Cro Cop arrives in America ahead of Bellator fight v Roy Nelson
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Legendary Croatian fighter Cro Cop has arrived in the United States ahead of his to appearance at Bellator 216.
Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipović flew out from Zagreb to New York yesterday. He will attend to media commitments in the Big Apple before making his way to Uncasville, Connecticut where he will make his Bellator MMA debut on 16 February against American Roy Nelson.
The fight was originally scheduled for Bellator 200 in London in May last year but an injury ruled out the Croatian. Cro Cop is on a streak of nine wins in a row, his best ever sequence of wins in MMA.
Cro Cop and Nelson first fought in the UFC in 2011 which went Nelson’s way. The fight was the Croatian’s last in the UFC.
Cro Cop was set to fight for the first time in Bellator against Nelson at Wembley in London last year, but had to pull out after tearing a ligament in his knee during a routine training session. He underwent surgery but has made a full recovery.
“Everything is fine with my knee, I recovered completely. Everything is OK, my camp passed with no problems and no injuries. Nelson is excellent at takedowns and he will no doubt go for that. Like my trademark is my highkick, Nelson’s is his right hand ‘swing’. We have prepared for that,” Cro Cop said before flying out on Sunday.
Cro Cop last fought at RIZIN in Japan last September when he beat Roque Martinez by first-round TKO. Nelson is coming off a pair of losses.
“I am not sure if he will have the crowd behind him but when the fight starts that won’t matter as my concentration is soley on the fight,” Cro Cop told Nova TV before his departure.
