There’s no guarantee that the scheduled bout between UFC heavyweights Frank Mir and Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic will occur(while Cro Cop has been cleared to fight he does have blood in his eye and will face a battery of tests upon arriving in the USA to determine whether he is medically fit to fight.) at UFC 119, Frank Mir has certainly thought through his opponent’s strength’s and weaknesses. Fighter’s Only interviewed the Jiu-Jitsu wizard and talked about his take on Cro Cop:
The musculature of his right arm, I’ve been studying a lot of tapes and at the very beginning of his career it seemed like around 04’ and 06’ there was maybe a bit of nerve damage in his arm. He started throwing less right hands and the structure of his right arm looks weak, I can see some of the positions that he moves in, he doesn’t use it very well. Just looking at it I can see maybe a bit of nerve damage, it could be a neck injury or whatnot.
So his left side is his better side but his right kick can still work very well. He is very good at sweeping away, moving away towards his left, he doesn’t favour the right too much. He is going to try and either get me to follow him and throw the kick, or if he huts you he likes coming forward.
People think he is a guy who runs backwards but CroCop is dangerous if you back away from him. So even if he hurts me I am driving forward, we will clash like two bulls before I will [ever] back up and give him room for that head kick.
As stated before a loss by Mir would be disasterous for his career and certainly all the pressure is on him, especially if he ever wants a shot at the title. A win by Cro Cop would surprise fans, and leave more than a few wondering if he could make one last run for the gold. UFC 119 takes place on September 25 and we’ll carry live coverage like always.