Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, who recently pulled out of a planned UFC Fight Night 79 co-main event bout with Anthony Hamilton, now has a dark cloud over his head following Wednesday’s revelation that he has become the first UFC fighter to be flagged under the promotion’s USADA administered program.
Cro Cop on Monday announced that he suffered a shoulder injury that forced him out of the fight with Hamilton. But there is sure to be a swirl of controversy around the timing of that decision after UFC officials on Wednesday revealed that the Croatian fighter was provisionally suspended due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation.
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The exact nature of the violation was not announced.
“UFC announced today that a scheduled bout between Mirko Cro Cop and Anthony Hamilton in Seoul, South Korea has been canceled. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has notified both Mirko Cro Cop and UFC that he has been provisionally suspended at this time due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation.
“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Cro Cop. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time in the process.”
With Cro Cop off the fight card, the UFC announced that Hamilton would be re-scheduled for a new bout on a future fight card.
