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By Rich Hansen, MMA Torch Contributor:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been forced to pull out of his main event fight with Frank Mir at UFC 119 on September 25. Indianapolis fans will now be seeing a main event fight between Mir and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. Fighters Only Magazine was the first to report Nogueira's withdrawl, as well as Filipovic being the replacement for him. According to MMEJunkie.com, Nogueira's withdrawl can be attributed to a recurring hip injury
Cro Cop had hinted at retirement following a third round submission victory over well-regarded striker Barry at UFC 115 in June. Rather than opting for shuffleboard and fishing, Cro Cop will be stepping into the octago versus a top ten ranked heavyweight. Mir figures to be the toughest test Cro Cop has faced since a September, 2009 loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 103.
After ending his first stint in the UFC by dropping back to back fights in 2007 to Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo, the legendary Croatian has won five of his last 6 fights (with one No Contest in a fight with Alistair Overeem), which includes a 3-1 UFC record in his second go around with the UFC.
Mir is looking to fight his way back into heavyweight title consideration. His most recent UFC fight was for the UFC interim heavyweight championship; but Mir suffered a first round knockout loss at the hands of Shane Carwin. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mir, perhaps best known for his pair of fights with Brock Lesnar, will be facing a Pride legend with a completely different skill set than the boxing and jiu-jitsu game that Nogueira features.
Rich Hansen's Take: This is bad news for all parties. For Nogueira, he loses a main event opportunity to avenge his loss to Mir. For Mir, he now faces a lower ranked opponent, which won't help in his quest for one more HW title shot. For Cro Cop, this is a fight he can't win. And for the fans of Indianapolis, they will be saddled with the weakest PPV card in recent UFC history.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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