Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, the dangerous mixed martial arts heavyweight whose reputation took a hit when he lost consecutive fights in UFC last year, will be back in the ring in Japan next month to fight Alistair Overeem, according to a translation of comments on a Croatian web site.Cro Cop will apparently take on Alistair Overeem at Dream.6, although the bout is not yet listed on Dream's official fight card.
As Kid Nate at Bloody Elbow correctly notes, this would the most important heavyweight fight in Japan since the Pride days. Cro Cop did lose to Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo in the UFC, but he's still one of the most highly regarded heavyweights in the sport, especially to Japanese fans, and Overeem has looked very impressive recently.
The Dream MMA organization is on shaky footing financially, but it continues to put together impressive shows. A Cro Cop-Overeem fight to go along with the already scheduled middleweight tournament would make Dream.6 another one.
UPDATE: After the jump, see a Croatian TV news report about the fight.
I don't speak Croatian, but I think they're saying the fight is a done deal:
(Video via Savage Science.)
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