Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic just can’t quit combat sports, and he has quite the platform to start reestablishing himself to the American populace.
Glory World Series, the rapidly growing kickboxing promotion, announced yesterday that the Croatian MMA star will be headlining Glory 14 in his home country opposite Remy Bonjasky.
Cro Cop seemingly retired from sports altogether in 2011 after getting knocked out by Roy Nelson at UFC 137. The loss culminated a massively hyped but through-and-through disappointing run in the UFC where he amassed a 4-6 record.
He surprised many by coming out of retirement about a year later, returning to his old stomping ground of Japanese kickboxing, racking up a 6-0 record which included adding the 2012 K-1 World Grand Prix title to his mantle. He also got back into MMA during this time, beating Sumo wrestler Shinichi Suzukawa, though he most recently lost to Alexey Oleinik.
While Remy Bonjasky‘s name doesn’t carry as much weight with mixed martial arts fans, he is a highly accomplished kickboxer. He has won four separate K-1 World Grand Prix tournaments, and is a former WPKA super heavyweight Muay Thai champion. He owns wins over essentially every major kickboxer from 2000 to 2005, including Ray Sefo, Bob Sapp, Ernesto Hoost, Ray Mercer and many, many more.
The event will take place in March 2014 in Zagreb, Croatia. No other fights have been announced yet. The event will air on Spike TV in America.
This is a major opportunity for Cro Cop, who has lost some face with American combat sports fans. While he was one of the most popular and prolific heavyweight fighters in the Japanese Pride FC promotion, his time in the UFC was undeniably disappointing. If he can become a steady presence with Glory, and win fights in front of a growing audience on Spike TV, it could give Cro Cop a much-needed boost.
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