Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic got his revenge on Gabriel Gonzaga in the main event in Krakow, Poland on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 64. Cro Cop won by TKO in the third round on the strength of some vicious elbows in the clinch and top position.
Fox Sports’ Karyn Bryant reacted after the bout:
Combat sports photographer Ryan Loco tweeted this iconic congratulatory image:
Just less than eight years ago at UFC 70, Gonzaga knocked Cro Cop out cold with a head kick—a strike the Croatian helped make famous. It was—and still is—one of the most shocking results in UFC history.
On Saturday, Cro Cop evened the score in a fight that saw him throw just one head kick. Gonzaga was firmly in control of the bout through a little over two rounds, but he got careless with his defense in the clinch and ate an elbow. The shot hurt Gonzaga, who wobbled to his knees.
He was able to regain his wherewithal enough to pull guard, but his defense was weak as he was still physically taxed from the elbow. Cro Cop continued to rain down left elbows to the jaw, and Gonzaga was unable to answer.
After the fight, Matt Erickson caught Gonzaga looking like Vincent D’Onofrio in an R-rated episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Mercy.
After losing his last three UFC bouts from 2010 to 2011, Cro Cop found a win in the promotion for the first time since he beat Pat Barry in June 2010. If you’re wondering if Cro Cop wants another fight in the UFC, Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting has the legend’s post-fight quote:
Where Cro Cop fits into the UFC’s heavyweight landscape is unclear. It’s possible he could look to avenge another of his UFC losses against Roy Nelson or fellow legend Frank Mir. Either fight would fit in nicely on the lower portion of the main card of a pay-per-view.
As for Gonzaga, this was a crushing loss at this stage of his career. He came in ranked No. 14, but he will almost certainly go careening out of the rankings. He knew this would be a big fight prior to the bout.
Gonzaga told Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting, “This fight keeps me alive in the UFC. If I lose this fight, the UFC will probably… Everybody knows how the UFC works. Three losses, it’s rare who stays in (the UFC) after that, and I want to stay in the UFC, so I have to win this fight.”
We’ll have to wait to see what happens now that Gonzaga has dropped three in a row.
Here’s a look at all the results from the card in Krakow. Just beneath the table is a breakdown of the fights that preceded the main event.
Double Impact with the Sweep
French YouTuber Silent captured the victor’s winning moment.
In the opening bout of the event, Taylor “Double Impact” Lapilus easily outstruck Rocky Lee through three rounds to earn the unanimous-decision victory. His speed and striking accuracy proved to be too much for Lee to contend with.
Both fighters were making their UFC debut in the bout, but the 23-year-old Lapilus clearly shined brightest among the two newcomers. Lapilus might be a name to keep on your radar over the next few years.
Ray Pounds Out Bandel
Stevie Ray made a smashing UFC debut by dispatching Marcin Bandel via second-round TKO. Throughout the first round, Ray used excellent wrestling and takedown defense to keep Bandel, a submission specialist, at bay.
Ray nearly submitted Bandel at the end of the first round but ran out of time. In the second, he hurt Bandel with some hard right hands. He partially mounted Bandel and fired left hands to the face until the fight was stopped.
The loss was the second straight for Bandel in the UFC. What’s worse, this one came in front of fans of his home country. Jordan Breen of Sherdog expounded on Bandel’s rough UFC stint:
Albu Submits Badurek
UFC newcomers continued to shine, as Alexandra Albu grabbed a win over Izabela Badurek via guillotine in the second round. Early in the fight, Albu proved to be stronger physically and as a striker.
She thwarted all of Badurek’s attempts to take the fight to the mat. In the second, Badurek got the takedown but left her neck for Albu, who took advantage by locking in the submission.
Before finishing the fight with a submission, Albu out-landed Badurek 38-18 in significant strikes. The UFC’s Twitter account acknowledged Albu’s work:
Albu has some legitimate star potential.
Freight Train Smothers Omielanczuk
Anthony “Freight Train” Hamilton wasted no time taking Daniel Omielanczuk down in the first round. He took top position and wouldn’t let it go. He rained down a plethora of shots to Omielanczuk’s midsection and won the opening round.
Omielanczuk showed resilience in the second round, coming back to outwork Hamilton to draw even.
In the decisive round, Hamilton created a carbon copy of the first frame and coasted to the victory. He has repeatedly proved to be one of the busiest heavyweights in the world with strikes from top position.
In this fight, he landed 87 significant strikes, with the vast majority coming from top position.
As John Morgan of MMA Junkie mentioned, things weren’t looking good for the Polish fighters early on.
Meza Outworks Stasiak
In a hard-fought featherweight bout, Yaotzin Meza earned a win over Damian Stasiak. The first round was wild and filled with near-miss submission attempts. The last two frames settled down to more of a strategic grappling battle that was purely for hardcore connoisseurs of ground fighting.
While everyone might not have a taste for the action in Rounds 2 and 3, almost everyone could recognize Meza’s victory taunt. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani called it out:
Moraes Barely Edges Lebout
In a close and boring fight, Sergio Moraes was awarded the unanimous-decision win over Mickael Lebout. The two men circled, doing little notable work in the stand-up for most of the fights. It was a peculiar approach from Moraes, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. He didn’t go for a takedown until the third round, and it could have won him the fight.
Meanwhile, Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting, Duane Finley of Bleacher Report and Zara-Blue Barry of Severe MMA were getting restless.
Lebout landed 54 significant strikes to 49 for Moraes, but the Brazilian’s two takedowns seemed to loom large.
Fabulous Fabinski
Leave it to Bartosz “The Butcher” Fabinski to snap the local fighters’ losing streak.
In one of the most dominating performances of the preliminary bouts, Fabinski put on a grappling exhibition against Gareth McClellan in the former’s UFC debut. Bleacher Report MMA acknowledged Fabinski’s superb work:
McClellan rarely had a second to breathe without Fabinski planting him on the mat and landing short shots from the ground.
In all, Fabinski took McClellan down nine times and landed 46 significant strikes to just 20 from McClellan.
Hey Yo, Adrian
Well, business picked up in a hurry when Leon “Rocky” Edwards took the Octagon. It took just eight seconds for him to vanquish Seth Baczynski with a wicked straight left hand. Baczynski hit the mat like a ton of bricks, and Edwards landed two shots to his grounded opponent before the fight was called off.
Per Karyn Bryant of Fox Sports, Edwards’ win was the second-fastest in UFC welterweight history. Can you say Performance of the Night?
Adam Conklin of Fight Parrot was thankful to Edwards for adding some excitement to the card:
MMA Fighting put the one-hitter quitter into proper perspective:
Edwards has excellent footwork and tremendous power. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here. At just 23 years old, he has a bright future.
Armbar from the Boxer
The women’s strawweight division is starting to get interesting. Maryna Moroz is known as a boxer, but she showed off some solid submission skills in stopping Joanna Calderwood.
Armbar Nation was proud.
Moroz started the bout by landing some hard shots on the sixth-ranked Calderwood in the opening moments. Calderwood looked to engage Moroz, but the Russian pulled guard and expertly set up the armbar. Calderwood tried to stack her opponent but couldn’t release her elbow, and Moroz earned the submission.
After the bout, Moroz drew some boos from the Polish faithful when she hopped on top of the cage and called out newly crowned champion and Polish fan favorite Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The two engaged in some gamesmanship post-fight, and it could be setting the groundwork for a future bout. The UFC seemed to like it:
Because the division is so new, Moroz could easily establish a rivalry with the champion.
Pawlak Delights the Local Crowd
In a fairly exciting and workman-like performance from Pawel Pawlak, the Polish fighter finally captured his first win in the UFC on his third attempt. He mixed it up, switching from grappling to boxing in out-pointing Sheldon Westcott.
After dropping the first round, Pawlak dominated the second and third rounds with more effective striking and timely takedowns. He landed 41 significant strikes to just 22 for Westcott.
Manuwa Wins a Snoozer
You would think a highly touted Polish prospect like Jan Blachowicz would want to put on a show in front of his home crowd, but that wasn’t the case. He did next to nothing against Jimi Manuwa and seemed content to survive.
Manuwa was the more effective striker; he pushed the pace and controlled the cage. Manuwa came into the fight ranked ninth among UFC light heavyweights. He clearly solidified his spot in the rankings, but most fans probably expected a better scrap than the one they got in the co-feature.
Stat references per UFC.com.
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