A bout between 2006 PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix Champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović and former IFL champion Roy “Big Country” Nelson is in the works for UFC 137 on October 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Croatian sports site Gol.hr first reported on the heavyweight matchup earlier today.
Both fighters are currently in the midst of two-fight losing streaks and a third straight defeat could send the loser packing from the UFC. Filipović has struggled inside the Octagon, winning just four of his nine UFC fights, while Nelson is coming off of a lopsided loss to Frank Mir at UFC 130 in May.
Filipović (27-9-2, 1 NC) made his much-anticipated Octagon debut at UFC 67 in 2007 with a victory over Eddie Sanchez, but returned to competition in Japan after suffering back-to-back UFC losses. He returned to the UFC in 2009 and won three of his next four fights, including a submission victory over Pat “HD” Barry after battling through a tough first round. He has incurred third-round knockout losses in his last two fights, however, and desperately needs a win in order to remain in the promotion.
Nelson (15-6-0) debuted in the UFC by winning Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter in late 2009. He went on to stop Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve in his next bout and looked to be on the path towards title contention, but ran into a roadblock in Junior “Cigano” dos Santos at UFC 117. Nelson came out on the wrong end of a one-sided decision against dos Santos and did not perform any better in his most recent fight with Mir. His physique and poor cardio in the Mir bout drew the ire of UFC President Dana White.
With both fighters in need of an impressive victory, the UFC 137 showdown could serve as a “Loser Leaves Town” match. Filipović’s once-feared striking has slowed in recent years and Nelson has demonstrated one-punch knockout power, but his cardio has let him down in his last two fights.
UFC 137 takes place on October 29th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will be headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and Nick Diaz.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)