Cro Cop is back! The toughest police officer since Robocop has re signed with the UFC.
Shortly after the news of his re signing hit the internet, Mirko went on his Facebook page and gave a lenghty response as to why he chose re signing with the UFC. As it turns out, he want another shot at some of the fights that didn't go his way the first time around, since some of the losses were very close fights.I consider myself a lifelong fan of Mirko's and this news excites me as a fan of his and as a MMA fan in general. So in light of this news, I'm gonna take a look at some potential fights for Mirko.
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| Antonio is schedueld to face Frank Mir on February 22nd at UFC fight night in Brazil, photo:UFC.com |
Antonio is a big, powerful grappler who is willing to "stand and bang". However, he is very slowand hittable as shown in almost all of his losses. Antonio's game plan is taking his opponent down and then blasting him with his huge fists in a devestating display of ground and pound. Mirko's strenghts are his rich striking pedigree and excelent takedown deffence. This should be more than enough to make this an interesting fight for Mirko.
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| We last saw Andrei avenging his loss to Big Foot Silva with a quick knockout victory, photo:UFC.com |
Now this a no brainer. MMA fans have wanted to see this fight for years now. Since Mirko's departure from UFC and Andrei's losing streak it was thought this was another "what if.." scenario that would sadly never happen. Since then quite a few things have changed. Andrei is having a career resurgence with an 8-1-1 score in his last 10 fights and is as dangerous as always. Mirko returned to kickboxing, won the K-1 Grand Prix and showed that he is still a force to be reconed with. Furtger more, both fighters are now in the UFC, injury free and awaiting their next fight.
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| Minotauro is often called "Big Nog" amongst fans, photo: UFC.com |
When Mirko spoke of rematches he would very much like to have, I have no doubt in my mind this was one of the fights he had in mind. The first time Mirko fought the legendary Brazilian heavyweight was way back in the glory days of Pride FC, The general feeling was, that had Mirko been more versed in grappling, the fight would be his for the taking. Unfortunatelly, Minotauro being the the BJJ expert that he is, submited Mirko in the second round of their fight. Since that fight Mirko has been training grappling with the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Dean Lister and has lost to submission only once since that fight. Minotauro is now a veteran of the sport, with no more then a fight or two left in him, A rematch of their first fight would undoubtedly raise Minotuaro's interests to see if he can best the Croatian once more.
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| Gonzaga is tied with Frank Mir for the most finishes in the UFC Heavyweight division (11), photo: UFC.com |
This is the fight that many believe changed Mirko and made him a hesatant fighter in his later UFC fights. Mirko was coming of a OWGP(Open Weight Grand Prix) tournament win and a quick win over Eddie Sanchez in his UFC debut. Gonzaga was supose to be a minor threat before Mirko faces the champion, Randy Couture, for the heavyweight title. Things didn't work out so well for the former Croatian anti terrorist force member as Gonzaga used Mirko's signature weapon, the left high kick, to knock him out. Mirko is still the biggest win of Gonzaga's career and since he lost his last 2 fights inside the octagon, he is looking to prove that he is still a dangerous fighter. So what better way then in a rematch against Mirko.
EDIIT: I started writing this Tuesday night, when the news broke off Mirko's signing and since then it has been confirmed that Gonzaga will indeed be Cro Cop's comeback fight. This is what I get for taking my sweet time to post new content, lesson learned. Internet: 1, me: 0.
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| Brendan also host a succesful podcast, called "The fighter and the kid" on youtube, photo: UFC.com |
"The reality of your skill set, where you're at now, I don't see you beating the elite guys," Rogan told Schaub. "I don't see you beating Cain Velasquez. I don't see you beating Junior dos Santos. I don't see you beating Fabricio Werdum."
Which should be more than enough of a motivation for Brendan to go prove Joe Rogan and his doubters alike, wrong.  |
| Mark is famous for being an extremely durable fighter with immense knockout power, photo: UFC.com |
Mark has a lot in common with Mirko. Both men fought and gained fame fighting in Japan for K-1 and Pride FC and both men ended up fighting in the UFC. Their paths have crossed twice, once in K-1 in a kickboxing match with Mirko being the winner and some time later in Pride in a MMA match, when "The Super Samoan" got the best of Mirko. A trilogy settling who is the better fighter seems almost imminent.
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| Brock fought for the UFC heavyweight championship belt in his third UFC fight, it was his forth MMA fight. Photo: UFC.com |
Last but not least, we got; the former UFC champion and probably the "biggest name" of this article, Brock Lesnar. Brock needs no special introduction, his nickname tells it all. He is"The Next Big Thing". Successful collegiate wrestler, turned successful professional wrestler, turned successful MMA fighter, who once more went on to be a successful professional wrestler. I've mentioned before that Brock is expected to make an MMA comeback sooner rather than later and altough Bellator's Scott Coker directly stated that he will start a bidding war with the UFC for Lesnar's contract, it's a safe bet Brock will return to UFC, regardless of any other offers. With that being said and done. Lesnar's MMA record stands at 5-3 and his losses to Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem have showed, that he doesn't react well when faced with pressure(fancy way of saying, he doesn't like getting hit in the face) and Mirko being a skilled kickboxer whose most notable wins were against wrestlers, could make this an interesting match up.
Honorable mentions: Alistair Overeem, Ben Rothwell, Stipe Miočić, Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson
This covers my analysis of Cro Cop's potential opponents, I hope you enjoyed it and found it interesting. If not, the comment sections below my articles are feeling lonely, so feel free to drop a word or two. As always, my facebook page is up and running, the url is; facebook.com/armbarsmmaworldoffical, liking it won't give you free candy or free hookers but it will make me happy, if that counts for anything. Untill nex time, I'm Armbar, saying; Good fight, good night!
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