Mirko Cro Cop seeks return to MMA, says 'Martial arts is my life'
Posted on August 8, 2012, 10:01 PM by Mike DrahotaFormer Pride and UFC Heavyweight Mirko Filopvic had seemingly retired from MMA competition to step back into the K-1 arena, where he has since been the winner of two bouts. Bowing down after a loss to Roy Nelson, news comes from USAToday.com that he may be seeking a return to the cage, stating that his words may have been misunderstood:
"Concerning my retirement from the UFC, I said it was my last fight for the UFC and last fight on the present contract, but I did not say, 'I won't keep fighting. I never said that. I think the best thing to say is that I was born to fight."
Filopovic is well known for his relentless brand of striking, knocking out opponents left and right with his vaunted headkicks in his prime. He may be in the twilight of his career, but he could still inject some excitement into any bout he participated in. Apparently, this is exactly his goal, as he continued:
"If you ask me, when I look deep into my soul, of course I would like to fight MMA again. People don't get it. Martial arts is my life."
Cro Cop shows a deep-seeded dedication to MMA and martial arts as a whole. He stated that he has been training everyday, but does this give him enough to compete with top-level fighters of today? His UFC tenure left much to be desired after the initial hype. As fans, would you like to see Cro Cop return to the Octagon or some other MMA arena?
Further Reading: Mirko Cro Cop - A Retrospective on the Career of an MMA Legend
Former Pride and UFC Heavyweight Mirko Filopvic had seemingly retired from MMA competition to step back into the K-1 arena, where he has since been the winner of two bouts. Bowing down after a loss to Roy Nelson, news comes today that he may be seeking a return to the cage, stating that his words may have been misunderstood:
"Concerning my retirement from the UFC, I said it was my last fight for the UFC and last fight on the present contract, but I did not say, 'I won't keep fighting. I never said that. I think the best thing to say is that I was born to fight."
Filopovic is well known for his relentless brand of striking, knocking out opponents left and right with his vaunted headkicks in his prime. He may be in the twilight of his career, but he could still inject some excitement into any bout he participated in. Apparently, this is exactly his goal, as he continued:
"If you ask me, when I look deep into my soul, of course I would like to fight MMA again. People don't get it. Martial arts is my life."
Cro Cop shows a deep-seeded dedication to MMA and martial arts as a whole. He stated that he has been training everyday, but does this give him enough to compete with top-level fighters of today. His UFC tenure left a lot to be desired after much initial hype. As fans, would you like to see Cro Cop return to the Octagon or some other MMA arena?
Comments
I'd love to see Mirko back in the UFC, I just don't want to see him get hurt. If he comes back, he needs to start from scratch and reinvent himself. Good luck! "Right leg hospital, left leg cemetery."
He's small for heavyweight, when he fought Wandy in the Pride GP in 2006 Wandy actually outweighed him. If he were to fight in the UFC again, I'd like to see him try LHW. I know it will never happen, but I would love to see a Mirko left high kick toss Jones's head into row Z.
Yea totally agree here. I think those small gloves are too deadly for him, at this point in his career he might be better off staying in K-1 with the bigger gloves.
live by the sword , die by the sword. or the head kick...
cro cop vs bob sapp 2
Bob would tap when they touch gloves at the center of the ring.
Bob Sapp just tapped out right now in advance for his next fight.
Bob taps out at macdonalds
I heard Tim Sylvia wants a beating. Please Cro Cop do me the favour!
Maybe 205?
I don't think thats a possibility for him anymore... right out of PRIDE i would of said yes... but he was 240+ his last fight i believe... that's a lot of weight for someone his age to cut.
big money fight and huge interest if he fought someone like Arlovski at ONE FC
I like it, make it happen Indonesia !!!!
The problem with Cro Cop is that he has no chin left. He was winning (or in the case of the Frank Mir fight, doing as much as Frank) his last three fights in the UFC before getting KOd. He still has the skill but all it takes is one well placed punch and he goes to sleep. I don't even think K-1, where he can focus entirely on striking, is a good thing for him now. He is a great fighter but the time has come to step back and do other things.
The problem is that he is all beat up, broken and cannot train at 100%. When he started consistently losing to fighters in the UFC, he had the right hunch that it was time to leave. Why change that now? Is money running thin?
If CroCop is willing to go train with one of the top teams and go down to 205 I am all for it.
What about Strikeforce for CroCop? he could add some validity to the roster. I'd like to see him at 205 though, he could be a monster if his jaw holds out.
Did anyone even notice that CroCop was gone? How many fights did he win in UFC? Come on,he was great 12 years ago in Pride. Now he'is slow and his chin is gone. Move on.
Ill keep watching you crocop. Way too many wrestlers these days, always sad to see a kickboxer go...
You're ma boy Blue!!!... I mean Crocop