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Fighters Only Magazine with the report:
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.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira To Undergo Hip Surgery
After being forced to withdraw from his UFC 119 rematch with Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira spoke to Tatame about his injury:
I imagine they'll stick Nogueira in against the winner of the new fight between Mir and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. Either fight would be a rematch for Nogueira. Nogueira lost to Mir in their clash at UFC 92 when a visibly "off" Nog was knocked out after battling a bad staff infection in the weeks leading up to the fight. Back at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 Nogueira defeated Filipovic in one of the greatest fights the sport has ever seen.
Aug 16 5:55p by Brent Brookhouse - 0 comments