Only days removed from UFC President Dana White stating that the promotion would still like to see Mirko “Cro Cop” fight Ben Rothwell, as he was supposed to before Rothwell fell ill prior to UFC 110, reports are surfacing this afternoon that indicate a little change in plans. According to a report from MMA Scraps Radio, Cro Cop will face fellow K-1 vet Pat Barry at UFC 115 in June. Barry is apparently the co-host of the show so they might have an ’inside track’ . In addition, according to a follow up reports from MMA Weekly and MMA Fighting, both outlets have confirmed with sources that the fight is definitely in the works.
So what happened to “Big Ben” in all this? Well according to the MMA Fighting report, Rothwell wil likely face Gilbert Yvel, who had been expected to fight Barry…make sense? Sounds like the UFC thinks that Barry vs. Cro Cop would make for a better fight. They’re probably right; both guys are killer strikers, so we’re not complaining, but Rothwell and Cro Cop would have made for a nice Octagon ‘duel’ as well.
In case you’re a more casual fan of pugilistic violence and didn’t catch Barry’s last performance, seek out footage of his last win over Antoni Hardonk; you can thank us later.