Mirko Filipovic has passed an out-of-competition drug test ahead of his Bellator 200 heavyweight fight in London against Roy Nelson.
MMAjunkie.com was first to report the result. Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation director Mike Mazzulli collected the sample on April 5 in Filipovic’s native Croatia. Mazzulli, who is also the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) president, is in charge of regulating Bellator’s overseas fight cards. According to Mazzulli, the results were analyzed at Quest Diagnostics in the United States and returned on Wednesday. The 43-year-old tested negative for performance enhancing drugs and drugs of abuse.
“Cro Cop” was suspended for two years by USADA for his use of human growth hormone prior to a scheduled bout against Anthony Hamilton at UFC Fight Night in Seoul, South Korea, in November 2015. The Pride Fighting Championships veteran announced his retirement shortly before the suspension, but ultimately ignored the sanction to return to fight in Japan for the Rizin Fighting Federation. Filipovic’s USADA suspension is technically frozen because he retired shortly after the punishment was issued. The USADA sanction does not prevent Filipovic from fighting in other promotions.
Nelson recently speculated that Filipovic might be using “special supplements” to aid him during his current eight-bout winning streak. The former Pride Fighting Championships star fired back at “Big Country” on social media.
“Dear Roy Nelson, you don’t have to worry that I’m using any ‘special supplements’ as you claim,” Filipovic wrote on Facebook. “The only ‘special supplements’ I’m using is [two] hard and bloody trainings per day, five days a week. And I will be tested, like all others, during preparations for the fight and before and right after the fight.
“So you can be calm and start thinking of some good excuse after I beat up your fat disrespectful ass. You have enough time to May 25 and do me a favor please, and shave that disgusting beard, look like professional fighter and show respect to your opponent. Good luck!”
Bellator 200 takes place at the SSE Arena in London on May 25 and airs via tape delay in the United States on the Paramount Network. The card also features a middleweight championship clash between Rafael Carvalho and Gegard Mousasi.