White had signed Filipovic less than a month ago to a one-fight deal, the first time in more than nine years that he'd done that. He had worked out terms on two additional fights, but said he'd only put pen to paper for Saturday's bout.
He brought Filipovic back because he knew the Croat is still very popular, and Filipovic insisted he wanted to make a run for the title.
But instead of getting a shot at big names like Randy Couture or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and fighting his way into title contention, Filipovic opted to bolt for Japan.
"Isn't that a dirty [expletive] thing to do?" White asked rhetorically after being queried about Filipovic's deal with DREAM. "He [expletived] me. The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he [expletived] me."
He didn't keep his word," White said, who said he'd had a two-hour talk with Filipovic on the day "Cro Cop" texted and asked to be able to return. "He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletived] me.
"He fed me this bull [expletive] about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this. He turned down every other [expletive] fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn't just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too."
As is his custom, Filipovic skipped the postfight news conference and could not be reached to comment on the DREAM deal.
This is just disappointing. As a huge Cro Cop fan, I hate to admit this, but he's just dodging good competition now. Now it's back to smashing creampuffs in Japan, or whatever else he considers a quick ego boost. What a shame.
I've seen all his MMA fights (I've seen a lot of his fights in K-1 too), and he's just never been the same since the UFC. Those beatdowns from Kongo, Gonzaga, and even Overeem have obviously done something to his psyche. He's not even close to being half as aggressive, and he's completely lost his killer instinct. The guy is afraid to take a hit and that much has been obvious in his recent outings. Man, I had high hopes when he announced he'd return to redeem himself, guess I was wrong. After that stunt he pulled off, it's safe to say we probably won't be seeing him in that cage again.
