A former PRIDE and UFC fighter, “Cro Cop” was to face Gracie in a two round submission bout at the June 15th event in Japan.

Despite withdrawing from the bout due to injuries, which are rumored to be minor, Filipovic is still expected to face kickboxer Jerome LeBanner at DREAM 5 on July 21st.

DREAM 5 also includes the finals of the first-ever DREAM lightweight grand prix, a welterweight title bout between Nick Diaz and Hayato Sakurai, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto versus Joseph Benavidez, and several middleweight tournament bouts.

According to the report the match will “take place under modified Abu Dhabi rules: two five-minute rounds with no point system. The only way to win will be via submission. Should the fight go the distance, it will be declared an automatic draw.”

A decorated striker, “Cro Cop” won the 2006 PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix and has faced some of the worlds best fighters defeating notables Josh Barnett, Wanderlei Silva, and Aleksander Emelianenko while suffering notable losses to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria, Fedor Emelianenko, Mark Hunt, and Kevin Randleman. After posting a UFC debut win over Eddie Sanchez, “Cro Cop” was defeated by Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo in back-to-back bouts. In his DREAM debut, Filipovic defeated Tatsuya Mizuno via first-round TKO in March.

Gracie is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is 1-0 in his MMA career, defeating Katsuyori Shibata via first-round submission in his MMA debut at a HERO’s event in mid-2007.

Filipovic was originally scheduled to face Jerome LeBanner at DREAM 4 but that bout has been rescheduled for DREAM 5 in July.

For the latest DREAM rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.

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“Cro Cop” (23-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was a PrideFC standout who holds victories over Josh Barnett, Wanderlei Silva, Kevin Randleman, Aleksander Emelianenko and Mark Coleman. After competing for years in PRIDE, Filipovic was acquired by the UFC in late-2006. Poised to become the next contender for the heavyweight championship, Cro Cop disappointed fans and management suffering back to back losses inside the octagon, one of which was a highlight reel knockout by Gabriel Gonzaga.

Since being shipped off to Japan after his poor UFC performances, Filipovic defeated Tatsuya Mizuno at DREAM 1 this past March. Mirko has previously stated that his stint in Japan is only temporary, and that he will return to the UFC in time.

Jerome LeBanner is an extremely aggressive striker who amasses an impressive 73-14 kickboxing record. In kickboxing, LeBanner holds notable wins over Mike Bernardo, Ernesto Hoost, Maurice Smith, Sam Greco, Peter Aerts, Mark Hunt, Don Frye, Gary Goodridge, Remy Bonjasky and Hong Man Choi. LeBanner actually lost via decision to a then-unknown Mirko Cro Cop in 1996, in a bout which was the Croatian’s professional debut. LeBanner began competing in mixed martial arts in 2001, and has since put up a 3-1-1 MMA record. LeBanner fought to a draw against Bob Sapp at K-1 Premium Dynamite in 2004.