Bellator will give Roy Nelson versus Mirko Cro Cop another go.
The heavyweight fight, which was originally scheduled for Bellator 200, has been rebooked for Bellator 217 on Feb. 16 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, sources told ESPN. That event will be headlined by Paul Daley vs. Michael “Venom” Page.
The fight will mark Cro Cop’s long-awaited Bellator debut. Considered one of the best heavyweights of all time, the 44-year-old Cro Cop (37-11-2, 1 NC) was scheduled to make his promotional debut in May, however, he withdrew from the fight due to an injury,
Nelson (23-16) will be looking to snap a two-fight losing streak. He was most recently knocked out in the first round by Sergei Kharitonov.
Nelson and Cro Cop’s fight will be a rematch of 2011’s UFC 137; Nelson won by first-round TKO.
Also scheduled for the card is a heavyweight title eliminator between former champion Vitaly Minakov and Cheick Kongo. In addition, Bellator will be holding an event the night before at Mohegan Sun, headlined by Matt Mitrione vs. Kharitonov.