Cro Cop didn't sign with Dream, this just got more interesting... [Update]

If the newest report regarding Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic's contract status is correct than the Croatian fighter has not signed with Dream. 

What is going on here? We just spent a day discussing conspiracies and turncoats and it may be the case that White and the UFC are steamrolling Cro Cop with a well organized media attack. 

The first indications that Mirko Filipovic was preparing to leave the UFC was a report by Kevin Iole during the aftermath of UFC 99. Iole reported that, "Filipovic informed UFC president Dana White that he had signed a three-fight contract with the Japan-based DREAM."

There were no quotes or confirmations from Mirko. The Croatian usually skips press conferences and he did the same at UFC 99.

From Iole's initial report the entire MMA media apparatus (including the blogosphere and WKR) latched on to the report. Dana White appeared in front of the media in Cologne and cried foul over Filipovic's purported desertion. But never once did we receive independent confirmation from Filipovic, his camp or Dream officials that Cro Cop had indeed signed with the Japanese organization. 

The newest report regarding Filipovic's contract status suggests that Mirko had not yet decided who to sign with. So why did this issue devolved into a tale of treachery?  

It is easy to speculate that Filipovic had not yet made a decision regarding his future and was weighing all his options. If he informed Dana White that he was hearing chatter from Dream it is not inconceivable to see Dana White lose his temper. It could also be that White was trying to hurt Filipovic's negotiating power. Whatever the case surrounding the he said, she said it is now apparent that there are issues with Kevin Iole's initial report.

In the past Kevin Iole has been accused of being a mouth piece of the UFC and if it turns out that he was wrong, regarding Mirko's contract status, than these criticisms will gain steam. 

Right now we need to wait and see what develops without throwing labels onto either party.

[Update: Note by Zak Woods, 06/15/09 11:19 AM EDT ]

It is now confirmed through USA Today (via MMAforReal) that Filipovic has singed with Dream. 

Soon after beating Mostapha al-Turk on Saturday at UFC 99, Filipovic told UFC officials that he has signed a three-fight deal with the Japanese organization Dream, Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole first reported. The news was later confirmed to me in an e-mail from Mike Kogan, who runs the U.S. operation of Dream's parent company, Fighting and Entertainment Group