My boy Mirko

Im a big fan of Crocop.
I was just watching a neat little highlight vid that someone on youtube has put together (see below) and im just in awe at how brutal and accurate his striking is (was). In my opinion he is definately one of the most exciting fighters ever to grace MMA (I know to many thats probably a given)

I dont like to hear people making excuses about his losses in the UFC, in my opinion, a fighter is a fighter and if they are talented enough, should be able to get the job done irrespective of whether they fight in a cage, a ring, on the street, at Mcdonalds....etc. However, I would like to think maybe he was going through a rough patch (as contradictory as that sounds).

Question is, has Mirko had his time and clutching at straws? Or are we yet to see the best he can offer?

I really hope he beats Dos Santos at 103 in a couple of weeks, and beats him in spectacular fashion and climbs his way back to the top again. Afterall, the dude's only 34 years old.

The vid .....

i love watching Mirko, however i don't think he will get to the top of the division as i think the bigger stronger guys might make it difficult for him.
Im just hoping we see a bit of the old crocop and he takes a few people out, i want him to retire with a few good ufc wins under his belt

I would agree he was going through a rough patch... and not that much of a rough patch, I dont see why he was totally written off after 2 losses. Anyway the Gonzaga headkick happened, theres not much he coulda done about it and there are few men who coulds shook that off! The Kongo fight IMO was far too early to fight after a brutal KO loss like that, his head clearly want in the fight.

Ive always Mirkos biggest problem is that he is a Lhw fighting heavyweights, Mirko and Wanderlei were my favorite fighers for ages, Ive a lot of love for Mirko and it gutts me to see him loose. Ive a really bad feeling about Dos Santos though, Junior is young, Big, Powerfull and has very Quick hands...

Mirko was about 220 before he bulked up a but but he clearly is a Lhw, He wasnt Huge compared to Wanderlei who is cutting to 185lbs so clearly 205 wouldnt be a stretch for him. Imagine what he would do to most of that Devision? I think he would burry Rampage and anyone else who wanted to bang with him, Forrest, Rich etc.. I would see him tearing through the Lhw's but for some reason Mirko hasnt showed interest in cutting...

I really hope he wins againt Dos Santos and if he wins id be nearly sure we will see a rematch with Nog happen

Ben, do you know the terms of his contract? Was it for three fights?

If he were to lose to Santos, what do you think he would do next? Seeing him cut to LHW would definately be exciting, expecially with the new breed of HW's coming in to play now - they may just be too much for him (even though his decorated past says otherwise...wins over Barnett, Aleks, Coleman, Choi etc etc)

Who knows...

This is the crocop I wanna see at 103...

Yes mate a 3 fight deal. I dont know if Mirko will ever cut to 205lbs, I dont know if its because he considers Heavyweight the big leagues or what? Maby its because he has fought there his whole career and doesnt see why he should change now. He is doing just the opposite at UFC 99 when he fought he outweighed Kongo who also competed that night! He really looks a lot heavier and maby having a relativley low centre of gravity and even Bigger Legs will make him hard to takedown or Bully.

No Ring/Cage excuse but a cage is for grapplers a ring is for strikers pretty simple I think, as everyone knows im not a fan of fights in a cage I dont see why people enjoy watching someone being pressed up against the cage for a third of the round... Anyway What for Mirko if he looses? Its hard to say but there is a wealth of low level heavys for him to fight... Ben Rothwell should he loose to Valesquez? Kongo rematch if he looses to Mir? The UFC's Heavyweight devision is deep enough that a loss wont see him out of options. There are all sorts of fights maby Nelson or Kimbo from TUF? Maby even a lower ranked guy, Russow? Duffee vs Crocop would be a credible fight if Mirko looses... But I dont want to think About Mirko Loosing...

I watched that UFC 103 buildup and saw hit hitting a speedbac about 6 and a half feel in the air with a LHK... Im just hoping and praying he will land one of those and get back in the title picture. Apparently he has asked for a rematch with Nog to be in his contract, He has so so close to winning that one and if a 235-240 Crocop turns up who Knows he may finish Nog this time.. Id love more than any heavy for Mirko to be the man to beat Brock! One thing he has on his side is that he probabally punches and kicks harder than any other heavy in the UFC

I've never liked the guy so I don't care if he fails again and fades out which is what I think will happen, he never learnt to adapt to the cage (or chose not to which is dumb). I'm not taking anything away from his achievements or record. The guy is a legend of the sport and deserves all the respect he gets as a fighter, but I can't get behind him or support for what ever reason.

God damn, I just wrote a nice big reply and it didnt post.

Bugger.

Anyway, go Mirko.

Is the secret to Mirko's left head kick his ability to throw it from a starting position close to his opponent and land it flush? Normally head kicks are thrown when both fighters are outside each others punching reach but Cro=Cop seems to have the ability to thrown it in there when the 2 fighters are standing really close - perhaps taking the other fighter off guard? I've never done any kickboxing so I could be talkng absolute bollocks!!

Thoughts?

Yeah throwing a headkick in closer means it requires more flaxibility If you think of the angle you have to lift your leg... Mirkos is amazing! We havns see a LHK KO from him in ages! I really hope we see one. Ive just got a bad feeling, Dos Santos is a dangerous opponent.

Ginger I dont think its a problem 100% with the cage I think it was more a problem that his confidence was shattered after Gonzaga brutally KO'd him. I think it changed him as a figher, Like Arlovski after Sylvia KO'd him. Cant blame a fighter for loosing confidence. I dont understand how people dont like him his career has generally been a highligh reel, he has created some of the most memorable KO's in MMA history

Gotta to say I quite like Mirko, always puts in an exciting fight. I don't feel he can be a threat in the HW division anymore though because of his size and lack of a gameplan. The problem I have with him is he has no plan B, he is good everywhere but he can only win standing up. His sub defense is good, his takedown defense is good and his striking is a highlight reel waiting to happen. However when he starts losing a stand-up battle, he can't do anything but swing for the fences and that was painfully obvious against Kongo. We all know about Kongo on the ground, but standing up he is pretty good and he was able to outstrike Mirko, maybe it was a bad dayfor Cro Cop but he couldn't do anything about it and the result was inevitable. don't feel like he is big or well rounded enough anymore. Imagine Cro Cop against someone like Lesner

Im picking Dos Santos for the win, based on the fact that the kid has incredibly poweful hands and awesome handspeed as well, which I Think should be too much for Cro Cop. If it goes to the ground, Dos Santos trains with the Nog bros, A Silva and Machida. Nuff said. Hopefully Cro Cop goes to LHW after this.