Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic suffered an undisclosed injury and was forced to withdraw from his Bellator 200 main event bout with Roy Nelson, the mixed martial arts promotion announced Monday.
A middleweight title bout between champion Rafael Carvalho and challenger Gegard Mousasi has been bumped from the co-main slot and will now serve as the event’s headliner.
Filipovic (36–11–2, one no-contest) has won eight in a row, finishing each of those opponents. He won the 2016 Rizin Open-Weight Grand Prix and most recently beat Tsuyoshi Kohsaka by TKO on New Year’s Eve.
The winner of Filipovic-Nelson was set to be declared an alternate for the ongoing Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. Nelson lost an opening-round match to Matt Mitrione in February when he dropped a majority decision.
Nelson defeated Filipovic by third-round TKO back in 2011 when the pair both competed in the UFC.
Bellator 200 takes place May 25 at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London, England. The main card also features Michael “Venom” Page takes on David Rickels in welterweight action, former light-heavyweight champions Phil Davis and Linton Vassell clash and former reality TV star Aaron Chalmers faces Ash Griffiths.
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