In non-related soccer news but very important Croatian sports news, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović announced earlier this week that he will be traveling to Japan to make a very important announcement regarding his future in fighting. In his personal blog ‘Cro Cop’ writes,
“I’m off to Tokyo! A big announcement will come straight from Japan tomorrow (February 13).When the official part is done I’ll be able to provide more information about everything,and believe me, I have many things to say.What you could easily guess by now is that I won’t be retiring.I’ll keep on fighting, it’s my life, it’s what I do.”
So what it looks like to me is that Cro Cop is done with his short-lived and frankly disastrous career with the UFC and could be moving to HERO’S in Japan, which is owned by the same group who operates K-1.
I’ll report immediately after the press conference and after Mirko tells us which direction his career will now be going in.
As my good friend would say- ‘YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!”
I read that he wants to retire and he's no focused any more. His last few UFC fights have made a disgrace of him. He's lost his heart. Maybe all that cash made him soft. Or maybe it's just his age. Either way-he needs to quit.
CroCop is old & washed up,hes not a threat to anyone anymore,all he can do now is beat up japanese fed luchadores who have never been involved in a fight before,im not saying that being old means u cant succeed in MMA anymore,just look at Randy Couture,45 & he was Heavy Weight champ & was slaughtering all the young gunz,MMA has no Age barrier,if u have determination u will succeed,Cro Cops only 35,So his body & health should have no problem competing in UFC,but its not that,The reason he is no longer the Cro Cop we all remember is he has lost his Confidence & drive,Determination & most importantly Courage,as he used to stare down his opponent in the former Pride FC,we no longer see those killa stares which usually ment some poor guy was going to leave on a stretcher,His Era & time are over,Cro Cop lost to the low ranked Gonzaga who was practicly fed to him as a pre match before fighting for the UFC title,after such a defeat,its hard to come back from,he was expected to blitz thru & fight for the title,but instead lost to a jobber like Gonzaga & how fitting it was that he was k.o'd by his own finishing move,high left kick,he got Cro Copped by Gonzaga,anyhow another loss shortly after that to Kongo & most recently to a very inexperienced Dos Santos & there goes his last bit of confidence & courage he once had,
I believe he will never recover from that & should call it quits,before he humilates himself even more & fans start remembering his losses to low ranked UFC fighters instead of his wins against the worlds best,If u cant compete in UFC & have to fight in japan,theres no point really,I have given up hope on Cro Cop & now rely on some 1 like Goran Reljic to recover from his back injury & restore pride to the Croat Nation,Or little Zelg Galesic to Climb the ranks & dominate in UFC like Pat Miletich once did,Pat will allwayz remain a Hero because he went out in good fashion,I hoped Cro Cop could have done the same in his last ditch at UFC,but it didnt work out that way..Good Luck Cro Cop
This is fantastic information. Thank you very much for taking the time to put this together. I think Cro Cop will only be part of DREAM for about a year. I see DREAM paying him a lot of money to promote the new brand while he basically plows through the competition. It will basically be training for him until he regains his once stellar fighting form. Then possibly a shot at the big boys in the UFC for the belt and maybe even a shot at Fedor. What do you guys think about that????
I was disappointed to hear Mirko was leaving the UFC but than I read this post and it explains everything very well. We’ll be seeing Mirko in North America sooner than you think.
CRO COP CLARIFICATION!
From Cindy Ortiz on the UG
From: CindyO
Date: 02/13/08 06:02 AM
Member Since: 02/10/2006
4234 Total Posts Ignore User
I just talked to DW and this is what he had to say:
The split was amicable and the terms were decided on in advance. Cro Cops $350k (plus bonuses) contract had a clause in it stating that if he lost two consecutive fights Zuffa had the right to void the existing agreement and negotiate a new one.
CC never dreamed that he would be so overwhelmed by the level of competition he has faced in the UFC so far and and the losses have impacted him mentally.
The UFC did NOT cut Cro Cop from the roster nor did they threaten to make him sit out until his contract expired if he didn’t take the pay cut deal.
Rather than negotiate a new contract with the UFC right now (and risk racking up more losses), Cro Cop wants to get a couple of tune up fights (and wins) in some of the smaller shows (no more tune up matches for him in the UFC) in hopes of rebuilding his confidence and getting himself back on track.
DW understood completely and supported Cro Cop in his decision. The last thing DW wants to do is shell out a six-figure purse to a fighter that isn’t fighting worth a dayum. Even though it would have been lower than the original figure, it would still be a waste of money and resources.
Cro Cops ultimate goal is to win the UFC HW championship belt and DW believes he still has the potential to accomplish that goal. CC’s plan when he signed with the UFC was, “I will become Champion after three matches. I will need two and a half or three months off between each match. I expect to hold the UFC belt by the Summer. Then I want Pride Champion Fedor Emelianenko, Vs Me the UFC Heavyweight Champion on New Years Eve.”
This is from Cindy Ortiz a very very reliable source.