Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson added to landmark Bellator event in London

A heavyweight tilt between Croatian legend Mirko Cro Cop and ‘Big Country’ Roy Nelson has been added to Bellator 200 in London. Here’s the full press release that was sent out by Bellator just moments ago.

LOS ANGELES – An exciting battle between heavyweight fan-favorites Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2, 1 NC) and Roy Nelson (23-15) has been added to historic Bellator 200 at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London on Friday, May 25.

The two renowned fighters join a stacked card that already includes a Bellator middleweight title matchup pitting current champ Rafael Carvalho (15-1) against Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2), while former titleholder Phil Davis (18-4) takes on Linton Vassell (18-6) in a light heavyweight matchup and undefeated British striker Michael “Venom” Page (12-0) meets David “The Caveman” Rickels (19-4, 2 NC) at welterweight.

Tickets for the event are on sale now at The SSE Arena, Wembley Box Office (0844 815 0815), Ticketmaster.com, ssearena.co.uk and axs.com. Bellator 200 will be broadcast on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App. Additional contests will be announced in coming weeks.

The man synonymous with head kick knockouts, Mirko Cro Cop makes his way to Bellator in the midst of an eight-fight win streak that includes TKO victories over “King Mo” Lawal, Gabriel Gonzaga and Satoshi Ishii. The proud Croatian famously won the PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix championship, as well as the RIZIN World Grand Prix 2016 title and K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 Final in kickboxing. One of the most feared strikers in MMA history, Cro Cop owns additional career wins over Wanderlei Silva, Josh Barnett (x3), Pat Barry, Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman.

Fighting out of Las Vegas, Roy Nelson made his Bellator debut at Bellator 183 in September with a hard-fought victory over Javy Ayala following an eight-year, 19-fight run with UFC that saw him earn wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, “Bigfoot” Silva, Cheick Kongo and Mirko Cro Cop. “Big Country” also memorably defeated the late Kimbo Slice and later went on to win season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. Having recently fought Matt Mitrione in the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix, Nelson is looking for a big win over one of the sport’s true legends.

Updated Bellator 200 Fight Card:

Middleweight World Title Bout: Rafael Carvalho (15-1) vs. Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2)

Heavyweight Main Card Bout: Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2, 1 NC) vs. Roy Nelson (23-15)

Light Heavyweight Main Card Bout: Phil Davis (18-4) vs. Linton Vassell (18-6)

Welterweight Main Card Bout: Michael Page (12-0) vs. David Rickels (19-4, 2 NC)