Taming the Wild Boy: Is This the End of Mirko Cro Cop's Career?
by Mike Fagan on Sep 21, 2009 6:22 PM EDT
in MMA News
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In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
'Til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains
-Simon and Garfunkel, The Boxer
My sense of compassion hit me a minute-and-a-half into the third round when Junior dos Santos, a big buck of a Brazilian, landed a devastating knee to the face of Mirko Cro Cop. In that instant, all the questions surrounding the Croatian's future were answered.
The following thirty seconds became the final period to the novel of Cro Cop's career. He stumbled back with a look in his eyes that told me he had no more left to give. When dos Santos latched on the Muay Thai plum, I begged for a merciful finish. It became clear to me that Cro Cop had lost not only his physical strength, but his will to fight.
The ultimate ending proved anti-climatic as Cro Cop pushed dos Santos away - his most effective technique throughout the bout - and motioned to the referee that he had had enough. Filipovic may not have uttered Roberto Duran's infamous "no mas", but his words following the event gave me the same feeling:
I’ve been living a military life for 20 years now. Getting up at 6 A.M. and having physically challenging task up to 8 P.M. I want a normal life. I’m entering a cage and thinking about fishing in Privlaka. You can’t win that way. Maybe I should’ve quit after I won the open weight grand prix.
Yet, before he leaves the sport for good, I want to see Cro Cop fight Randy Couture. It's the fight the UFC angled for when they brought Mirko in from Pride and Couture held the heavyweight strap. It's a fight that still means something now. Bill it as the final UFC vs. Pride dream match. Bill it as two fading legends looking to go out on top. Bill it as a celebration of two men who helped build the sport of MMA in their own unique way.
Enjoy the fish in Privlaka, Mirko.
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please mirko….. unless you really feel your heart is not in it.
by cagefightonacid on Sep 21, 2009 6:06 PM EDT reply actions
Yes.
Cro Cop was obviously ashamed – he draped his towel over his head, obscuring his face, and quickly walked out the arena. He’s broken mentally. Some of the fans around me were in tears as CC left the Octagon, & I was almost one of them. He solidified Nog’s legend, gave Fedor his toughest fight, and finished Wandy & Barnett in the same night. He’s earned his rest.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Sep 21, 2009 6:12 PM EDT reply actions 7 recs
He’s been broken since the Gonzaga fight but as a huge fan I’ve been hoping that he could rediscover his brilliance for one last fight. And that’s okay. I am grateful to have been able to watch such a great fighter and I’m honored to see go out the right way. With honor, knowing that he just doesn’t have it anymore. I’d love to see one more out of him, against Randy, and win or lose see him go out the way he deserves. With a huge standing ovation and fans cheering and going crazy.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
i kinda want to see him fight chuck, both are at about the same crossroads. they could do a catchweight or see if cro-cop looks better at 205. i think randy would be able to take him down to easy and keep him there. him and chuck would be a “bombs away” legends match. or if he wants to just flat out retire, thats fine to. like chuck, cro-cop doesn’t have to prove anything, his legacy is already cemented.
all these articles about Mirko are just killing me inside...
I know he’s finished, but gimme the Couture fight. If I’m not mistaken, this would be his first relatively equal size match-up in the UFC that wasn’t a gimme? I just don’t think he has the tools, and more importantly the heart, to beat the modern heavyweight.
Chuck would work, too. Just one more chance to see the LHK in the cage before Croatia calls him home for good.
No matter what, he has a legend that will never die.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
Me too. One more fight for the romantic in all of us.
And I felt bad but sort of relieved to read his closing thoughts. I was relieved that he’s honestly just facing the music. His head is elsewhere. I’d love one more, but if he’s going to be thinking about fishing the whole time, there’s no point and we all need to let him go now, not later.
IMO the size difference between the pride era hw fighters and UFC hw fighters is just enormous. A modern day crocop would be fighting at LHW for sure. Fedor is literally the “last emperor” of small hw’s which will soon be dominated by brock sized fighters. Although some of the magic of hw mma gets lost when the bigger man tends to win nowadays.
An honorable ending to a fine career...
I don’t need to see to see him fight Randy. It’s obviously time for him to relax and enjoy the fruits of his labor. He has fought long and hard enough.
by mburtoni on Sep 21, 2009 6:57 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
i basically agree
with everyone here, and would like to say great article.
i agree with leland and others saying no to the couture fight. Couture will never have this mentally broken will issue. Not saying crocop is weak mentally, he is a warrior, but has worked so hard for so long, and unless he comes back with the eye of the tiger, and is hungry, i dont want to see him fight again.
Retire
In
Peace
I think the first sign of trouble for Cro Cop = panic for him at this point.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Sep 21, 2009 7:19 PM EDT up reply actions
What happened to the whole, “I don’t know if I will win the UFC Title but I will die trying” line?
It certainly didn’t look as if Mirko was prepared to die trying. I mean he just gave up for God’s sake!
watchkalibrun.com
Why, it’s almost as if it was a figure of speech!
by JRN on Sep 21, 2009 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way:
http://www.fightlinker.com/what-a-terrible-way-to-end-an-awesome-career.mma
watchkalibrun.com
he looked pretty close to death…. I don’t think people realize how much pain fighting entails sometimes.
by cagefightonacid on Sep 22, 2009 11:33 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Hof
This is a good example of why we need an all MMA hall of fame because if anyone is deserving it’s mirko but his ufc career doesn’t warrent entrance in the ufc hof
by bearcox13 on Sep 21, 2009 7:39 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
completely agree.
I don’t know if that’s what the UFC HOF could become, but there should be an all-encompassing HOF with guaranteed spots for fighters like Sakuraba, Sakurai, Gomi, Wanderlei, and Mirko, who may not have fought in the UFC or even if they did their prime years were outside of the Octagon.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Sep 21, 2009 7:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Zuffa owns Pride now so that should qualify him for the hall of fame that way. It seems that even with the last blow up between him and the UFC he has a good working relationship with Zuffa. Heck they could induct him at the next UFC show in Germany and draw without even having to book him for a fight.
Would he definately qualify?
I think this is why we get the waiting period in most other sports…So we have time to think about it. I’m not saying he doesn’t but its not a slam dunk.
Awesome article! I really hope that Cro Cop has atleast one more left in him. I’ve always been a big fan of his. I like his style of fighting it always bring excitement to the ring and the octagon, the no bullsh@! Attitude…..he was there to fight, period. He’s confident, and never really had anything bad to say about any opponent I agree that there should be an MMA HOF, there are plenty of other that deserve the same dignifying exprience as Mirko.
by MMAtt on Sep 21, 2009 8:22 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
did a google-image search on Privlaka...
and I would rather be there fishing too.
by Grappo on Sep 21, 2009 8:42 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Lemme see… Fishin or getting elbowed by Couture… hmmmm… Fishing sounds `bout right!
"Marcus Davis is a plastic paddy"-Dan Hardy
by BlueberryMuffin on Sep 22, 2009 1:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Uhhh... WOW. Agreed.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Sep 22, 2009 9:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Croatia is fkng awesome
Probably the most underrated european country (although that certainly is changing)
'He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes' - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko
by Well Read Idiot on Sep 22, 2009 9:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Lots of respect to CC for his MMA accomplishments. I had the same realization in the third round, that the old CC just wasn’t going to come back. Personally, while I’d like to see CC go out victorious in one last hurrah, getting mugged by Randy against the cage isn’t something I really want to see now that I know how mentally defeated CC is. In his comments leading up to the fight, he swears that he’s back and ready to compete, but looking back on it, it seems like he was just trying to convince himself that he still had it.
I love me some Sexyama!
I love Mirko. He was honeslty the class of the sport, he was always gracious, always humble. I don’t want this post to sound like a eulogy, but I think it’s time to call it a day.
by Screwface on Sep 21, 2009 9:49 PM EDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
I agree 100%. Definately a class act.
by MMAtt on Sep 21, 2009 10:11 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
There are 2 fights I want to see from Mirko. Well, one of these two. I’d like to see him fight Chuck, we know Chuck is coming back and that was such a highly anticipated fight at one point. The other is potentially a fight with Kimbo Slice, just to see the Mirko of old one more time.
Fight Chuck at what weight? A catchweight?
And the Kimbo fight? I’m not a fan. What if Mirko gets beaten?
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Sep 22, 2009 9:02 AM EDT up reply actions
While I see what you`re gettin at… I would have to say that BJ and CroCop seem to be somewhat different types of persons.
"Marcus Davis is a plastic paddy"-Dan Hardy
by BlueberryMuffin on Sep 22, 2009 1:09 AM EDT reply actions
Thank you for the memories, Mirko. A part of me would like to see one more fight – vs Randy or Chuck, both sound good – but would it really accomplish anything? Mirko hasn’t looked his old self in any of his UFC fights. The man who stopped both Wandy and Barnett on Sept 10 2006 never stepped into the Octagon. I remember listening to Goldy and Rogan hype him during the Couture-Sylvia match and almost, almost hoping Tim would win – so he’d have to get in the cage with Mirko. The “right foot hospital, left foot cemetery” Mirko. Sadly, that wasn’t to be.
I’m hoping that Mirko would get to come to the Octagon one last time, not to fight but to thank his fans. A final farewell, take a bow and walk out to an ovation. Although the end of his career is a sad one, he’s faced and beaten a who’s who of MMA and kickboxing.
Enjoy the fishing, Mirko.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Sep 22, 2009 2:40 AM EDT reply actions
I started playing it safe, I’m not ready to take risks.
Thats the saddest part about watching him. It was so clear he was scared. The gameplan he followed in the dos santos fight could not have ever resulted in him winning. Every time he stepped forward all he did was push dos santos away. He kept looking for the hail mary high kick, yet did nothing to set it up. He doesnt appear to have any confidence or belief in himself anymore. I think its time to hang em up.
I tell you what though………….his pride highlight reel will remain one of the best the sport will ever see.
I show a Mirko highlight reel to anyone at work that asks me about MMA
'He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes' - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko
by Well Read Idiot on Sep 22, 2009 9:17 AM EDT up reply actions
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