding in a kind shortly thereafter through various media outlets. Whether Mir’s replacement indicates his possible involvement as a coach on the upcoming season of TUF, as previously rumored, is still unknown at this time.

Filipovic fell victim to a late Mir knee at UFC 119 in his last fight after having won back-to-back bouts against Pat Barry and Anthony Perosh. “Cro Cop” is 27-8-2 overall with twenty of his victories coming by way of strikes. His run in PRIDE is the thing of legend, as are his head-kicks.

Comparably, Schaub has notched victory in his last three match-ups including a pair of knockouts with each coming about a minute into the respective bouts. The former Colorado Buffalo fullback is 7-1 with six first-round TKOs and his only career loss coming to Roy Nelson at the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale.

News of the suspensions was reported by MMAFighting.

“Cro Cop” was knocked out by a devastating knee from Frank Mir in the closing minute of their headlining match-up, and though former UFC welterweight champ Serra went to a decision against opponent Chris Lytle he still absorbed a good deal of punishment throughout the affair as most of the bout’s action involved stand-up.

Here is a complete list of UFC 119 medical suspensions:

Sean McCorkle – Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
Steve Lopez – Suspended 30 days with no contact for 30 days (cut)
Matt Mitrione – Suspended 30 days with no contact for 12 days
Joey Beltran – Suspended 30 days with no contact for 30 days (cut)
Mark Hunt – Suspended minimum of 30 days, left elbow must be cleared by X-Ray result
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – Suspended 30 days with no contact for 30 days
Sean Sherk – Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
Evan Dunham – Suspended 45 days with no contact for 45 days
Matt Serra – Suspended minimum of 180 days, must be cleared by CT scan
Mirko Filipovic – Suspended minimum of 180 days, must be cleared by CT scan

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic Speaks About his Eye Injury (MMAFighting.com)

Wanderlei Silva Has Some Choice Words for Chael Sonnen (MMAConvert.com)

TUF 12′s “Bruce Leroy” Tests his “Glow” in a Backyard Brawl (MiddleEasy.com)

Ryan Bader Looking for the Knockout at UFC 119 (FIGHT! Magazine)

The First Promo for Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez Shows Up (MMAScraps.com)

Ed Soares Says Anderson Silva May Not Be Ready for Vitor Belfort Until Februray 2011 (CagePotato.com)

Dana White Sounds Off on Chael Sonnen’s Recent Drug Test Results (WatchKalibRun.com)

Highlights from the UFC 119 Pre-Fight Press Conference (Heavy.com)

Josh Grispi Added to WEC 52 (Versus.com)

A report has recently surfaced on the extremely popular mixed martial arts forum, The Underground, stating that the two are expected to face off in Australia.

The only card rumored for Australia in the near future would be UFC 111, expected to take place in Sydney during February of 2010, with a possible bout between Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama already confirmed through both fighters.

FiveOuncesofPain.com has since been able to contact parties close to the situation, who were unable to provide any comment on the possibility of the match-up.

Rothwell is fresh off of a second round TKO defeat at the hands of Cain Velasquez during UFC 104, which ended somewhat controversially after referee Steve Mazagatti waved the contest of as “Big” Ben was attempting to climb back to his feet while absorbing punishment. Just prior to the loss Rothwell stopped Chris Guillen via TKO during Adrenaline MMA 2 following a knockout defeat to Andrei Arlovski that came on the heels of thirteen consecutive victories for the heavy handed brawler out of Iowa.

Cro Cop would be looking to get his mixed martial arts career back on track following an embarresing verbal submission to Junior dos Santos following a punch at UFC 103. Prior to his most recent loss, Filipovic strung together back to back wins over the likes of Mustapha Al-Turk and Hong Man Choi.

The former Pride champion spoke with Croation newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, and said he thinks he will honor his final two bouts remaining on his current UFC contract, “Often things can get on top of you but I cannot say that I don’t love this sport. It’s hard for me to decide now but I think that I will do these last two fights for UFC. This thing is stronger than me. Sometimes the mind says yes but the heart says no.”

After suffering a third round loss to Junior Dos Santos at UFC 103, by way of verbal submission, it seemed the Croatian fighter was all but done with mixed martial arts. He was quoted after the fight as saying he didn’t have the hunger anymore, and his storied career was apparently coming to end. It was also reported by Nokaut.com that his training partners were to disband because they were no longer needed, and all accounts it looked like Filipovic was done after his third run in the UFC.

But after the interview with the Croatian newspaper it appears the once feared fighter is not ready after all, “Take for example, when a man spends 30 years in prison, you let him out; he robs a store and takes only a pack of cigarettes, just to be returned to prison because they can not live outside. This is my fear. The problem is that my way of life is saturated with this military discipline, which does not allow for such things as Christmas or New Year holidays. Training is never a problem – I think I missed five or six sessions in my entire life and never just because I couldn’t be bothered.”

With the majority of his life being a fighter, it comes as no surprise that Filipovic it not ready to quit yet. He has entertained the thought more than a few times, but has always found his way back to the ring. The way Mirko tells it, it will be his decision alone when he hangs it up, “I thank everyone for their support, for watching and following me, but I hate that I am expected to answer to people,” he said about retirement. “This is my decision. My blood, my sweat, my tears – as such I don’t owe anybody anything. The day I say I won’t do it anymore I’ll stick to my word. But I still haven’t said that and I haven’t decided that this is the end. I know I must rest well and decide.”

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)

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic

While there were many that feared a crushed orbital or cheekbone as the reason for Mirko’s early resignation in his UFC 103 bout with Junior dos Santos this past weekend, in a recent interview with the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji, Cro Cop cited a mixture of blood and sweat flowing into his eye as the reason for calling it quits in the third round of the match-up, explaining, “Dos Santos cut my eye lid. Blood and sweat gave me a narrow field of vision. I stood like a blind man, I’m in a cage. At one point at the end of the fight I thought the referee was my opponent. Later it turned out that I cut the inside wall of my eyelid. In the locker room I was given four sutures”

A cut may be the reason Filipovic is giving for bowing out of the contest, but he will be the first to admit that the true reason for his lackluster performance runs much deeper than the gash that tattooed his eyelid following the bout.

“This was not the kind of performance the public pay for,” admitted Cro Cop. “I don’t feel the hunger anymore. I have started playing it safe, I’m not prepared to take risks.”

“I’ve been living a military life for 20 years now. Getting up at 6 am and working hard physically until 8 p.m. I want a normal life. I’m entering a cage and thinking about fishing in Privlaka. You can’t win that way. Maybe I should have quit after I won the [PRIDE FC] Open Weight Grand Prix.”

The word around the campfire is that the former PRIDE champion is a wrap. A done deal when it comes to performing at the highest level of the game, and if you asked Mirko, he’d be hard pressed to argue with you, stating, “Maybe the ones who have said that I’m done are right. Obviously, I can’t break my mental block in the Octagon. I have twenty years of training like a spartan behind me. It has caught up with me, my body is broken down. I’ve been worn out.”

If this is really the end of the road for Cro Cop, it is a sad day for the world of mixed martial arts. Hopefully history will look back on Filipovic in the future and give him the credit he is due for increasing the popularity of this great sport when it needed it the most.

Thank you Mirko.

Junior dos Santos

The heavy handed Brazilian followed up the biggest win up until that point in his career with another knockout in the Octagon, this time over Stefan Struve at UFC 95, and is now poised to throw down in the most pivotal and relevant battle of his life when he faces off with Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 103 on September 19.

According to dos Santos in a recent interview with Tatame.com, there’s not a doubt in his mind as to what his intentions will be the next time he steps into the cage; he’s looking to tuck Cro Cop in for the night as early as possible. Business as usual for the 25 year old Brazilian heavyweight kickboxing champion.

“I train a lot of Boxing, I like the striking a lot and I’ll go after another knockout,” confessed dos Santos. “What I want is the knockout. I’m training a lot of ground, a lot of Wrestling. This guy is dangerous standing, but I’m going after the knockout, as always. With the opportunity, I’ll show my ground too”

“Cigano” has no illusions as to the ultimate significance of his next bout. Mirko is recognized all around the world and an impressive win over him can do wonders for your career, just ask Gabriel Gonzaga.

“I’m facing it as a very good opportunity in my life,” said dos Santos. “Cro Cop is a guy that, if you talk about MMA, you know who he is. He’s very dangerous and famous, if not the most dangerous man in the MMA. I’m very happy with the change of opponent, this is an incredible opportunity.”

There will be no more verbal agreements for Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic as far as the UFC is concerned.

UFC President Dana White did something he never had before when he negotiated a verbal three fight deal with Cro Cop just prior to the Croatian knockout artist’s recent return to the octagon against Mustapha al Turk.

A three fight deal that was supposed to have been thrown under the bus on Filopovic’s end after reports surfaced that he had signed a contract with the Japanese DREAM organization.

UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta had been reported to have travelled to Croatia recently where he had a private meeting with Mirko.

Those talks must have gone well as Dana White has recently reported to Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports that Cro Cop has officially been inked to a three fight deal with the UFC.

Cro Cop has been scheduled to return to the octagon on September 19 at UFC 103 against Junior dos Santos.

Fast rising UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos has recently revealed that he expects to face none other than Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic on September 19.

If dos Santos has his dates correct, that would place the bout at UFC 103.

The Brazilian knockout artist made the revelation during a recent interview with the Brazilian website Portal das Lutas.

He had previously announced that he would be facing Justin McCully at UFC 102 but dos Santos explained that the bout was recently scratched.

“I think I’ll fight September 19,” said the Black House fighter. “They took me off the August 29 show. My opponent’s changed. I’ll probably face Cro Cop. If I beat him I’ll be in really good standing. If that’s truly the case, I’m guaranteed on the main card and in the main event of the evening. If I were to fight now it wouldn’t be on the main card.”

It appears as though the private meeting between Cro Cop and Lorenzo Fertitta must have gone well in Croatia.

Filipovic was previously reported to be departing the UFC in favor of the Japanese DREAM promotion, but the recent news from dos Santos makes it appear as if we will be seeing the return of Cro Cop to the octagon sooner rather than later.

Cro Cop made his initial return to the UFC a successful one at UFC 99 as he stopped Mustapha al Turk by TKO in the first round, while dos Santos is 2-0 in the UFC with first round TKO’s over the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Stefan Struve to his credit.

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

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.