The Weekly Wrap: Sept. 18 - Sept. 24

Cro Cop, UFC 119 All Set

After a Croatian news report sparked fears he may pull out, UFC 119 headliner Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic arrived as planned in Indianapolis and received clearance to fight Frank Mir in Saturday’s pay-per-view main event.

Filipovic, 36, was poked in the eye while sparring with open-finger gloves during his last day of training in Croatia, and word leaked last weekend that he may not be medically cleared to fight. UFC President Dana White initially dismissed the reports as “not true.” It was later clarified that Filipovic did suffer an eye injury -- perhaps a cornea abrasion -- but had obtained appropriate medical clearance in Croatia. He was later cleared by an Indiana commission doctor shortly after arriving in America. He wore sunglasses to a Sept. 23 press conference.

Filipovic was tapped to replace an injured Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the fight against Mir and has implied he was given a benefit-rich “offer he couldn’t refuse” to do so, even referring to UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta as “Don Corleone” at a press conference. The Wrestling Observer reported the contract, reached after Filipovic’s last deal expired with his win at UFC 115, prevents the UFC from cutting the head kick expert if he were to lose. White admitted during Thursday’s press conference that the promotion did not have a backup plan if Filipovic fell off the card.

Filipovic and the rest of the UFC 119 roster made weight at Friday’s official weigh-in. The Croatian checked in at 227 pounds; Mir hit the scales 25 pounds heavier.

Filipovic appeared to carry interest in the event, as a “Countdown” special that aired Wednesday after “The Ultimate Fighter” drew an average of 862,000 viewers on Spike TV, MMAJunkie.com reported. While airing in a more advantageous time slot, the special blew away the 293,000 average audience for the UFC 118 preview show premiere last month.

The special focused largely on the Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira co-main event. The goal seemed to be to round out Bader’s personality, telling an extensive back story dating back to his childhood wrestling matches. Bader was mentioned in the same breath with heavyweight phenom Cain Velasquez, with whom he wrestled at Arizona State University. The Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham match was framed as hot upstart versus old lion.