Just six weeks before its first trip to Indiana, the UFC has suffered a casualty in its main event.
According to multiple reports, Brazilian heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has pulled out of his rematch against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir for UFC 119.
Stepping in to take Nogueira's place will be Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, a former Pride Fighting Championships grand prix winner.
The substitution was not yet be reported by the UFC as of early Sunday night. Nogueira's twin brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, is scheduled to face Ryan Bader in the co-main event.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1, 3-2 UFC) is reportedly suffering from a hip injury that will require surgery. Mir (13-5, 11-5 UFC) won his first meeting with Nogueira at UFC 92 in December 2008 by knockout. But since then, he is just 1-2 with losses to heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and former top contender Shane Carwin. His last win came in December, a submission of Cheick Kongo at UFC 107.
Filipovic (27-7-2, 4-3 UFC) is one of the sport's all-time legends. He was perhaps the most highly touted signee in UFC history when he joined the promotion in late 2006, but after a debut victory, he suffered a knockout from a head kick from Gabriel Gonzaga -- the same head kicks Filipovic made famous. He followed that with a loss to Cheick Kongo and an exit from the promotion.
He returned nearly two years later and has gone 3-1 since, including a win over Pat Barry at UFC 115 in June.
Filipovic's nickname, "Cro Cop," comes from his days working in his native Croatia as a member of its secret police.
UFC 119 takes place Sept. 25 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and will be the promotion's first in Indiana, which comes after legislation to sanction mixed martial arts in the state took effect Jan. 1. The five-fight main card will air live on pay-per-view. Additionally, at least two fights from the six-fight preliminary card will air live on the Spike TV, a cable network, as a lead-in to the pay-per-view.
UFC vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner said the Indianapolis market, as well as the venue, were good matches for the promotion.
"We look at the market's TV ratings, pay-per-view numbers, closed-circuit locations to the bars -- all those come into play," Ratner said. "And the arena is fabulous. I was very impressed with Conseco. I was very impressed with the people. It's just the perfect kind of arena, right downtown -- everything is good about it."
Ratner said the early ticket sales have been good for UFC 119.
"A little over 10,000 tickets already have been sold -- in the box office we have about $1.2 million already in ticket sales, so that's very gratifying," Ratner said last week.
As for expectations for return trips to Indianapolis after the promotion's debut, Ratner said the company's worldwide expansion will limit how often the UFC comes back to most markets outside its base in Las Vegas. The UFC is scheduled to hold 24 total shows in 2010 -- with 15 of those being pay-per-views.
"We have between 12 and 14 major shows a year, and Las Vegas will always have three or four of those," Ratner said. "We're going to do some shows in Europe -- we're going to London in October. And we're now opening an office in China. So there's only so many shows we can have. When you say it's going to be a regular stop, it may not be once a year -- but it could be every 18 months or something like that."
Naturally, UFC 119 will feature some Midwest fighters on the card. Hoosiers scheduled for the event are former NFL lineman and Purdue product Matt Mitrione, South Bend-based lightweight Steve Lopez, Indianapolis firefighter Chris Lytle, southern Indiana native Aaron Riley and unbeaten Sean McCorkle of Indianapolis, who will make his UFC debut.
