Some are calling Napao the most underrated fighter on the planet, and would bet the house on him in a bout against Fedor. Others still think he’s an unproven commodity in The Octagon and are calling his vicious knock out win over Cro Cop a fluke.
Although I wouldn’t go so far as to say he got lucky against Mirko (he was clearly the better fighter that night), I’m still a little sceptical and certainly am not ready to give him props as the greatest heavyweight on the planet as some are.
Lets look at his past fights: Most have been relatively short, just how good is his cardio? Can he go the distance in a five round tilt? We don’t know that yet.
He’s done very well against strikers but the only truly accomplished grappler he’s faced, Werdum, pounded him into a bloody mess.
Aside from Cro Cop, who has he beaten that could be considered a top 10 or even top 20 heavyweight? No one really.
The moral of this story? Just because he beat Cro Cop in highlight reel fashion does not mean he is the next big thing. Kevin Randleman did that in 2004 and two years later he was fined for providing goat pee in a urinalysis. Just some food for thought………
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Well, that was the opinion of Dave O’Donnell, the successful co-founder and promoter of Cage Rage. Dave wasn’t that happy that UFC 70 was taking place on the very same night as his Cage Rage promotion.
A Coincidence? Dana White, UFC Supremo, says it was. Dana says he doesn’t check the timetables of rival promotions. In fact he says UFC doesn’t have any rivals, and classes the rest of the worlds MMA shows as places for aspiring fighters to learn their trade before going big time with the UFC. Cheeky monkey.
Dana was rumoured to have spent $5 million advertising UFC70, serious money by anyones standards. Big Dave’s standing his ground, he puts on a good show and has secured a deal with Sky which gives him a bit of clout. Play nice boys. Dana, stop trying to take Dave’s toys from him.
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According to mmaweekly.com, the tape delay free showing of UFC70 on Spike TV was the fifth most watched UFC program on the cable network. Considering the amount of spoiling of results that went on all over the interweb, its a promising figure considering that everybody knew the results in advance!
Its interesting to see how the ratings fluctuated during each fight of the event! It makes sense though, If I have to pay for any of these I won’t leve my sofa for and earthquake.
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As you all know Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic ran as a non-party candidate on the Social Democratic Party list in parliamentary elections and won a seat in the Croatian Parliament. The main reason why he was elected as an official is because of his stand on underfunding of the police force which he is a member of (anti-terrorist branch.) You can see his government profile here.
I haven’t seen any news about any possible injury to Cro Cop. I have been scouring the Internet and making calls but nobody seems to know. First thing I’ll say is this, I have trained in various martial arts since I was aged 6, flexibility is a key part of my training and I know that Mirko is extremely flexible, see below.
My point is that he ha a better chance of not being injured than say a wrestler or boxer who specifically doesn’t include flexibility into their training regime. Long story short, I hope he’s OK and can continue fighting. I am so glad he walked out of the Octagon.
This is all good and well but in November when his government duties are complete he plans on returning to the anti-terrorist branch of the Croatian police force. I don’t know if he’ll be fighting again if he does that full time.
Anyone have any thoughts and most importantly any news this would be great. UPDATE from a UFCmania user:
..at the airport in Zagreb, Croatia, Cro Cop did reveal to Net.hr that he injured ligaments in his right foot but that it’s, “nothing to fear.
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Crop Cop lost! Gonzaga takes one of Cro Cop’s signature moves and KNOCKS HIM OUT!
| Winner |
Loser |
Method |
RoundTime |
| Paul Taylor |
Edilberto de Oliveira |
TKO (Strikes) |
3 - 0:37 |
| Jess Liaudin |
Dennis Siver |
Submission (Armbar) |
1 - 1:21 |
| Alessio Sakara |
Victor Valimaki |
TKO (Strikes) |
1 - 1:44 |
| Junior Assuncao |
David Lee |
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) |
2 - 1:55 |
| Terry Etim |
Donald Matthew Grice |
Submission (Guillotine Choke) |
1 - 4:38 |
| Cheick Kongo |
Assuerio Silva |
Decision (Majority) |
3 - 5:00 |
| Ryoto Machida |
David Heath |
Decision (Unanimous) |
3 - 5:00 |
| Michael Bisping |
Elvis Sinosic |
TKO (Strikies) |
2 - 1:20 |
| Andrei Arlovski |
Fabricio Werdum |
Unanimous Decision |
3 - 5:00 |
| Gabriel Gonzaga |
Cro Cop |
KO (Head Kick) |
1 - 4:51 |
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(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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