Nelson, ‘Cro Cop’ Slated for UFC 137 Heavyweight Tilt
Mike Whitman Jul 13, 2011
Heavyweights Roy Nelson
and Mirko “Cro
Cop” Filipovic will likely face off at UFC
137.
Filipovic (Pictured) first mentioned the matchup Wednesday in an interview with Croatian sports news website Gol.hr, and Sherdog.com confirmed the news with a source close to the bout shortly thereafter.
Headlined by a welterweight title fight pitting longtime UFC champion Georges St. Pierre against former Strikeforce titleholder Nick Diaz, UFC 137 goes down Oct. 29 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Nelson has recently lost back-to-back contests for only the second time in his career. After winning the 10th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and posting consecutive Octagon victories, the former International Fight League heavyweight was outstruck by current No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos in August 2010. Most recently, “Big Country” was dominated by Frank Mir in May. After the bout, it was discovered that Nelson had battled walking pneumonia in the weeks leading up to the bout.
Like Nelson, Filipovic has lost two straight. Once ranked among the sport’s elite big men while fighting for Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships, the Croatian striker has not looked the same since joining the UFC. Cro Cop has racked up a 4-5 Octagon record, most recently falling by knockout to Brendan Schaub at UFC 128 in March.
Filipovic (Pictured) first mentioned the matchup Wednesday in an interview with Croatian sports news website Gol.hr, and Sherdog.com confirmed the news with a source close to the bout shortly thereafter.
Headlined by a welterweight title fight pitting longtime UFC champion Georges St. Pierre against former Strikeforce titleholder Nick Diaz, UFC 137 goes down Oct. 29 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Nelson has recently lost back-to-back contests for only the second time in his career. After winning the 10th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and posting consecutive Octagon victories, the former International Fight League heavyweight was outstruck by current No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos in August 2010. Most recently, “Big Country” was dominated by Frank Mir in May. After the bout, it was discovered that Nelson had battled walking pneumonia in the weeks leading up to the bout.
Like Nelson, Filipovic has lost two straight. Once ranked among the sport’s elite big men while fighting for Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships, the Croatian striker has not looked the same since joining the UFC. Cro Cop has racked up a 4-5 Octagon record, most recently falling by knockout to Brendan Schaub at UFC 128 in March.
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