Indiana commission: ‘Cro Cop’ will undergo medical checkup prior to UFC 119
Andy Means, the director of the Indiana Gaming Commission’s athletic division, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) Filipovic will have a pre-fight…
Andy Means, the director of the Indiana Gaming Commission’s athletic division, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) Filipovic will have a pre-fight medical exam prior to Friday’s weigh-ins.
Filipovic suffered an eye poke and likely cornea abrasion during his final training session in Croatia this past week.
UFC 119 takes place at Indianapolis’ Conseco Fieldhouse and marks the organization’s debut in the state of Indiana. Filipovic (27-7-2 MMA, 4-3 UFC) takes on former heavyweight champ Frank Mir (13-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) and looks for his third straight win and fifth victory in six fights.
Means said UFC officials haven’t been in contact specifically about Filipovic’s injury – possibly because the news broke as the Indiana commission’s office was closing for the weekend. Means didn’t want to speculate about the injury or what would prompt doctors to halt the bout, but he said Filipovic will undergo tests as every other competitor does.
“We’ll have our physicians do our pre-bout physicals,” he said. “They’ll be done before the weigh-ins and again prior to the fights (on Saturday). We’ll do them like we always do.”
Over the weekend, White told MMAjunkie.com that “Cro Cop” has seen doctors, including an opthamologist, and has been cleared to fight. Filipovic, who’s actually an injury replacement for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, also has vowed to fight through the injury.
But if commission doctors don’t clear Filipovic and UFC officials can secure a replacement, Means said the commission won’t stand in the way of a late switch.
“We don’t have any problems with substitutions,” he said. “We can probably turn around something like that pretty quickly. So as long as they have a license and medical clearance, I don’t see it being a problem.
