Cro Cop interview after loss to Dos Santos

by poundnground on Sep 20, 2009 3:57 PM EDT

Cro cop admited after ufc 103 that he dosnt have the passion for mma.
Croatian gladiator Mirko Filipovic didnt make any excuses for him self or anyone else after a new failure in the UFC octagon in Dallas. Defeat from the brazilian "stallion" Junior dos Santos best describes hes own sentance: I fucked up, and thats it.

Its obvius your far from a champion form?
- Maybe those who say i'm for old metal scrap yard are right. Its obvius i cant break the psychological barrier in the octagon. In addition there is 20 years of spartanic training behind me, its come to some fatigue. Years have caught up to me, "i'm eaten by saturation" (hes a bit fed up).

What exactly happend at to stoppage in the 3rd round?
- Dos Santos hit me with hes fist in the eye and slashed my eyelid. Blood and sweet compliantly blurred my sight field, i stood like a blind man in the cage. In one moment at the end of the fight i confused the referee and the opponent. Later on it was reviled that the inside from my eyelid broke from the punch.
In the locker room I got four stitches.

Did you on surrender on your own or was it the referees initiative?
- No, i didnt give up, nor did i asked the referee to stop it. It was hes call.

Did the refree stop the fight prematurle ?
- It dosnt matter, i would have lost on points regardless.

Did Dos Santos surprise u with hes aggressiveness and strength?
- Simply, hes younger, hungrier, more motivated. He wanted to win more.

The blood on Santos face shows that you were not completely harmless?
I broke hes arcade, several times I hit well, but overall speaking, it was my failure.

Where did that lethal HK vanish?
The surface was slippery as glass. A couple of times i almost landed on my butt trying to do the high-kick.
However, thats no alibi. That was not a performance people would buy tickets for.

So what did hinder you in Dallas?
The hunger for wining is missing. I became a "ziheras" (some who only does safe things. dose not take risks) , i'm not wiling to risk anymore. I thank everyone who supported me, all who cheered for me and everyone who helped me to prepare for a duel against Dos Santos. I'm sorry I have disappointed them.

These sound like farewell words from ultimate fight?
For two decades, I feel like i'm on military time. Every morning i get up at 6 and i dont stop with sportactivities till night.
I wishing some civilian life. I enter the cage, and i'm thinking of fishing in Privlaca. You cant win that way

If this was your last fight in his career?
- Maybe I should have said my goodbyes in 2006, after I won the Pride Grand Prix ...

Not a perfect translation. I feel real bad for Cro Cop. It's obvious we'll never see the "PRIDE FC" Cro Cop again. I will always be a fan and support him no matter what he decides to do with his career. WAR CRO COP!

HT: Stripy (over at the sherdog board)

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Comments

I hope he doesn’t decide to retire in the 24 hours after a loss.

Keep firing Assholes!

The Leafs are back!

by Ubernoober on Sep 20, 2009 4:16 PM EDT reply actions

WTF?

Did you on surrender on your own or was it the referees initiative?
- No, i didnt give up, nor did i asked the referee to stop it. It was hes call.

Seriously? It looked to me as he gave up.

As for Cro Cop he needs to decide if he wants to fight. If he does Dana needs to honor the contract he signed Cro Cop to and use him as a gatekeeper like Herring to test young talent.

If he wants to retire I wont blame him but I hope I dont see some dumb shit if he retires from the UFC and then fights for Dream or someone.

If he continues to fight maybe the loser of Velazquez/Rothwell?

by bigdmmafan on Sep 20, 2009 4:16 PM EDT reply actions

Cro Cop vs Chuck at HW with the winner getting a last win and a great send off and the loser getting a fight that they can win with ease. This way we can send 2 legends off properly

by SouthAlaBamaRampage on Sep 20, 2009 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Why would Chuck want to fight at HW?

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Sep 20, 2009 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Change it up

by SouthAlaBamaRampage on Sep 20, 2009 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Twenty pounds. That’s not much to get to 205. If he can find some inspiration, swallow his pride and cut weight, he can put himself on the map again. He should try eating some veggies though.

by bubbafat on Sep 20, 2009 4:40 PM EDT reply actions

If he diesnt have the drive anymore, if he thinks about fishing when entering in the ring, then there is no way he is going to win. If you lose your drive, that’s it.

by Discman2 on Sep 20, 2009 4:43 PM EDT reply actions

If I were Cro Cop (knowing I was gonna lose the fight regardless) I would of just thrown wild punches and crazy kicks all over the place. FUCK IT :)

"Well... You're damned if you do, and You're damned if you don't."- Bart Simpson

by poundnground on Sep 20, 2009 5:22 PM EDT reply actions

But that`s exactly it. He DOES give a f’ck, which is why he`s thinking about fishing and avoids taking risks?

He gives a f’ck, just so happens its not about winning in the UFC. I`m gonna rec this post, just cause I think his honesty is worthy of praise.

"Marcus Davis is a plastic paddy"-Dan Hardy

by BlueberryMuffin on Sep 20, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm not Cro Cop though.

I’m just a bummed out fan.

"Well... You're damned if you do, and You're damned if you don't."- Bart Simpson

by poundnground on Sep 20, 2009 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions

he made the comment that he should have retired after the 06 gpx, but instead he should have trained for the cage, something he admittedly took for granted. the fight and ko from gonzaga(set up by the ELBOWS) was the beginning of the end for c.c. i don’t think he has ever recoverd from that fight.

by bdw on Sep 20, 2009 5:49 PM EDT reply actions

That was one of the most honest interviews ever. Hats off to him, and I wish him good luck in his future endeavors.

by mythbuster on Sep 20, 2009 7:11 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Agreed

http://www.fourouncestofreedom.com

by Tim Burke on Sep 20, 2009 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions

I’d be pissed if someone broke my arcade.

Now to get an arcade…

I specializes in grammar fail.

by a tommy point on Sep 20, 2009 8:13 PM EDT reply actions

Good interview, though. Cro Cop has always been mostly honest with the fans. I hope he can somehow turn it around, but it’s not looking too good.

Thanks for the translation.

I specializes in grammar fail.

by a tommy point on Sep 20, 2009 8:16 PM EDT reply actions

So sad.

by Meshuggeth on Sep 20, 2009 9:09 PM EDT reply actions

"Slippery as glass"

Jorge Gurgel said something similar, he said he liked the Strikeforce surface a lot better because it had better grip, called it a kickboxer’s dream.

I wonder why the surface is so slick? Might be to reduce friction burns when grappling, I can’t think of anything else.

by Shaun32887 on Sep 20, 2009 11:33 PM EDT reply actions

And don’t forget Patrick Cote when he fought Anderson Silva. Strange slips caused his knee to get messed up.

by mythbuster on Sep 21, 2009 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions

That and the fact that he was dancing instead of fighting.

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Sep 21, 2009 1:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Coming in with a right hook is dancing? Gotcha.

by mythbuster on Sep 21, 2009 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Ugh…

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Sep 21, 2009 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Hehe, I love how Anderson walks away and takes off his mouthpiece…

by dancingChicken on Sep 21, 2009 4:23 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah, looks like he knew it was going to happen lol.

How screwed up would that be if he knew the logo was slippery and baited Cote into doing that? Ooooh Silva!

by mythbuster on Sep 21, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions

I think it’s the logos that make it slippery. If that is the case, then they should really fix that, can’t have fighters have possible losses or injuries because of a logo.

by grein on Sep 21, 2009 3:27 AM EDT up reply actions

I’ve heard that (or read it) somewhere before, that the logos can get very slippery.

by mythbuster on Sep 21, 2009 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Jardine said that after one of his first UFC fights, I believe. He said it was like fighting on a slip and slide and made it hard to throw kicks.

Speaking of, does anyone remember King of the Cage: Wet ’N Wild? What a fucking disaster.

by Tedd Welch on Sep 21, 2009 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Well

if it is such a problem I would think that we would hear this from every single fighter & I would not think the UFC would allow this to continue as it would be very dangerous for very valuable fighters.

Arguing on the internet is like being in the special olympics, even when you win you are still retarded.

by dnevil001 on Sep 21, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions

He’s not the only person who said it. I believe boxing has the same problem. It doesn’t seem like a huge issue, but the topic does come up every once in a while (did a quick google search).

by mythbuster on Sep 21, 2009 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions

This also begs the question

What do they train with in the gym and why choose one surface for the gym and another for actual fights? Also, boxing has no ground game, so that’s a significant knock against my theory.

by Shaun32887 on Sep 21, 2009 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Its the advertisements that cause the slipping. I doubt gyms have ad-stickers in their rings :)

by mythbuster on Sep 21, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I realize he was not the

only person, but it seems that we would hear from every fighter if this was a major issue.

Arguing on the internet is like being in the special olympics, even when you win you are still retarded.

by dnevil001 on Sep 21, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Gurgel did say something about looking for a logo to push off on, but I can't remember.

Maybe the logos do have different tractions.

Might be worth it for someone to look into and write a fanpost…

by Shaun32887 on Sep 21, 2009 1:01 AM EDT up reply actions

That’s what I was gonna say, don’t know what else would cause it.

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Sep 21, 2009 1:42 AM EDT up reply actions

as much as I'm dissapointed, Im in sorrow as well.

Crocop, I’ll always remember as the fierce man once you used to be!

age of 35 yr after going through grueling K-1 tourney and ridiculous fighting schedule during Pride FC era did indeed catch up with you.

I always hoped that you would be more all rounded fighter, but it never came fruitful.

I wish you all the best! and thank you for performance that made me smile, cry, and excited.

WAR CROCOP!

You have to beat the legend, in order to become the LEGEND
-Melvin Manhoef (after his destruction of Sakuraba)

by chopstickthugz on Sep 21, 2009 3:30 AM EDT reply actions

Being well rounded wouldn’t have helped. In fact it made him worse.

by gunranger on Sep 21, 2009 8:44 AM EDT up reply actions

More proof that the era of one-dimensional fighters is over.

by mythbuster on Sep 21, 2009 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions

What is the deal with this interview?

What the hell is an “arcade” & how do you break it? I have no idea what the hell was being said in half of this.

Arguing on the internet is like being in the special olympics, even when you win you are still retarded.

by dnevil001 on Sep 21, 2009 12:10 PM EDT reply actions

This interview makes me sad. Cro Cop was one of the last remnants of fighters who trained in his backyard and didn’t bother with covering himself in sponsor logos.

If this is the end at least Mirko didn’t disgrace himself and go out flat on his back.

by rabrown on Sep 21, 2009 3:16 PM EDT reply actions