SPORTSSHERDOG
Sherdog.com Home
News Blog Videos Sherdog Radio Pictures MMA Statistics Sherdog Forums Sherdog Store
Fight Finder

  First Name
  Last Name
  Nick Name
Blog Quicklinks
» Pictures: Shooto Rev. Exchanges 3
» Kimbo 2.0 for Dec. 5
» Company Man: Franklin Ponders Futility of 195-pound Labor
» 10 Turkeys: The Biggest Disasters in MMA This Year, Part 2
» Pictures: WEC 44
» ESPN MMA Live: UFC 106 Breakdown
» Betting Lines: UFC Champions vs. Contenders
» 10 Turkeys: The Biggest Disasters in MMA This Year, Part 1
» Pictures: UFC 106
» Equal Rights: Women’s MMA Back on the Front Burner
Cro Copera: Filipovic Dashes on UFC Promises, Heads Back to Japan?
 Options: | Printer Friendly
Monday, June 15, 2009
by Jake Rossen (jrossen@sherdog.com)

After repeatedly refusing to sign short-term deals with talent, UFC President Dana White gave in and allowed Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic to compete at UFC 99 Saturday on the premise he would hash out a formal contract later on.

Filipovic battered Mustapha al Turk, thanked the German crowd and then allegedly -- emphasis on the word -- informed White that he had signed with Japanese promotion Dream.

“He f-cked me,” White told Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole. “The first time in the history of the company I do [a deal] over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he f-cked me.”

Unfortunately, Iole doesn’t make it clear that Filipovic made a specific and direct statement to White that he had signed elsewhere; Filipovic told foreign press that he had not yet made up his mind and that he wanted to speak to White first. USA Today, meanwhile, confirmed Filipovic’s signing with Dream U.S. rep Mike Kogan.

Short story: No one has any concrete idea what the hell Filipovic is up to.

White’s proctology accusations aside, he didn’t leave the door open to sustain too much embarrassment: Filipovic’s stock dropped precipitously in 2007, and getting one over on Al Turk isn’t quite on the level of beheading a Brock Lesnar or Frank Mir and then looking for the exit.

If “Cro Cop” agreed to one fight and fought one fight, nothing that sinister took place. But his impassioned speeches about “winning the UFC belt or die trying” and assuring White he was here to stay is not likely to win him any new fans if he had no intentions of doing so.

Something has been lost in translation here. Judgment reserved.
 

More Dream 10 News
RELATED NEWS:
Democracy, Pop Tarts and Jason High
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Pictures: Dream 10
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Dream 10 Quoteworthy
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Dream 10 Notebook: Aoki Fights War of Perception
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Pictures: Dream Ace Zaromskis Crowned
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Dream Run: Zaromskis Wins Grand Prix
Monday, July 20, 2009
RECENT MIRKO FILIPOVIC NEWS:
Fight Switch: ‘Cro Cop’ Shakes Up Camp
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Cro Cop-Rothwell Likely for UFC Australia
Thursday, November 05, 2009
History and the Checkered Hero
Friday, September 25, 2009
‘Cro Cop’ Done? Don’t Bet on It
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
New Questions
Monday, September 21, 2009
Pictures: UFC 103 'Franklin vs. Belfort'
Monday, September 21, 2009
Search News Archive:   November 2009     October 2009     September 2009    
Sherdog.com, A property of CraveOnline, a division of AtomicOnline, LLC.
© 2009 CraveOnline Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | RSS | Mobile | Advertise
Not in any way associated with Crave Entertainment, Inc.