Fourteen months has passed since we last seen the Croatian legend Mirko CroCop compete in Mixed Martial Arts. Mirko’s last outing in mixed martial arts was a third round loss to Roy Nelson under the UFC brand.
Filipovic stepped back into the sport on New Year’s Eve in Japan, and gave his fans a more positive memory to remember him by.
The Croatian faced Shinichi Suzukawa (former sumo champion) in the IGF Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2012 show.It took Cro Cop just 78 seconds to secure a submission victory via arm bar.
With the win CroCop has went 3-0 in K1 Kickboxing and 1-0 in MMA since his departure from the UFC. Can the legend make a succesful return to the sport and a possible return to the Octagon?
We will see what 2013 brings for Croatian athletes worldwide.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the readers and people involved in making Croatiansports.com what it is today. I would also like to apologize for not contributing as much to the site in 2012 as it was a very busy year for me. I promise to make a return in 2013 and provide readers with all the latest news,interviews and exclusives regarding Croatian combat sports.
Also would like to give my congrats to Drago Pavletic on his recent engagement.
Written by Mike “Croatian Crippler” Rozic
You can follow me on Twitter @Crocrippler or on Facebook @ Croatian Crippler
Cro cop still has it, one more chance at UFC, he’ll still bring in the crowds.
Happy new Year Mike!
As long as someone is willing to pay cro cop money he should continue to fight in afterschool backyard organized fight club.
I have heard that Dino Radja & Toni Kukoc are going to join a Japanese high school basketball team and dominate that league…MIRKO RETIRE ALREADY…be a mentor to Stipe Miocic or something…
With an awesome collection of tattoo print t-shirts!
the current guy who does play-by-play for UFC is a drug user and abuser.
The UFC should look into signing Mean Gene Okerlund for commentating. That would be much more appropriate.
Cro Cop would be the last guy I would hire for any kind of commentary/analyst work. Have you ever heard him speak? His interviews were usually dull and boring. THat is not the type of person to comment about afterschool backyard organized fight club
Has anyone noticed how Mirkos legs have shrunk? The guy had tree trunks when he was in his prime. When he came to the UFC he started wearing long trunks. Was this to hide them? Anyone else notice this?
@ Ziva
Haven’t heard that one before..
That fight was more like a WWE match.
While it’s pretty evident that Mirko peaked at the end of the Pride days, I think the biggest reason for his UFC’s disappointing performances is the fact that he wasn’t ever able to adjust to fighting outside Japan. They WORSHIP him there. He also wasn’t able to adjust to Octagon fighting, e.g., no ropes, much larger fighting space, and rare referee stoppages. In retrospect, he should’ve accomplished much more in his UFC stint, rather than going out like a 3rd rate fighter.
Ziva, if it’s all about making $$, fighting at this point is probably the dumbest thing he could do. He has children and old age to thing about. If he severely injures himself now, he’ll have nothing. He could’ve lost an eye. He should call Dana White back and get into commentary or some kind of Ultimate Fighter spin-off. Or sell your brand. Invest in real estate. Something. Just stop fighting.
Good to see Cro Cop making some more money in a third-tier afterschool backyard organized fight club.