(Right eye, hospital. Left eye … uh … hospital. PicProps: Sherdog)
While Dana White and Mirko CroCop didn’t totally get their stories straight over the weekend about the status of the fighter’s injured (or not injured) eyeball, both guy…
While Dana White and Mirko CroCop didn’t totally get their stories straight over the weekend about the status of the fighter’s injured (or not injured) eyeball, both guys voiced confidence that CroCop will be able to compete in his scheduled UFC 119 main event against Frank Mir on Saturday. Unfortunately, their opinions don’t really matter, as multiple media outlets remind us this week that CroCop will still face a medical exam by the Indiana Gaming Commission before he’s allowed to fight.
(Thanks to a traditional Croatian remedy, CroCop’s eye will be just fine. PicProps: Sportal.hr)
This week’s rumors that Mirko CroCop would withdraw from UFC 119 due to injury were indeed greatly exaggerated, but reports that the UFC and Pri…
(Thanks to a traditional Croatian remedy, CroCop’s eye will be just fine. PicProps: Sportal.hr)
This week’s rumors that Mirko CroCop would withdraw from UFC 119 due to injury were indeed greatly exaggerated, but reports that the UFC and Pride vet suffered a mishap in training contain at least a modicum of truth, according to the fighter himself. CroCop told the Croatian sports website Sportal.hr on Saturday that he did take a blow to the eyeball while making final preparations for his fight with Frank Mir next weekend, but assured everyone it’s not something we need to worry our pretty little heads over.
“I got hit in the eye, but nothing scary,” CroCop said, with thanks to MMABay (or somebody) for the translation. “This isn’t the first nor the last punch like that. It won’t stop me from traveling to fight, and to fight next Saturday against Frank Mir.”
Frank Mir says the decline in Mirko Cro Cop‘s standing is not due to fading skills, but the improvement in his competition.
“I don’t know if he’s ever really lost his step. I just think the fighters now in the UFC are just a little bit more aggressive than the fighters in PRIDE,” Mir told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s installment of The MMA Hour. “Studying game on him, I noticed that guys that back away from him and give him that respect, it seems like they get unleashed on a little harder than the guys that come forward.”
Over the last couple of days we’ve been trying to determine Mirko “Cro Cop’s” thought process, in agreeing to fight Frank Mir on short notice, September 25th, at UFC 119. If you listen very carefully…you can still hear the disappointed cries of hardcore “Minotauro” Nogueira fans; sh-t’s rough. As we’ve said since the news of […]
Over the last couple of days we’ve been trying to determine Mirko “Cro Cop’s” thought process, in agreeing to fight Frank Mir on short notice, September 25th, at UFC 119. If you listen very carefully…you can still hear the disappointed cries of hardcore “Minotauro” Nogueira fans; sh-t’s rough. As we’ve said since the news of Nog’s unfortunate injury was announced, we’re happy Cro Cop has agreed to step up, but it was kind of surprising considering he was supposedly thinking about hanging them up.
Well, in a report today from MMA Bay, we’re getting some possible insights into Cro Cop’s decision. Now we have a hard time translating U.K. English into American English, much less any other language, so we’ll have to take MMA Bay’s ‘word’ on the following comments. According to a report from Index.hr, here is some of what the Croatian bomber had to say about his upcoming bout with Mir.
“It is certain that I will not be able to go full force. I was left with only five weeks to prepare. I would not agree to the madness of this fight if Lorenzo Fertitta didn’t beg me to step in. They were in a difficult situation because Minotauro could not fight, and this is my way to repay [the UFC].”…”This all, of course, does not mean that I am looking for an excuse, but I certainly will not be ready. However, it still means I can lay out Frank Mir in the first round.”
There’s some ‘straight shooting’ for you (Mirko was a Special Forces officer after all). The short notice is something to consider though if you’re considering betting. Should be interesting.
(Cain Velasquez’s new Lugz commercial. Yeah, he smashed that. Props: YouTube.com/MMAFightClub)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link …
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
Filed under: UFCMMA legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic will get a chance at earning his biggest win in the Octagon to date on September 25, as the UFC has confirmed that Cro Cop accepted a fight with Frank Mir in the main event at UFC 119.
Cro Cop agreed to take the fight — his eighth in the UFC — on short notice after Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira dropped out with hip and knee injuries. Cro Cop’s UFC career has been fairly disappointing, with a 4-3 record and all four wins coming against lower-level competition. But a victory over Mir would be a huge step forward for Cro Cop, who hasn’t beaten anyone as relevant as Mir in the heavyweight division since he defeated Josh Barnett to win the Pride Openweight Grand Prix in September of 2006.
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