Photo: CroatianSports.com
I had the pleasure of spending two days with American-born Croatian UFC fighter Stipe Miocic as he prepared for his upcoming bout with Phil DeFries on February 15th. I made the five-hour trip from southern Ontario to Stipe’s home town of Cleveland, Ohio. I arrived Thursday afternoon and by 5:30pm I was on my way to the Strong Style Martial Arts Academy with Miocic and Zagreb native Sasa Mucnjak. Mucnjak had flown down a week and a half ago to assist Stipe with his training for the fight. Mucnjak himself is an accomplished MMA fighter with a record of five wins and two losses and is also the former training partner of Mirko “ Cro Cop” Filipović.
Stipe Miocic Interview prior to Phil DeFries fight on February 15th
Stipe’s training on Thursday night was intense to say the least as his coach Marcus Marinelli pushed him to the limit. The training consisted of sparring and grappling in the cage as Marinelli would send fresh sparring partners in with Stipe every three minutes or so for an hour. The point of the exercise was to work on his total MMA game, cardio and ability to adapt to any situation he could be put into during a fight. Once Stipe completed that, it was off to some intense cardio training which I personally got tired of just by watching him. Throughout the training Thursday night, Miocic looked ready for war. His striking, grappling and cardio looked very sharp and it won’t be long before we see Stipe Miocic’s name among the top heavyweights in the UFC.
Stipe Miocic Training Video for UFC on FUEL 1 from Croatian Sports on Vimeo.
Friday morning’s training was a lot more relaxed than Thursday night as Coach Marinelli felt they broke down Stipe’s body enough the past week. Miocic was instructed to do some light ground work switching between Sasa Mucnjak and myself. I can say from personal grappling experience that Stipe has crazy balance and is strong as an ox. Stipe is an excellent wrestler and is very good at getting into a dominant position. I have to say everyone at Strong Style Martial Arts Academy is a class act and would recommend anyone to go there to train. Upon arrival I felt like I was part of the team and didn’t feel out of place at any time. Strong Style is a top notch training facility and for anyone looking to get in to MMA, Boxing, BJJ or just to work out with weights or take a fitness class, it’s the perfect fit.
Interview with Sasa Mucnjak, ex-CroCop training partner
Stipe Miocic, in my opinion, is on the road to a very successful career in the UFC heavyweight division. Stipe is a true Hrvat and I am proud as all Croatians should be, as he represents us in the biggest MMA organization in the world. The Cleveland Croat is a class act and I expect him to make quick work of Phil De Fries this Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska. I enjoyed my time in Cleveland with Stipe, Sasa and the Strong Style Academy crew and look forward to visiting again in the future. For the record, Sasa Mucnjak is a true Dinamo fan and a class act.
The fight will be broadcast live on February 15th, 2012 @ 9pm ET on Fuel TV in the United States and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada.
Stipe Miocic would like to thank his sponsors HeadRush Brand, Hyabusa, Topps, Defense Soap, Strhess Clothing, John P Lennon, Advanced Sports Labs and Croatian Sports.com for their continued support. You can follow Stipe Miocic on twitter @smiocic. You can also get Stipe Miocic’s walkout shirt at www.headrushbrand.com.
You can follow me on twitter @crocrippler and on Facebook “Croatian Crippler”.
I am kidding you(kind of). Do you use a Cro keyboard?
Vidim da me zajebavaš…go ahead and ask anybody who played…70-80% mental, 20-30% physical. I speak the truth.
@Ante B:
I try to never drink tap-water anywhere unless filtered. The water is chlorinated there, so I don’t think thats your problem.
I have consumed limited quantities in Zadar/Razanac with no problems.
I just took a mean diarrhea, it was 90% mental.
To be fair I forgot to mention that I usually have explosive diarrhea from the water in Hrvatska which probably plays a minor role in my weight loss in Cro. Dude if I lived there for a year id probably lose 50 pounds in 5 months.
Do any of guys get raging squirts from the drinking water there?
Amazing that Allen still can’t address the fact he said on this site for all to see that Croatian blood isn’t valuable. We can add coward to his list of virtues. So our heritage according to you is worth crap. The people who fought and died for Croatian freedom as they spilled their blood, that according to you also has no value. Those aren’t things to joke about, but then again its pretty clear you are snot nosed little 16 year old.
And I can tell you Allen you wouldn’t last a second in the Croatian community in Melbourne, we don’t tolerate self hating Croats such as yourself in our community.
When i went to croatia i was around 85 kg (187 lbs) and i came back at a weight of 96 kg ( 211 lbs). Now thats a +11kg weight difference in a span of three months. How you guys lost i dont know? and i can tell you i was walking everywhere, mountains and all, staying out till 3 to 4 am every night. And still gained.
Lima Vathr,
The best way I lost weight is that my future wife started cooking for me instead of becoming a fat ass via McDonalds and In n Out.
@Ziva:
Allen’s posts can be hard to read. Now, I punch out after the 2nd sentence if it seems unreadable. You aren’t exactly Nostradamus for knowing that he is young. Personally, I would have guessed he was 19-20.
@Ante B
I gain a little weight in Hrvatska because of the prsut and rakija. American prepared/fast food is cheap shit and if you eat it regularly, you will gain weight.
Check the sodium contents on most foods and you will be horrified. Generally, it isn’t even sea salt (sodium chloride). The chemically produced salts,sugars and sweeteners are all SHIT.
You can eat like a Hrvat in America. If you are in CA, every possible piece of produce is available.
joj meni…….I learned that Allen like posting photos of himself on Facebook. Svaka ti cast.
Now if you could only learn how write without us having to go back two and three times to re-read what you posted.
@Allen
haha, again, just cause u watch soccer and put on the checkers doesn’t make u more or less croatia. Again speaking the language and going back to the domovina will prove ur love ; ) I decided!
Ha yeah I’m a part timer. That is why I watched every damn qualifier and went to Scorpios every damn time. You saw me in the video for Croatian Sports.com watching Malta game. I wear my checkers every other year, that’s a good one. I wear it for every damn game and I will be wearing them tonight for Stipe in the fight. This is what I’m talking about that is with you people. You all just jump to assume things, which is why I’m so sick and tired of some of you. It’s alright though because I know the intelligent people on the site and I’m cool with them.
Balban assumption just proves my point of how judgmental you people are on a few comments I make. So what I make sarcastic comments, big deal so does everyone. The fact that you say I only come out for a big game just shows how delusional you are when I’m posting on a consistent basis about every Croatia game. Just to prove my point, on my Facebook page I have a picture of me wearing a checkered jersey and a checkered hat for the Croatia Ireland game. That’s right a friendly game!! That’s how loyal I am and love Croatia that I would wear my checkers.
Go Stipe
@Ante
haha, yea I know, it’s hard to detect sarcasm. Dude I still take naps from 2 to 6, after rucak, then i wake up and podgrijan rucak i onda opet na spavanje.
Anonymous,
Dalmatinci more lazy than Purgeri?! Are you cereal? Don’t you know the first Dalmatinski Zapovid?
“covik nije roden da radi”
And why do dalmatinci have a chair next to their beds? So they can rest right after they wake up
Disclaimer: all of these were told to me by my dalmo buddies
@Josko
Having interest in soccer does not have anything to do with how Croatian you are. It’s just a sport. Speaking the language and going back to the domovina are far greater pre-requisites on the how croatian are u scale 😉
@Ante
I never loose weight, if anything gain wait from all the salt, meat, and alcohol. maybe us dalmatinci are more lazy then you purgeri.
Good call on that Ante. Bulldog was always the preferred watering hole destination along with the fake Hard Rock down the road.
Being in Cro is weight loss 101 due to all the walking that you do.
@Josko……….there you have it, we will now refer to Allen as “Part-time Allen”
God i wish i could have a kava s mlijekom on tkalci right now. Then walk down past the trg to ilica, hang a right and go to Vincek, eat a kremsnita, drink more coffee. Bail from there and head across the street to millennium for sladoled and then either Boban’s or Bulldog Pub for a drink or seven. All in the while lose five pounds since the food has very little chemicals and my fat ass walks everywhere. Do any of you fatties ever lose weight when you go to Cro? I do but I still have a hairy back.
Allen is one of those “part-time Croatians”, he has no passion for football (soccer) but will watch Croatia at the euros. I have no qualms with that as everyone I’d entitled to root for their country. But when he starts talking ignorant shit about Russ and Croatian blood that’s just too far. Not to mention it proves he is one of those “part-time croatians” that wears the checkers every couple of year when a big game or two rolls around
@allen….fair enough on my spelling. Damn Ipad and its automatic filler.
That said, how the hell did I know you were so young??????? (at this point I am applauding myself on my back shoulder) It’s so easy to see in your writing style (or lack of it).
Again, listen to me. When discussing sports – if you want to have a serious conversation with the big boys – remove the emotion. Right now we glance over your comments and get a good chuckle.
I know you may not have the time considering you are still in your infant stages of watching soccer and are basically taking the prerequisite training wheels approach to playing the game.
In the words of the great philosphers who occupy many of the fine establishments on Tkalciceva in ZG (those of you have have hung out in ZG will know what I mean)….bit ce bolje
As for MelCro, well he’s your typical Croatian that doesn’t grab a sense of being different and liking different things. It’s a shame because I can tell MelCro may have some Australian to him with the Mel and could be from Melbourne. My mom was born there so it’s a shame we don’t get along. Its also a shame that he needs to work on his writing because I am one of the best contributors to the site.
I’m 18 and I’m better than you. The only time I show emotion is when your stupid mind comes to this site and starts typing then positing. You want to talk about writing, well how about spelling advice right. You’re about as good as a role model as Al Sharpton.
Anonymous likes me first time ever!
My advise to Allen would be the following:
1. When commenting on a sport or a sporting topic remove your emotional attachment from the topic because it clouds your judgement.
2. pay attention in your reading/engligh/writing/literature classes. Your writing needs to improve.
3. Come back to the site when you tuen 18. you will be more mature and able to understand a few things better.
This is provided to you free of charge by Ziva Istina.
Ziva Istina……….a role model for one and all
@ MelbCro
Everybody is entitled to have their own opinion. You do not need to jump on Allen and criticize him in very destructive way. Especially, do not use words like “you make me sick”. Throwing words like that is easy, try to make positive comments (teach, encourage…).
@Allen
I agree with you on Kranjcar. Do not get discouraged by people like MelbCro. State your opinion, and there will always be people on the site that agree with you. As in your life, there are people that will find one word they don’t agree with in your statement, and they will attack you and twist your words and opinion into something different than what you meant. I can’t wait to see what is he going to make of my statement.
Allen has officialy become the worst contributor to this site. still can’t get over you previous comments on the Russ article that Croatian blood isn’t valuable, what kind of a disgarce says that? You make me sick
“I’ve only been watching UFC since 2009 I’ll confess but when did I say I liked it more than soccer? I’m saying UFC is on the rise and has become more of a buzz to watch than soccer. ”
UFC is horribly boring buddy, I get more of a buzz watching cricket.
UFC is slowly evolving and has major fights coming up. The title bouts will be insane from Silva vs Sonnen to Dos Santos vs Overeem to Jones vs Evans. The cards are looking stacked as well so many things that are going right for UFC. Soccer is great don’t get me wrong but it sucks that other than EPL, things are just bland. Champions League is dull this year and the rest is whatever. This is just from personal experience where I’ve enjoyed UFC and have gotten more vocal about it than soccer. I’ve been more energized by it because of possibly lack of big Tottenham games or maybe I need to go hit up some places to watch games. All I know is right now soccer is just there but not really jumping out to me. In June i’m sure that would change, it’s tough to explain.
The last paragraph about Valentines Day was a joke and it was an actual good one unlike you’re crap.
Roid Rage from Allen
“I’m saying UFC is on the rise and has become more of a buzz to watch than soccer.”
What does popularity have to do with it? If you like something, what difference does it make that other people like it or dislike it? If I was a hardcore badminton fan, why would I care that other people are jumping aboard or falling off. I like it! And I’ll support it regardless.
“Enjoy your Valentines Day, don’t get your girl pregnant because it’s Euro Cup time in the summer and you don’t want to deal with a pain in the ass pregnant women when games are going on and drinking is in session.”
What the hell are you talking about?
Sometimes, this site is MY soap opera, Allen. Cheers to your loyalty though! You’re crazy passionate about what you like, bro.
I’ve only been watching UFC since 2009 I’ll confess but when did I say I liked it more than soccer? I’m saying UFC is on the rise and has become more of a buzz to watch than soccer. I’m just a little bored right now waiting for Euro Cup to begin although I’m loving Tottenham right now. They are playing amazing but I don’t know it’s missing something. Congrats on watching Pride, that shows you’re not completely clueless.
Now just to clear up everything about my love for professional wrestling also for the fact that it’s called WWE (Entertainment). Its my soap opera to watch and it’s what I get a kick out of. You’re damn right its fake but I enjoy the entertainment and drama to you it. You watch your Dexter and you enjoy it. I watch my Raw and I damn sure enjoy it. It may not be the most popular thing but I know a decent population that loves it as much as I do. I’ve grown up watching it and its my kind of soap opera that isn’t so cheesy. Sure oiled guys fighting in underwear kind of corny, but their guys that can get on a microphone and really tear it up. I know most Croatians won’t get it if their old since most Croatians that are old don’t know a single damn thing about pop culture. I love violence what more do you want me to say? It could be fake or it could be real, but either way its awesome. I still take soccer over it regardless if I’m a bit bored with soccer at the moment.
Hooters offers free UFC so don’t be naive you smartass. If you don’t like Hooters well you could have said so without a crappy joke. If you don’t respect my opinion well thats fine because I’m not here to impress you. I’m here to be on a site that I love very dearly and love to follow. I may not like certain people but I’ll always be loyal to the site. I’ll make sure to wear not just one, but BOTH Croatian Sports.com shirt whether it’s the new one or Crottenham Hotspur. So for those that think “oh the kid doesn’t know crap and doesn’t like us” well then think again.
Enjoy your Valentines Day, don’t get your girl pregnant because it’s Euro Cup time in the summer and you don’t want to deal with a pain in the ass pregnant women when games are going on and drinking is in session.
Stipe the “Steamroller” Miocic
Crippler,
Thank you for the update. I think it is our responsibility to come up with a nickname for Stipe once this fight is over. The guy can’t be fighting in the big time w/o a nickname right???
Isn’t that MMA blasphemy?
@Ante
I asked Stipe about the nickname but he said he doesn’t use one.
DeFriess is a bjj specialist and most of his wins are by submission.He is also undefeated like Stipe. The oddsmakers got Stipe as the favourite.
I think Defries will try for the takedown but Stipe will use his wrestling to avoid it.This will force Defries to strike and Stipe is a superior striker.I say Stipe cathes him late in the first ko winner Miocic
I see somebody knows torcida’s loudest chant. Kompleks. Neka neka
Jebes zagreb
jebes dinamo, jebes dinamo, jebes dinamo
@ Rozic,
Touche. Moving on.
Let’s talk about this fight tomorrow night. What’s the deal with this deFries fellow? Should Miocic whip him?
And what’s Stipe’s nickname?????????
12 years ago today marks the 12th anniversary of Dinamo Zagreb’s. Before we had Tudman and Canjuga, today we have Mamic who has single handedly ruined the club. It was ours, it is our club and it always will be. Mamicu ti nisi Dinamo!
Sretno Valentinovo svim dinamovcima i Boysima na nasem portalu!
Bilo je to
Bilo je to na Valentinovo!
Sjecam se ja
Sjecas se ti
Kad smo SVETO IME DINAMO VRATILI!!
@Shinobi
Ya it was a good time for sure. Ya grappling with Stipe was an experience especially since it was the first time I rolled in about 7mths because I tore my mcl.
@Ante
You got teamates in waterpolo to help you if your drowning.In MMA you have no one to take the punch to the lips for you.
Cleveland is a lot like Hercegovina…..some questionable characters, but mostly real good people. But, everyone wants to leave and get out. LeBron sure did and he is vilified instead of being applauded.
@ Toronto,
Well put. Gotta give you props for that line. Very true. You F* up in MMA/Boxing and your ass is on the mat. However, you’re ass can drown in water polo.
@ Ziva,
Way to shit on the entire city of Cleveland, Ohio. You make me laugh.
Ante I hear what you’re saying…theres no doubt that you gotta be in great shape for water polo….
But lets be serious, theres no comparison…
In any other sport…if you screw up…its 1 – 0 for the other team.
In Boxing or MMA …if you screw up… your ass could be KO’d
Divlja liga is great to watch….
To the earlier comment….a top notch hooker in Cleveland is the equivalent of the lowest-tier hooker in any other city. I have been to Cleveland and the women in that city are brutal. No wonder all the hrvati in that town are all drunks. I would be too if I had to call one of the local women my wife/ girlfriend.
@ Toronto,
Once again, no knock on fighting, just stating my opinion from personal experiences. I know you need crazy stamina for fighting. Fighters get ‘gassed’ very easily and you have to prevent that, otherwise you’re done.
The only time I’ve ever played water polo was in Dubrovnik right outside Porporula. Right in the Adriatic. You have to fight the struja (current) just to stay afloat, battle with guys’ legs under the water (which the ref never sees) and swim back and forth. And this is all without the ball. I like to consider myself a pretty in-shape guy, but this was excruciating.
If you guys are ever in Dubrovnik in the summer, try to get a connection to play for a Divlja Liga team. (I haven’t played yet but I’ve heard stories) then get back to me.
Fighting is up there in terms of toughest sports, I just have water polo in front.
Crippler, Great interviews! haha It was awesome to see you get in there yourself and take it to the mat.
They look look a bunch of great guys too. Win or lose I support these guys for representing Croatia and working hard at what they love to do.
As for Ante’s comments…”I personally think water polo is the toughest”
lol wow dude, I’ve NEVER heard that argument before! I can just picture someone walking into a boxing or MMA gym and saying….’Hey guys, water polo is tougher than what you do!”……all I can say is……I hope you’re a fast….swimmer.
Boxing IS the toughest sport because of the 12 rounds. 12 rounds of stamina you have to keep ontop of taking head and body shots. If any of you have ever been in an actual fight you know that you can be exhausted after like 3 minutes of scraping.
MMA will probably overtake boxing eventually due to its multi-dimensional aspect. These guys are amazing athletes without a doubt. Its not just ‘fighting’
Take a backyard street ‘fighter’ and put him up against a professional MMA fighter and you’ll see the difference. Just ask Kimbo Slice.
@ Allen,
Boy oh boy do you love getting into a big hot mess on this website. I grew up with Pride, which any real fight fan will tell you conquers any kind of MMA association today. I take it by your recent remarks that you don’t even know about the now defunct Pride Fighting Championships, which I suggest you read up on instead of watching the WWF. Yes, I saw your recent Tweet and it’s hard for me to even have this debate with you when you’re writing about the WWF. You know it’s fake right?
You raving about the UFC is the equivalent of someone growing up with the English Premiership…it then goes goes bankrupt, and the HNL is the top league in the world. (obviously UFC is much better than HNL but just go with me on this.) HNL starts going global in popularity but the real fight fans know what once existed…Pride, or the soccer equivalent of the EPL.
I’m not trying to knock the sport, I want to like it but it’s tough under today’s circumstances. There are awesome fights, I just feel that most are lame, there are too many fighters and too many events. But I agree with everything Rozic said. I think we understand each other.
He grew up with fighting, I did not. People come up to me and say I love Croatia, love the site but soccer is just too slow for me. Fair enough. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
With this and your recent Kranjcar post, there’s not much left for me to say. I only pray you’ve watched UFC for longer than 2006, since that’s when you became a soccer fan.
As for Hooters…I don’t know what to tell you man. You know what the difference between trash and a Hooter girl is??
Trash gets picked up.
@Denis – There’s no difference between a first class Cleveland hooker and a cheap Cleavland hooker… It’s Cleavland. Sorry, someone had to say it!
ps. Awesome job on this interview. There are sports sites out there that would pay you for this kind of content.
@Denis
You guys must of sent the hooker to the wrong room all I had was the softcore porn on ppv lol.
@Allen
Lets fly down and teach Ante a lesson in MMA haha
@Ante K:
I agree with you 100% about MMA.
@Allen:
You are hanging out with too many NJ Swamp Guineas if you were really able to bulk up that much in such a short time. Either it is a large percentage water/fat or you have been using secret ingredients.
Its nice to see that everyone is giving the Crippler some love for all his hard work the past week or so. For those of you that don’t know, Mike needed a passport for this interview as he made the 5 hour trip south from Toronto to Cleveland just for this interview. Ante and I set him up with a cheap motel g hotel along with a first class Cleveland hooker…or was it… a first class motel 6 and a cheap Cleveland hooker. I will let the Crippler be the judge.
For those of you out there with a passion for a Croatian sport….. shoot us an email. Ante and I will send you out to the next bocce championships.
@Pintar,
Thanks for the link. Grb on the front cover of SI haha nice.
@Mark,
We’re not about cro and cro violence either. We’re all on the same team here.
Hockey more exciting than UFC, that’s a laugher. I’ll end it at that because i don’t want to ramble on and on. All I know is that post was brutal.
Wow Ante just totally buried the sport. If you needed to know why I’ve been acting cold to you Ante, it’s right there. That whole line about best fights with Artest and Shaq is a bona fide disgrace. Here are some names that can bring out the best fights. Jon Jones, George St.Pierre, Anderson Silva, Carlos Condit, Rashad Evans, Junior Dos Santos, Alistar Overeem, Nick Diaz, and many more. UFC is as popular as over and to bury the sport like that talking about fights in basketball and football is a bonafide joke. Ante it’s called going to Hooters or some bar that will show it. It’s not very hard to do so don’t bury the sport.
Crippler I’ll always have your back with this sport because I love it. There is nothing worse than people that don’t know much about the sport and completely buying it.
@Ante
I agree with you about the yellow cards from Pride it forced guys to fight and finish fights.
The reason there is many events now is its such a growing sport and there trying to go mainstream but I do agree there is to many ppv events.
The reason there is such a turn over in talent is because of how competitive and hard it is on the body. Prime example is Mirko his body just failed and couldnt compete at the same level as in the past.
We will never see a open weight grand prix in the US because no one will ever sanction it. Japan sanction anything haha.
I hope the articles spark an interest in the sport for everyone and we all support our Croatian fighters.
@ Crippler
Great piece once again. We’re lucky to have a go-to MMA guy on this site. Keep it up. I see a lot of potential in Miocic. Sasa said he was surprised at his strength, conditioning, and wrestling ability. And we know he’s got knock out power. He can end up being an all around great fighter and climb the ranks quickly…Looking forward to the fight. From what I’ve seen on youtube, DeFries is sloppy and slow but seems kind of tough. Stipe’s conditioning will be the difference. Prediction: 2nd round tko victory for Stipe.
@ Ante and Denis
I’m not all about Cro on Cro violence, but if you ever set up a croatiansports.com tournament please set me up with Ziva.
I’m not trying to put down MMA. You have to have incredible stamina, endurance, strength and coordination to fight. There was a recent poll asking which sport is the toughest in the world to play and Boxing was #1. I’m sure MMA can be put in the same category.
I personally think water polo is the toughest.
All I’m saying is that a majority of fights in current MMA stay on the ground too long. I like how Pride did it. You get a yellow card if you fight a boring fight and a percentage of your overall purse is taken away.
I was never born into fighting and even through CroCop Pride days and MMA at its peak with Liddell, Couture etc it just didn’t stick with me. I’m an average fan. That’s what you need to know about me.
I want to love it but its tough with so many new characters in play every 2-3 years. There’s too many fights as well. There should be one main event every 6 weeks. Now you have satellite events midweek on Spike and Fuel…too much.
I think UFC should do an 8-man Grand Prix every 4 months or so. That’s where the actions at. Champion has to get through 3 matches….in 1 night. Open weight!!!
@ Ante and Denis
The interviews made it on a Croatian MMA site in Hrvatska.Check out the link.
http://www.profightstore.com/novosti/croatian-crippler-intervjuirao-stipu-miocica-i-sasu-mucnjaka-(video)/9079.aspx
@Ante
I don’t know where to start with your last post hahaha. I think you need to watch more MMA if you don’t think there are more exciting fights then the ones you listed. There are sooooo many crazy fights if your only looking for the ko or bloodbath type of fights. If you ever want a list of fights to watch let me know.I also recomend anyone take a martial arts class to gain a respect for what these guys do.
And I am now watching this fight because of this article hahaha.
Lets go Stipe knock the Brit out.
Ziva,
I’m glad you brought that up. (bloodfest)
I was speaking to one of my Croatian friends about MMA. He swears by it and thinks its the most entertaining sport today. I kindly disagreed and said soccer, basketball and hockey are definitely more exciting. Most fights are two guys bunched into a ball on the ground or playing defense on their feet. However there’s nothing better than a rare KO Bomb that brings the house down.
My argument to him is that planned fights (like MMA) aren’t that exciting even though it is a fight. My point: cameras panned out to a group of fans at a UFC event in Vegas a few months ago during the end of the round. All hell broke loose and even when the real MMA fight restarted, you could still hear the crowd reacting off the crowd fight. People like the spontaneity of a fight when it breaks out. That same feeling doesn’t translate when 2 guys get in the octagon. That’s why a fight that breaks out in the middle of any other sporting event will always be more exciting than a fight planned between 2 guys actually training for it.
When I think of great sports fights, I think of Boban, Barkely, Shaq, Artest, Nolan Ryan and so on. Why is it that not one MMA fight makes the list even though I’ve been watching since 2005?
There was one crazy fight at the end of 2011 that ended with a big white guy reversing out of multiple submission attempts against a Brazilian. He eventually submitted him. That fight I do remember. But there’s too many fighters and they all have short shelf lives. A legend in soccer will be around 15-20 years. MMA=5 or 6. The days of Randy Couture are over.
bravo Rozicu!
@Ante……I had no clue he was fighting this week and thanks to the report, I now do. As with all forms of MMA, I will watch because I am hoping to see blood and violence. I don’t really care nor do I understand any of the nuances of this “sport”, but give me a good asskicking to view.
Come Wednesday I’ll be watching this organized version of after-school backyard fight club.
I am.
My question to all of you:
How many of you are now going to be watching the fight because of this article who weren’t planning to prior?
Hhaa! Ziva you’re such a nerd!
Great video!
GET RID OF THE PEN,S HAT NEXT TIME LOL GOOD JOB MIKE
@Golden child
Hey you never know what the Croatian Crippler might do in 2012 lol
@CroatianCrippler
Any chance we see you walking out of the tunnel with one of these guys as a “ring posse” in the future?
@Pintar
Awesome!
I think it is great……It’s nice for us fellow hrvati to see something like that. Especially more amazing is that this is coming from a guy who cant speak the language. I’m not into body art and plastering ink on yourself, but showing some family pride is nice.
@Ziva . . . here we go again. 😉
Seriously, though, I stopped in my tracks when I saw it on the magazine rack. No matter how we got here and how incidental its presence there, the grb is on the freakin cover of SI!
Now, if he could only explain what the symbols on the grb mean………I kid because I care.
Hey, not to highjack this thread but has this been mentioned/discussed on the site yet? Diehl (and the grb!) on the cover of Sports Illustrated! Surely this is a first.
http://sigroup.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/07covv11_promo.jpg
Ziva Istina vs The Croatian Sports Society.
Super interview!
Crippler has just taken this site to a new level. Big props.
Should be a good fight. This interview has just peaked my interest even more.
@Crippler looked like you had a awesome time filming this.
Its a privilege to have a grappling session with elite fighters such as miocic. Makes me miss my training days.
Keep up the good work man.
@anonymous
He is full Croat. His mom is from karlovac area and father is from Zadar area.Yes his father currently lives in Hrvatska.
Lets do the Croatiansports MMA league.I can ref the fights haha
Its called an octagon Denis.
Great interview, you got my support !
Crippler,
Well done sir! Just as I thought, you will get better with every interview. Now we get interviews with a high kick to the head.
Glad to see that you are having a blast. Keep up the good work. Wish we could send you out to Omaha. Anyone out there willing to sponsor the big Crippler?
@The rest of you,
Everyone thinks they’re a fighter now haha.. This reminds me of psychology 101. After kids finish playing violent video games, they end up fighting each other.
It would be interested to see some of you get into the ring. Would make for great TV.
svaka cast prijatelju.
That was me above….from parts knooooooooooown…..THE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITLE SNACK MAN!!!!!!!!
@ Allen,
Any place, any time, and weight. I still like my chances.
@ Ante B,
I say we go tag team. Me and you vs. Allen and one of his NY goones. Once again, I like my (our) chances.
That was cool haha StIPE seems like a cool class act I am sold and definetely watchIng lets go StIPE -U-
I’d like to throw my hat in and join the possible CSR fighting team. I have 220 in one of my chins. I’d also like to fight under the legendary WWF wrestler name Bam Bam Biggelow for obvious reasons. Though Razor Ante sounds very tough. I ooze machismo and rakija.
Hey Rozic,
He said his dad was already in Cro, does he liver there? Is he full croatian? Where are his parents from.
Great interview
I been hitting the gym hard since August 2010. I’ll take a picture on a scale and send it to you. It’s a true story and I don’t mess around. I’m setting up an octagon in the back of Scorpios. Feel free to come on by in the summer.
Allen,
Be careful. Those are fighting words. You’re 220?!?! Ajme meni! Sto cu s tobom??
If you’re 220 Ante BBB is a secret Hajduk fan. C’mon man!
I’m 220 pounds and I’d put you in an ambulance after a Carlos Condit like knee to the skull or a Jon Jones like back fist. Then I’ll take that beautiful friend of yours Ante while you’re eating food out of a straw for two weeks.
@Ante……jebiga…moram.
Still, great stuff by Crippler. Original content like this is awesome for the website.
Ziva,
You just couldn’t resist could you?
If only we could have our own CroatianSports MMA tournament.
I would love to get a piece of Allen Steven…I think he’s in my weight class too. Guillotine in the 2nd Round. Boom! 🙂
Fantastic Mike!! A++++ great interview, great footage, great energy!! Take notes everyone else!
Great stuff…….I may not be a fan of this “sport”, but I enjoyed watching the interview and look forward to Miocic’s next fight.
As for the headline to the article……Croatian Domination in Cleveland………The only domination that takes place in Cleveland with the hrvati is the drinking.
2 things that’ll be trending tonight…”Rozic Right High Kick” – and – “Just for tough guys camera”
VERY NICE PAJDO
Hey guys thanks for all the comments so far hope you guys enjoyed the article.
Awesome job as always Mike!
Good to see you get down and dirty in there 🙂
not mad too, sorry I’m typing so excited. Crippler you are a hero on the site.
Crippler you are the man. Complete gold with the interviews and this has me really psyched for the fight. I was going to watch anyway but now I’ll actually go out for this. I might be headed to Veslo for this one if any New Yorkers on the site are down to go.
If there is anyone that I’ll be mad to lose to in fantasy for the playoffs, it would be Crippler. I’m really enjoying the movement.
GTFO.. This is siiiiiiick!
Great work as per Mike !!!!!!!!! Looking forward to the fight!
🙂