Weekly MMA Roundup: Cro Cop Still In, Belfort-Okami for Title Shot

Rumors have been swirling this last week of Mirko Cro Cop pulling out of his fight with Frank Mir at UFC 119 on Saturday. While it is true that Cro Cop suffered an eye injury in training, he has repeatedly assured everyone that it is nothing to worry about and it will not keep him from fighting Frank Mir. I guess we will have to leave this one to the Indiana Gaming Commission who conduct the medical exams before UFC 119.

The main event for UFC 122 between Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami has been officially announced as a title eliminator to decide the next challenger for Anderson Silva’s UFC middleweight title. Likely, the announcement was spurred from the recent positive steroid test by No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen and probable year-long suspension.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has been booked to make his K-1 kickboxing debut on October 2 against Raul Catinas in a tournament bout. If Arlovski can best Catinas, he will move on to his next K-1 bout in December. Looks like Josh Barnett might have to think of another opponent for his Strikeforce debut.

Marcus Aurelio is scheduled to face Shinya Aoki at Dream 16 just two weeks after pulling out of Shine Fights’ one night lightweight tournament. Many assume he pulled out after receiving information that all fighters taking part in the tournament would receive 30 and 90-day suspensions enforced by all of the membership bodies governed by the Association of Boxing Commissions. According to Shine Fights, Aurelio can only fight for other promotions if it is authorized by Shine Fights, who Aurelio has a contract with. Hopefully Shine Fights just plays dumb and assumes he was really injured.

In other Dream 16 news, Japanese fan-favorite Ikuhisa Minowa has been booked to face heavyweight British slugger James Thompson. Minowa will be giving up a massive size advantage, but this is nothing new to the reigning “super hulk” champion. Dream 16 is really starting to look like one of the better Dream events yet.

According to MMAJunkie.com, Antonio Mckee has signed a four-fight deal with the UFC. Mckee has been undefeated for seven years, but has yet to receive a shot on the big stage. Though Mckee has been criticized for his lack of finishes in fights, he was able to stop Luciano Azevedo in the first round of his last outing.

Gerald Harris will welcome a new fighter to the UFC for the fourth time in a row as he has been booked to face Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves at UFC 123. The only other time I can think of a fighter facing nothing but newbies to start his UFC career is Roger Huerta, who faced UFC newcomers in his first five UFC bouts. Harris is 3-0 in the UFC since a stint on TUF.

Jimmie Rivera beat Abel Cullum by split decision for the King of the Cage bantamweight belt on Friday. It was a highly entertaining five-round bout the ended with Cullum losing his title. The main event was supposed to be former boxer Ray Mercer taking on Ron Sparks, but Mercer went MIA just weeks before the bout.

Mariusz Pudzianowski took on Eric “Butterben” Esch at KSW 14 in Lodz, Poland. After a brutal slaughtering of the Star Stangled Banner, Esch took an equally brutal slaughtering, losing by first-round TKO. The win makes Pudzianowski 3-1 in MMA, and helps distance himself from the recent shellacking he took from Tim Sylvia.