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So much for all his talk about the UFC HW Title


COLOGNE, Germany – Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship was a short one.

Not long after stopping Mostapha Al-Turk in the first round of UFC 99 on Saturday at Lanxess Arena in his first fight in the UFC since back-to-back losses in 2007, Filipovic informed UFC president Dana White that he had signed a three-fight contract with the Japan-based DREAM.

White had signed Filipovic less than a month ago to a one-fight deal, the first time in more than nine years that he’d done that. He had worked out terms on two additional fights, but said he’d only put pen to paper for Saturday’s bout.

He brought Filipovic back because he knew the Croat is still very popular and Filipovic insisted he wanted to make a run for the title.

That proved not to be the truth. After turning down much tougher opposition, including Cain Velasquez, who defeated Cheick Kongo later on the card, he wound up with the lightly regarded Al-Turk.

But instead of getting a shot at big names like Randy Couture or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and fighting his way into title contention, Filipovic opted to bolt for Japan.

“Isn’t that a dirty [expletive] thing to do?” White asked rhetorically after being queried about Filipovic’s deal with DREAM. “He [expletived] me. The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he [expletived] me.”

Filipovic looked unsteady and hardly impressive in defeating Al-Turk, who is winless in the UFC. He never landed one of his vaunted kicks and the fight ended not from a punch but when he poked Al-Turk in the eye with his finger.

Referee Dan Miragliotta didn’t see the poke, so it was regarded as a clean blow and Filipovic won by stoppage.

Filipovic was fighting five months to the day after knee surgery, one of several injuries he said kept him from performing at his best in his first stint in the UFC. Before the fight, he called his 1-2 UFC record “the black spot” on his career.

While speaking with reporters on a prefight conference call, Filipovic enthused about his return and said he was gunning for a title shot. All the while, he apparently knew he was in it for a one-fight deal.

He texted White on White’s cellular phone and told him he wanted to return. White said Filipovic declined numerous opponents.

Apparently, Filipovic, who is from Croatia, wanted to fight in Germany and use the UFC bout as a tuneup. He did and is now Dream bound, but he’ll almost certainly never fight in the UFC again.

“He didn’t keep his word,” White said, who said he’d had a two-hour talk with Filipovic on the day Filipovic texted and asked to be able to return. “He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletived] me.

“He fed me this bull [expletive] about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this. He turned down every other [expletive] fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn’t just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too.”

As is his custom, Filipovic skipped the postfight news conference and could not be reached to comment on the DREAM deal.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=A ... &type=lgns

i'm a little disappointed but it was a one fight deal after all right, basically this means that Mirko will never fight in the UFC ever again as long as Dana is there.

Shogun90 wrote:i'm a little disappointed but it was a one fight deal after all right, basically this means that Mirko will never fight in the UFC ever again as long as Dana is there.

which sucks.............but I am not surprised

However, the truth is that Cro Cop did not sign for DREAM or UFC yet and is still opened for all offers. Furthermore, Mirko expected a talk with Dana immediately after the event and is surprised with the accusations that came from the UFC president.

"I can not realize on how White fell for the rumors instead of talking to me. I was hoping that we will talk about further cooperation, because the only opened question was the frequency of fights. I do not want to sit at home for months and wait for the call. Still, i am thankful to White for giving me a chance to fight in Koln and despite his harsh words i see no reason not to continue our cooperation" - Mirko said after his return from Germany.

If this is true that idiot from Yahoo is gonna torched by Dana

So much for Mirko "Crocop" Filipovic's second run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Soon after beating Mostapha al-Turk on Saturday at UFC 99, Filipovic told UFC officials that he has signed a three-fight deal with the Japanese organization Dream, Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole first reported. The news was later confirmed to me in an e-mail from Mike Kogan, who runs the U.S. operation of Dream's parent company, Fighting and Entertainment Group.

UFC had signed Filipovic for a one-fight deal, and the two sides were talking about a longer term contract. Earlier this week, Filipovic spoke justifying himself to UFC's fans and owners because of his disappointing 1-2 record in 2007 during his first run in the organization.

"He didn’t keep his word," UFC President Dana White told Iole.

Filipovic has always spoken fondly of fighting in Japan. After a success run in the K-1 kickboxing organization, Filipovic became a superstar in mixed martial arts with an impressive list of knockouts in Pride Fighting Championships from 2001 to 2006. Following his departure from UFC the first time, Filipovic fought three times in Japan last year, twice in Dream and once on New Year's Eve in the annual event organized by Dream's parent company, Fighting and Entertainment Group.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... 68081121/1

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/m ... index.html

Less than a week after apparently snubbing the UFC for Japanese mixed martial arts promoter Dream, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has agreed to fight Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga on July 20 in Saitama, Japan, a source familiar with negotiations for Dream 10 told SI.com Wednesday.

Aided by an inadvertent poke to the eye, Filipovic, 34, defeated Mostapha Al-Turk (6-5) midway through the first round of their UFC 99 fight in Cologne, Germany, last Saturday. Afterward, the popular Croatian striker, best known for capturing Pride's 2006 open-weight grand prix tournament and going the distance against Fedor Emelianenko, reportedly informed UFC president Dana White that he planned on signing a three-fight deal to compete in Dream.

Filipovic's appearance against Al-Turk came as a result of a verbal arrangement between the fighter and White for three fights, the UFC promoter told Yahoo! Sports. Queried Sunday about White publicly blasting him for allegedly reneging on their deal, the southpaw denied anything was set for him to leave UFC for Dream.

It was reported Tuesday that Filipovic (25-6-2) had finalized a deal for three fights with Real Entertainment, a production company populated by former Pride executives hired by FEG to produce Dream events.

A bout between Filipovic and the 38-year-old "Mighty Mo" -- 3-1 in MMA action and 14-9 as a kickboxer -- was originally rumored for Dream 1. Siliga, a heavy-fisted heavyweight of American Samoan descent, won his first three MMA bouts before succumbing to a triangle choke against Semmy Schilt last New Year's Eve.

The heavyweight fight joins a crowded field of bouts for the mid- summer event. In addition to the conclusion of Dream's welterweight tournament (the semifinals and finals are scheduled to take place on the same night), a lightweight attraction between Shinya Aoki and Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro as well as a middleweight clash featuring Paulo Filho and Melvin Manhoef highlight the card.


GOOD FIGHT THAT MO WILL WIN BY KO

Tough fight but...........................CC should take it.