At the Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix Finals event held in Japan early Saturday morning, MMA legend and former PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix Champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic moved on to the finals by knocking out Baruto Kaito in the semifinal bout he…
At the Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix Finals event held in Japan early Saturday morning, MMA legend and former PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix Champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic moved on to the finals by knocking out Baruto Kaito in the semifinal bout held early in the show.
Featured below are video highlights from Twitter that show the devastating former K-1 and PRIDE/UFC star Cro Cop knocking out Kaito with a vicious body shot in the very first round.
A fresh Cro Cop, who also finished Bellator MMA fighter and Rizin FF’s first ever Grand Prix champion, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal earlier this weekend in the Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix quarterfinals, will now move onto the tourney finals where he will meet Amir Aliakbari.
As noted, the second round of the Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix tournament took place at the Rizin FF event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan this weekend.
In the main event of the evening, MMA legend and former PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix tournament winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic defeated Bellator MMA contender, former Strikeforce Champion and the 2015 Rizin FF Tournament winner Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in a quarterfinal tournament bout.
With the win Cro Cop advances to the semifinals, which also currently include Baruto Kaito, Valentin Moldavsky and Amir Aliakbari. Aliakbari defeated former PRIDE Heavyweight title contender and former UFC contender Heath Herring this week to advance to the semifinals. Also still in the running is Vadim Nemkov, who TKO’d Alison Vicente in 54 seconds in the Open Weight Grand Prix Reserve Fight.
The tournament continues with the next event, live this Saturday, December 31st, with the semifinals and finals of the 2016 Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix tournament. The Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix Finals will feature Mirko Filipovic vs. Baruto Kaito and Amir Aliakbari vs. Valentin Moldavsky in the semifinal bouts, with the winners advancing to face off against each other in the tournament finals. As noted, Vadim Nemekov could always pop up as a replacement, should one of the aforementioned fighters get injured in their respective fights.
As noted, the second round of the Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix tournament took place at the Rizin FF event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan this weekend.
In the main event of the evening, MMA legend and former PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix tournament winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic defeated Bellator MMA contender, former Strikeforce Champion and the 2015 Rizin FF Tournament winner Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in a quarterfinal tournament bout.
With the win Cro Cop advances to the semifinals, which also currently include Baruto Kaito, Valentin Moldavsky and Amir Aliakbari. Aliakbari defeated former PRIDE Heavyweight title contender and former UFC contender Heath Herring this week to advance to the semifinals. Also still in the running is Vadim Nemkov, who TKO’d Alison Vicente in 54 seconds in the Open Weight Grand Prix Reserve Fight.
The tournament continues with the next event, live this Saturday, December 31st, with the semifinals and finals of the 2016 Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix tournament. The Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix Finals will feature Mirko Filipovic vs. Baruto Kaito and Amir Aliakbari vs. Valentin Moldavsky in the semifinal bouts, with the winners advancing to face off against each other in the tournament finals. As noted, Vadim Nemekov could always pop up as a replacement, should one of the aforementioned fighters get injured in their respective fights.
Owned by former Pride FC boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Rizin FF has been steadily gathering talent over the last year. Unfortunately their debut event last December proved to be lacklustre at best, as MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko returned against MMA newcomer Jaideep Singh. That said, the promotion provided a nostalgic feel with their outlandish entrances, overall
Owned by former Pride FC boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Rizin FF has been steadily gathering talent over the last year. Unfortunately their debut event last December proved to be lacklustre at best, as MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko returned against MMA newcomer Jaideep Singh. That said, the promotion provided a nostalgic feel with their outlandish entrances, overall production and old school rules. Since their first event, Rizin has harvested some of the most popular names from the JMMA heydays.
Included on that list were fierce rivals Mirko Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva. Sharing a duo of fights under the Pride banner, Cro Cop and Silva quickly engaged in beef after Filipovic’s successful debut back in September. Then came the news that Silva was unable to compete, citing the need for more time to recover from recent injuries. Needless to say, Cro Cop was not impressed, and unleashed a furious rant about his old foe.
King Mo Steps In
Last night it was confirmed by MMAJunkie.comthat Muhammed Lawal would step in to replace Wanderlei Silva. The quarter finals of the openweight grand prix is set for December 29, with the semi finals and finals both taking place on New Year’s Eve. King Mo has lost just one of his last eight bouts, and won the heavyweight GP for Rizin last year. Cro Cop is unbeaten in four fights, and recently avenged his loss to Gabriel Gonzaga before joining Rizin FF.
Also being replaced on December 29 is former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin. The heavy-handed knockout artist came out of retirement to Join Rizin, but was later scratched due to injury, Replacing ‘The Engineer’ against Amir Aliakbari is another familiar face from the Pride FC days. Heath Herring fights for the first time since losing to Brock Lesnar in 2008, replacing Carwin on December 29. Long considered one of the best heavyweights in the world until around 2002, Herring holds a 28-14 (1 NC) record.
Rizin FF Quarter Finals Matches
Venue: Saitama Super Arena, Japan
Date: Rizin FF 3 December 29 (QF), Rizin FF 4 December 31 (SF/F)
QUARTERFINAL STAGE: MIRKO “CRO COP” FILIPOVIC VS. KING MO WANDERLEI SILVA “BARUTO” VS. TSUYOSHI KOSAKA SHANE CARWIN HEATH HERRING VS. AMIR ALIAKBARI VALENTINE MOLDAVSKY VS. SZYMON BAJOR
Tensions are running very high between Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop… Earlier this week we reported Wanderlei Silva was out of his Rizin FF bout with Mirko Cro Cop. Scheduled to face each other for the third time, Wandy and Cro Cop were to collide on December 29. The Croatian’s response to this news
Tensions are running very high between Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop…
Earlier this week we reported Wanderlei Silva was out of his Rizin FF bout with Mirko Cro Cop. Scheduled to face each other for the third time, Wandy and Cro Cop were to collide on December 29. The Croatian’s response to this news was a wicked rant, during which he claimed ‘The Axe Murderer’ was a ‘chicken.’ Having fought to a draw in their first fight, and the second ending by brutal KO for Cro Cop, there’s enough history behind this beef already.
Now that they’ve engaged in a war of words outside the ring, their rivalry brings back memories of the Pride days. Although now long gone, Rizin is reigniting the passion for Japanese MMA first sparked in the late 1990’s. When the organisation went defunct in 2007 and was bought out by the UFC, hardcore fans remained optimistic for a future revival. Perhaps this is why Rizin Fighting Federation has such a cult following. Back to the subject, Wanderlei Silva has now responded to Cro Cop’s rant.
Wanderlei’s Response
As the dust barely settles on Mirko Cro Cop’s scathing rant, his rival Wanderlei Silva has fired one right back. During a video uploaded to his Youtube channel, ‘The Axe Murderer’ claimed it was his Croatian rival who is the coward.
I am here to give an explanation to my fans about why I won’t compete in December. My recovery, I wasn’t able to be 100% for this fight, and I am a professional. I would never fight, not with Mirko or anyone, without being prepared, and what surprised me the most with all of that is that this guy, this Croatian, Mirko Cro Cop, in front of me called me the best of the world, the legend, and behind a computer, started talking shit about me.
What kind of man are you Mirko? To say a lot of shit on Internet, and not say it to my face? Are you only a man when behind a computer? You pussy. Who do you think you are talking to? Chill out, it won’t be now, but soon you’ll get what is yours, I know very well how to catch you, and I know you are afraid of me, you coward.
“1 Million Dollars”
So really it was offered me a very good amount of money to fight Mirko, they offered me 1 million dollars, and I could, I am training and I could get in and see what happens. If I got there and fought 30 seconds or 1 minute my purse would be the same but I am a professional, and I would never do that without being 100% ready to give the show that all my fans are used to see. So, to fight with you, you pussy, or with anyone, I will fight when I am 100%. Everyone knows I am coming back from a serious injury, I am recovering well, thank God, I am training well and I am training to get back to the old form, the real mad dog. I won’t fight without being ready, I will fight to win, and Silva is back, you can wait.
It looks like one of the most anticipated trilogy fights ever has fallen apart… Pride FC legends Mirko Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva have been around and entertaining fans for years. Ever since their prime in the heat of the Japanese MMA scene, both men have proven themselves as thrilling knockout artists. Cro Cop entered
It looks like one of the most anticipated trilogy fights ever has fallen apart…
Pride FC legends Mirko Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva have been around and entertaining fans for years. Ever since their prime in the heat of the Japanese MMA scene, both men have proven themselves as thrilling knockout artists. Cro Cop entered the MMA realm hot off the K-1 circuit and instantly made a huge impression. Quickly becoming known as the most feared striker in the Pride FC rankings, Filipovic met Silva in just his fourth pro mixed martial arts bout. That was way back at Pride 20 in 2002, where they fought to a draw.
Moving ahead four years, the two bitter rivals faced off in the openweight grand prix semi finals. This time around it was a very different story. Cro Cop was furious about having to fight ‘The Axe Murderer’ again, and comments made before the fight led to an intense meeting in the ring. The Croatian sensation battered and bloodied Silva, before knocking him out with a highlight reel head kick. Looking like their feud was finally over, both men moved on with their careers.
Rizin FF
10 years down the line, with both men nearing 50 fights in their MMA careers, fate has put them under a new Japanese promotion. The former owner of Pride FC launched Rizin FF, and began hunting down his old stars for one last roll far east. With Cro Cop and Silva experiencing various highs and lows in their recent form, Rizin seemed the perfect place to round out their illustrious careers.
Cro Cop won his promotional debut against an unknown opponent, and Silva’s Nevada ban was finally lifted so he could legitimately compete again. Finally, we thought, a third fight was going to happen. The die-hard Pride fans amongst us were itching with excitement, as Rizin announced a GP quarter finals bash on December 29. Well, not anymore according to Mirko Cro Cop’s Facebook page. Check out his scathing rant about Silva pulling out of their trilogy bout:
Wanderlei is ‘Scared Homie’
I just received a message from Rizin Fighting Federation that Wanderlei “the Braveheart” Silva doesn’t want to fight me. He gets scared and he changed his mind, but he know it from the beginning. He played tough guy on the press conference in July and he called me out for a fight. Then I said to myself, this man has a guts, but now we all see what is he made of, nothing but shit.
Once he was a fearless and true axe murder but now he’s just a scared homie and only thing he can kill is his mosquito. And Wanderlei, don’t you dare to come to Saitama to see the tournament like a guest because I will slap you like a bitch just like you deserve, you are nothing but a scared bitch and I had so much respect for you as a fighter until now. I suggest a new name for you that will fit you well… WANDERLEI “THE CHICKEN” SILVA
Bad times for the fans of this long-awaited rematch. We’ll keep you updated as this story evolves.
Former Pride open weight champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s MMA return has been made official. After an admittance of using human growth hormone (HGH) last year caused an unceremonious early retirement, Cro Cop will return to action against Hyun Man Myung (3-2) in the opening round of RIZIN Fighting Federation’s World Grand Prix 2016 according
Former Pride open weight champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s MMA return has been made official.
After an admittance of using human growth hormone (HGH) last year caused an unceremonious early retirement, Cro Cop will return to action against Hyun Man Myung (3-2) in the opening round of RIZIN Fighting Federation’s World Grand Prix 2016 according to a report from MMA Fighting. The event will kick off on September 25, 2016, from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The bout will be Filipovic’s first since his comeback win over Gabriel Gonzaga in 2014, a fight where he got some sort of revenge for the iconic headkick from “Napao” that stopped Filipovic’s perceived run to a UFC title shot.
Former Pride star and UFC veteran Wanderlei Silva is also slated to fight in the second round of the RIZIN Grand Prix, which will feature “The Axe Murderer” against a yet-to-be-named opponent, whom many have speculated will be longtime Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor made his comeback for RIZIN in their debut show, trouncing grossly overmatched Jaideep Singh by TKO before moving onto to a highly controversial decision win over former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado in Russian promotion EFN.
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