It could be a "loser leaves town" match.
On the heels of multiple setbacks, heavyweights Roy Nelson (15-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (27-9-2 MMA, 3-3 UFC) are expected to fight at UFC 137, which takes place Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Filipovic today broke the news in an interview with Croatian sports show "Gol," and sources close to the event today confirmed the matchup with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Nelson is back in business after back-to-back losses against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 117 and former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir at UFC 130, the latter of which put his career in the big-man division in question. Appearing exhausted after the first round of the fight, which Mir took in a lopsided unanimous decision, Nelson was openly criticized by UFC president Dana White.
"I thought Roy looked terrible tonight," White told MMAjunkie.com following UFC 130. "I thought it was terrible. I thought it was embarrassing.
"I don't know (what Nelson's future holds). I have a meeting with him on Friday, and we'll see what happens."
White indicated that things had been smoothed over after the meeting. But Nelson's path was unknown until today.
Of course, Nelson contends that his exhaustion was the result of walking pneumonia he contracted in the buildup to UFC 130, and his loss to Dos Santos was directly attributable to a knee injury he suffered early in the fight.
Nevertheless, a win over Filipovic is critical. And so it is for "Cro Cop," who was knocked out cold a second consecutive time in his most recent appearance at UFC 128 against Brendan Schaub. Following that scary scene, which followed a last-second knockout against Frank Mir at UFC 119, White went as far as to say Filipovic's fighting career was done.
However, White softened that stance in recent interviews, stating that he owed the former PRIDE open-weight champion another fight on his current contract and that would fulfill the terms of the deal.
But without an impressive win, the fall fight is undoubtedly Filipovic's last time to shine.
On the heels of multiple setbacks, heavyweights Roy Nelson (15-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (27-9-2 MMA, 3-3 UFC) are expected to fight at UFC 137, which takes place Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Filipovic today broke the news in an interview with Croatian sports show "Gol," and sources close to the event today confirmed the matchup with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Nelson is back in business after back-to-back losses against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 117 and former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir at UFC 130, the latter of which put his career in the big-man division in question. Appearing exhausted after the first round of the fight, which Mir took in a lopsided unanimous decision, Nelson was openly criticized by UFC president Dana White.
"I thought Roy looked terrible tonight," White told MMAjunkie.com following UFC 130. "I thought it was terrible. I thought it was embarrassing.
"I don't know (what Nelson's future holds). I have a meeting with him on Friday, and we'll see what happens."
White indicated that things had been smoothed over after the meeting. But Nelson's path was unknown until today.
Of course, Nelson contends that his exhaustion was the result of walking pneumonia he contracted in the buildup to UFC 130, and his loss to Dos Santos was directly attributable to a knee injury he suffered early in the fight.
Nevertheless, a win over Filipovic is critical. And so it is for "Cro Cop," who was knocked out cold a second consecutive time in his most recent appearance at UFC 128 against Brendan Schaub. Following that scary scene, which followed a last-second knockout against Frank Mir at UFC 119, White went as far as to say Filipovic's fighting career was done.
However, White softened that stance in recent interviews, stating that he owed the former PRIDE open-weight champion another fight on his current contract and that would fulfill the terms of the deal.
But without an impressive win, the fall fight is undoubtedly Filipovic's last time to shine.
