For those that have been paying attention to the MMA world beyond the UFC over the past few weeks, you’ll probably see that Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic fought in Russia for an organization called LEGEND where he was set to square off against Aleks Emelianenko. Of course, Aleks had other plans in mind when he assaulted an elderly man in a coffee shop, which led for journeyman Alexey Oleinik to step in and shock the world by submitting Mirko Cro Cop.
For LEGEND this was a big blow, as Cro Cop was being booked as one of their biggest stars and for Cro Cop it meant his dreams of getting back into the UFC were on hold yet again. Alexey Oleinik went into the fight with nothing to lose and ended up submitting the legendary Mirko Cro Cop, which attracted the attention of the UFC, which has been long-rumored to have plans to move into Eastern Europe. Picking up a Ukranian star like Oleinik seems only natural.
We’ve gotten word that Oleinik has indeed signed with the UFC (note the image above of the contract, with Malki Kawa’s John Hancock and all) and expects to make his debut soon. This is just further proof that the UFC is looking to enter Russia and Eastern European countries sooner rather than later.