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Sunday, September 20, 2009
UFC 103-CRO COP VS DOS SANTOS
Dos Santos Wins By TKO in the third round
During the fight last night, I heard many shout that Mirko "Cro Cop" may be nearing the end of his career or that he doesn't seem to have the drive in him any more and should hang it up. Being a newer fan of the sport I wasn't sure of what I would see during this fight or if this held merit. But fortunately, being a newer fan I think it has actually helped me assess the situation more rationally. Maybe because since I have had a chance to flood my mind with MMA videos the past few months, including many Pride championship and K1 bouts that Mirko participated in.
Now, I have definately seen a difference in the way "Cro Cop" engages his opponents since his Gonzaga loss in 2007. He seems a bit timid with his body language and almost apologizes each time he throws a sloppy punch, at which time his opponents jump in ( as if they see that weakness ) and begin to pounce. I'm thinking his camp (Vos Gym training camp?) should try to enstill that shake it off attitude and remind him not to sweat the small stuff and stay agressive and maybe concentrate on not expelling so much effort on high kicks and just go for the body-- since those "Cro Cop" kicks would put them down too. ~Gwen
Mirko updates!
I was excited to read that Mirko 'Cro Cop' may return to the UFC afterall. Since the last UFC fight that featured 'Cro Cop' (UFC 99), many rumors have circled that Mirko broke some sort of promise. The rumors went on to say how Mirko went back on his pledge with Dana White (UFC president) and signed a long-term deal with the promotion; stateside reps for Japanese promotion Dream. hmmmmmmm....
MMAFIGHTING.com reported:
http://www.mmafighting.com/news/2009/07/09/mirko-cro-cop-could-be-back-with-ufc-ufc-103
http://www.sherdog.com/news/blog/cro-cop-may-settle-in-with-ufc-18431
Flying to meet with Mirko 'Cro Cop' last week at his home in Croatia, UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta
reportedly made the striker "an offer he couldn't refuse." And it's appearing that Cro Cop has accepted.
The article went on to say that "Junior Dos Santos is telling Portal de Lutas that he has been removed from a
UFC 102 fight against Justin McCully for a match against 'Cro Cop' at UFC 103 in Dallas. It's a step up in
competition that Dos Santos is pleased with. "To me it's incredible," Dos Santos told Portal de Lutas. "When
they asked me if they could change the fight date I was a bit bothered, because I wanted to fight right away.
I've been away for some time now. But the Fertitta brothers asked me and I accepted. After that I found out
it would be against 'Cro Cop' and was overjoyed. It'll be a big opportunity in my career. Lots of good things
have happened in my life and this is one more..."
In this case, though it was Fertitta who secured the deal, it wasn't White's approach but 'Cro Cop's' desire to
fight more frequently. A fight at DREAM 10 on July 20 had already been ready for 'Cro Cop'. That fight,
against "Mighty Mo," will be scrapped if 'Cro Cop' proceeds with the UFC 103 fight. "
***************
As Mirko 'Cro Cop' fans we can cross our fingers, that he will return to the octagon in the upcoming months!
~Gwen ;)
::Fight Byte::
Did you know?
Mirko also fought several times early in his career under the nickname "Tigar" (Croatian for "tiger") and his entrance theme song is The Wild Boys by Duran Duran.
Posted by Insiders-Gwen at 5:11 PM 0 comments
External links and sources:
References:
http://www.mmafighting.com/news/2009/07/09/mirko-cro-cop-could-be-back-with-ufc-ufc-103
http://www.sherdog.com/news/blog/cro-cop-may-settle-in-with-ufc-18431
http://www.mirko-crocop.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirko_Filipovi%C4%87
