It looks like the used-to be-immortal PRIDE superstar Mirko Cro-Cop Filipovic will be back at UFC75 in September.
Dana White announced it on ESPN on Tuesday (Props to ufcmania.com) that Cro Cop, who is supposed to be injury free, will make his return to the octagon against Cheik Congo. The 240 pound Frenchman is coming off a decent majority decision victory over Asseurio Silva at UFC70 and is 10 - 3 - 1 as an MMA fighter.
Cro Cop is recovering from an embarrassingly savage knockout at the hands of Gabriel Gonzaga, who as a result is fighting Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC74.
A title shot that was prematurely reserved for Cro Cop.
He states in an interview that “I am one of the most dangerous strikers in the world, but unfortunately, I did not prove that reputation in my last fight” (courtesy 15rounds.com via ufcmania.com…damn, I’m hurtin for content!)
We’ll see big fella…you were supposed to knock Gonzaga’s head into the fifteenth row.
(6 votes, average: 4.17 out of 5)
Can’t wait for CroCop to get back in the ring!
Kongo has had some solid fights.
http://www.pancrase.org/cheick-kongo-highlights-video/02-07-2007/
Clearly, someone is quite biased against cro-cop.
I really dont think Mirko’s head is in the right place right now. He doesnt seem to like where he is. On his UFC debut he came out to the Pride Theme song…which should say enough right there. He has always been a man of few words, but with Dana White and UFC he’s been a man of even fewer. He has been sleeping in different hotels before matches so that he can stay away from the media, and flies home to Croatia after every single match. He just doesnt want to spend any more time away from his kids than he has to. Hes 32 now and seems to be turning into a family man rather than a fighter.
After his fight with Ganzaga he finally replaced his ring with an octagon in his training facility. So he had only fought in an arena the size of the octagon only once before(sanchez). Not to mention that the mentality of American viewers is relentless and quite different than Pride FC’s. They will expect you to win, and never forget your faults. Very unforgiving. BUT, I do believe he’s been working on his ground game rigerously and it should prove its worth in the next few fights. After his loss to Ganzaga I think everyone realized thats how you beat Cro-Cop. Because he lost the match on the ground…not the kick, that was just a final touch. He said once the ref stood us up i was dizzy from a hard elbow I took, and didnt really see the kick coming. He also lost another match against the minataur with an arm-bar…thats how he loses…on the ground.
Maybe hes not working on his ground game and thats just me hoping that he is. B/C if he’s not…then i’ll be disappointed…again.
Cro Cop will come back and win the UFC Heavyweight Title. He has had a few bad fights in his career but who hasnt. And he almost always has come back and beaten the person who beat him before. Cro Cop is still the best Striker in MMA.
I think Cro Cop would lose to brandon vera.