Breaking: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Out Of UFC 119 Bout With Frank Mir, Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic Steps In
Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic will be stepping in for an injured Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 119, Fighters Only can confirm.
We broke the news of Nogueira’s withdrawal earlier and can now confirm that Filipovic is the replacement.
Nogueira’s injury is undisclosed at this point but a Brazilian source tells us it is one that requires surgery and is not an recurrence of the staph infection he suffered around the time of the first fight with Mir.
Filipovic’s inclusion in the UFC 1109 headlining fight was notified to Fighters Only by sources close to the event.
Mirko is a decent enough replacement fight for the fight but it is hard to see him as being able to handle Mir’s size and grappling ability. Maybe in his heyday he’d have found a way to use his “anti-grappling” to stay on his feet and pound Mir out but this is an aged, battle worn Cro Cop that has not found consistent success in the UFC cage.
SB Nation will have more on the story as it develops.
