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Scott Coker Responds To Criticism Over Bellator Signing Mirko Cro Cop

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker is a bit surprised by the backlash over the Viacom owned promotion’s latest fighter signing. It’s been well documented that Mirko Cro Cop would be rematching Roy Nelson at the upcoming Bellator 200 event. Once the promotion made the announcement, it raised questions from some fight fans regarding his eligibility […]

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Bellator MMA President Scott Coker is a bit surprised by the backlash over the Viacom owned promotion’s latest fighter signing.

It’s been well documented that Mirko Cro Cop would be rematching Roy Nelson at the upcoming Bellator 200 event.

Once the promotion made the announcement, it raised questions from some fight fans regarding his eligibility to fight due to the fact that Cro Cop was suspended by USADA for two years for taking HGH. Instead of serving the suspension, he chose to retire from MMA.

Retirement for athletes is hard and usually doesn’t last. Cro Cop is no different as he returned just a year later to compete under the Rizin FF banner and even won the 2016 Open Weight Grand Prix.

Cro Cop has fought five times since receiving his USADA suspension. Thus, it raises the question of whether promoters should book him. Coker believes that makes no sense.

“Here’s the thing,” Coker told Jim Edwards of MMANYtt (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting). “Mirko fights in Rizin, in Japan, and USADA has a relationship with the UFC and they’re in Japan all the time. Why didn’t they go after him two years ago when he started fighting in Rizin? This is a question just because he’s fighting for Bellator at our 200th event?

“To me it’s like, if you wanted to take action, you should’ve took action a long time ago, because to me, honestly, when we booked it, we didn’t even know there were issues. He’s already fighting so we thought he was able to fight.”

Coker noted that Bellator doesn’t have any connection to USADA. Thus, the organization doesn’t have to go along with the suspension, especially since Cro Cop has been competing since he was given the suspension.

“Listen, USADA works with the UFC,” said Coker. “They’re doing their own thing, so go do it. I just feel like the timing of it is a little bit questionable because at the end of the day, if you really wanted to enforce it, you should’ve enforced it two years ago when Mirko fought in Japan.”

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Roy Nelson Surprised by Mirko Cro Cop Rematch at Bellator 200

Roy Nelson wasn’t expecting to be booked in a rematch with Mirko Cro Cop. Back in Oct. 2011, Nelson took on Cro Cop under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) banner. “Big Country” won the fight via third-round TKO. Nearly seven y…

The post Roy Nelson Surprised by Mirko Cro Cop Rematch at Bellator 200 appeared first on MMA News.

Roy Nelson ‘Surprised’ By Rematch With Mirko Cro Cop

Fight fans weren’t the only ones who were surprised by Bellator MMA’s latest fighter signing. Earlier this week, it was announced Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2, 1 NC) and Roy Nelson (23-15) in a heavyweight bout has been added to the card for the upcoming Bellator 200 event, which is set to be historical. Cro Cop […]

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Fight fans weren’t the only ones who were surprised by Bellator MMA’s latest fighter signing.

Earlier this week, it was announced Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2, 1 NC) and Roy Nelson (23-15) in a heavyweight bout has been added to the card for the upcoming Bellator 200 event, which is set to be historical.

Cro Cop makes his way to Bellator in the midst of an eight-fight win streak. During that run, he holds wins over “King Mo” Lawal, Gabriel Gonzaga and Satoshi Ishii.

Nelson recently spoke about this upcoming heavyweight showdown during an interview with MMAJunkie.

Nelson was expected to fight former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson at Bellator 200. However, “Rampage” was apparently not up for the fight.

“Cro Cop was actually a surprise,” Nelson told MMAjunkie. “I was supposed to fight ‘Rampage,’ but he didn’t want to fight so they went out and got Cro Cop. I’m all about rematches. I’ve been trying to get them through my fighting career, but I’m all about it. It’s the one thing I always wish I had, so I want to give someone else a chance.”

“I think Cro Cop’s definitely always improving with age, but I think he’s back on the special supplements, better supplements than usual,” Nelson said. “Throughout my whole fight career, the only reason people want to fight me or have a chance to beat me, is if they get something. It’s something I just know that everybody is just on it. It’s one of those things where it’s an uphill battle. If you can help prevent it, cool. But at the end of the day I just go out there and fight whoever they want me to fight.”

“My last fight we got tested I think three or four weeks into camp,” Nelson said. “I wasn’t even licensed by Mike and then we didn’t get tested fight night. Someone could have technically got back on a cycle or something stupid. I don’t know. If you’re going to drug test, drug test.”

Middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho (15-1) defending his crown against Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2) will likely serve as the main event. London’s own Michael “Venom” Page (12-0) takes on David “The Caveman” Rickels (19-4, 2 NC).

“You’ve got to take the positive with the negative,” Nelson said. “This is an opportunity to get back in the tournament. I’m trying to be an alternate or something like that. And you only get paid when you fight, so the more fights I have, the better.

“I just want to go out there and get a W. I also want to get some revenge for my good friend (Muhammed) Lawal; that’s about it. I just want to get back in the tournament and hopefully fight Matt again.”

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Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson Set For Bellator 200

A heavyweight showdown has been added to the lineup of a monumental Bellator MMA event. On Monday morning, Bellator MMA announced a new bout for their upcoming Bellator 200 event. Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2, 1 NC) and Roy Nelson (23-15) in a heavyweight bout have been added to the card that is set to be […]

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A heavyweight showdown has been added to the lineup of a monumental Bellator MMA event.

On Monday morning, Bellator MMA announced a new bout for their upcoming Bellator 200 event. Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2, 1 NC) and Roy Nelson (23-15) in a heavyweight bout have been added to the card that is set to be historical for the Viacom owned promotion.

Cro Cop makes his way to Bellator in the midst of an eight-fight win streak. During that run, he holds wins over “King Mo” Lawal, Gabriel Gonzaga and Satoshi Ishii.

Nelson made his Bellator debut at Bellator 183 in September with a hard-fought victory over Javy Ayala.

The two fighters join a stacked card that already includes Middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho (15-1) defending his crown against Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2) will likely serve as the main event. London’s own Michael “Venom” Page (12-0) takes on David “The Caveman” Rickels (19-4, 2 NC).

Also, former titleholder Phil Davis (18-4) takes on Linton Vassell (18-6) in a light heavyweight matchup.

Additional main card and preliminary bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.

Bellator 200 is set to take place on Friday, May 25, 2018, from The SSE Arena, Wembley. The preliminary card will air online at 7:00 pm EST while the main card will air on Paramount Network at 9:00 PM EST. Here is the updated card:

Middleweight World Title Bout: Rafael Carvalho (15-1) vs. Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2)

Heavyweight Main Card Bout: Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2, 1 NC) vs. Roy Nelson (23-15)

Light Heavyweight Main Card Bout: Phil Davis (18-4) vs. Linton Vassell (18-6)

Welterweight Main Card Bout: Michael Page (12-0) vs. David Rickels (19-4, 2 NC)

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Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson Official For Bellator 200

Mirko Cro Cop has arrived under the Bellator banner. It seems every time retirement crosses Cro Cop’s mind, the fight game keeps pulling him back in. After having a resurgence under the Rizin promotion in Japan, Cro Cop insisted that he was hangi…

The Weird & Wild Origins Of 10 UFC Fighters’ Nicknames

In the sport of mixed martial arts, some fighters become synonymous with their nicknames, and often their meaning is self explanatory, from the likes of Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson through to ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler and ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor. However, in some cases there’s far more to a fighters moniker than meets the eye, and in […]

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However, in some cases there’s far more to a fighters moniker than meets the eye, and in this article, we’ll tell the fascinating stories behind 10 past and present UFC stars memorable nicknames.

Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping

At first glance ,former UFC middleweight champion Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping’s nickname may just appear to be a nod towards the boxing phrase, “out for the count,” but the real reason is actually far more interesting.

Back in the 1300’s, one of Bisping’s Polish ancestors played an important role in winning a battle that would lead to him being declared a Count and given a large amount of land.

As a result, for many generations afterwards his ancestors lived the good life, right up until the 1930’s when his grandfather, Andrzej Józef Bobola Bisping was still a part of Polish nobility and led a military outfit called, ‘The Bishop’s Pings’ (which is where the surname, ‘Bisping’ originates from).

However, when Germany invaded Poland in 1939 in a show of force that would lead to World War II, his family were lined up against a wall and shot, which led to Andrjezej fleeing the country and making his way to the UK.

As a result, when Bisping was born, he didn’t live the life of a Count, but instead grew in a humble council estate England, where his family history meant nothing and only led to him being bullied at school, to the extent that he was embarrassed to draw attention to it when he started his fighting career.

However, Bisping’s manager at the time was aware of his ancestry, and so he told a ring announcer at one of his fights to call him ‘The Count,’ and it’s remained with him ever since.

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