It would seem that UFC heavyweight and “TUF 10″ finalist Brendan Schaub (7-1) is pretty popular as a report from FightersOnlyMagazine.co.uk has him facing former Pride champ and K-1 kickboxer Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovi? (27-8-2) as part of the upcoming UFC 128 event in March.
A report on Tuesday had Schaub likely facing 6′11″ Stefan Struve at the upcoming UFC on Versus 3 event, but now this exclusive from Fighters Only has him facing “Cro Cop” who received the update from “a source very close to the bout.” They noted that both men have made verbal agreements for the fight and that both men are expected to sign the official bout agreement soon.
“Cro Cop” recently spoke about 2011 being “his best year” as he is feeling healthy after undergoing a series of rehab therapies and has greatly improved his cardio level after training with Ivan Hippolyte, as reported by Fighters Only.
The Croatian has gone 2-2 in his last four fights, losing has last fight against Frank Mir at UFC 119 after he was knocked out by the former UFC champ in the third round. Before that he had rattled off two straight victories having beaten Anthony Perosh by TKO (doctor stoppage) at UFC 110 in Australia, and Pat Barry by rear-naked choke submission at UFC 115 in June of this past year.
Schaub has won three straight since losing to Roy “Big Country” Nelson in the “TUF 10″ tournament finale. The former professional football player has gone on to defeat Chase Gormley at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones in March, Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 116 in July, and Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 121 in October. Schaub has been requesting a big name to test himself and had requested a fight with Frank Mir at one point.
UFC 128 is believed to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on March 19th.