Cro Cop was once the most feared striker in the HW division, his kicks have never been matched by anyone. Over the years he has created one of the best highlight reels in all of MMA. The 2006 Open Weight Tournament showcased Cro Cop's Left High Kick as well as his overall MMA abilities with a Left High Kick victory over Wanderlei Silva, and his ability to keep the fight standing over a great wrestler, Josh Barnett. This is the Cro Cop I chose to remember.
Mirko comes from a kickboxing background and is a former K-1 star. He started his transition to MMA in 2001 to further challenge himself and evolve as a fighter. He entered the Pride ring and quickly became one of the most feared strikers in the world. From 2004 to 2005 Mirko went on a 7 fight winning streak defeating legends such as Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Josh Barnett and even buried the Heavy Weight champion’s younger brother Aleksander Emelianenko This winning streak earned him a shot at then champion Fedor Emelianenko, where he lost a hard fight to a decision. In victory and defeat Cro Cop has been in some of the biggest and most memorable MMA fights of all time. From his destruction of Heath Hearing, to his war with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira he always showed a warrior spirit and toughness that cannot be matched by many.
In 2007 the entire MMA community buzzed about Mirko's UFC debut. Hardcore fans were excited to see him in the octagon and casual fans were exposed to the greatest LHK in MMA. He entered the UFC as the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix champion. His debut fight was against a relatively unknown Eddie Sanchez. The fight with Sanchez was somewhat lackluster as Sanchez avoided engaging in exchanges with Cro Cop. At the end of the first round Sanchez could not avoid Mirko's strikes anymore and lost via TKO. Just like that Mirko had his first UFC victory! This is when the story takes a sad turn. The head kick KO by Gabriel Gonzaga was the beginning of the end for Cro Cop. Many have referred to this kick as the kick that stole Cro Cop's soul. Mirko went on to win fights in both Dream and the UFC, but these victories were always against mid level fighters and Mirko seemed to have lost his killer instinct. Mixed in these victories were disappointing losses to Cheick Kongo, JDS, Frank Mir and most recently Brendan Schaub. After the loss to Schaub it was announced that Cro Cop was being dropped by the UFC, a sad but justified action. It is believed by many fans and analysts that he has fought past his prime, but Mirko is a true warrior and fighter and has entered the octagon every time with all intentions of putting on a fight for the fans that will show is old form.
It is unknown if Mirko will be hanging up the gloves for good or looking for fight elsewhere, but not matter what he does he is a true MMA legend. He has never asked for any easy fight and has always strived to be the best and challenge himself. We as fans never got to enjoy CroCop in his prime in the UFC, but it's hard to complain when he gave us so many memorable moments. Whether he fought past his prime or the sport just evolved, Mirko is a true warrior and competitor and will always be remembered.
want to continue discussing MMA??
on his wiki it says that he really wants one last fight to go out with a bang..do u think it will be just another loss or that he may finally have gotten a wake up call and channeled that killer instinct? I will always remember his warrior spirit as he used to take on all comers even taking on professional lucha libradors (wwe superstar alberto del rio 'then known as dos caras jr once went against him mask and all....it...it wasn't pretty) but my all time fav moment from him wasn't even one of his brutal knockouts but his class and sportsmanship when he faced pat berry. When i saw that i thought to myself now that's what this sport is about.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I really hope he just retires. A win over a can isn't any better than bowing out now, and IMO he isn't beating anyone legit anymore. He just doesn't pull the trigger anymore. I think he missed his opportunity to retire with a win, he should have called it quits after Pat!
ReplyDelete