If you have been paying attention to Cro Cop since he joined the UFC, you would be able to tell that he is not the same fighter that was dominating opponents in the PRIDE organization. He joined the UFC and was defeated by Cheick Kongo and Gabriel Gonzaga before he left to go back to Japan. He beat a tomato can in his first fight and showed that is still struggling against Overeem in September.
Cro Cop was being dominated the entire fight up until he received some illegal knees to the groin while in the clinch. Reports say that one of his testicles was knocked up into his body from the knees. The fight was stopped and ruled a no-contest. Cro Cop and Overeem have been trying to set a new date for a rematch and it was just confirmed by Mirko himself.
Cro Cop is 1-2 with a no contest in his last 4 MMA fights. New Years Eve (December 31st) in Japan at the K-1 Dynamite! event. The event will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Alistair Overeem is 4-1 in his last six fight with a no contest. The problem with Overeem in the past is that he was great against anyone except elite level competition. People felt the streak of bad luck would continue in his first match up with Filipovic, but it was not the case.
Filipovic also confirmed that he will enter the fight with a knee injury and will undergo surgery soon after the event.
Will Cro Cop snap out of this funk that he is in, or will Overeem continue his winning ways? We will find out on December 31st.
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2 months ago
Alistair Overeem should beat Cro Cop...even in a K1 event.
When Cro Cop stated that he'll fight Overeem despite an injured knee, he may have been verbalizing a pre-fight disclaimer in case he loses.
But I'd like to address Cro Cop's MMA decline.
Many people feel that Cro Cop's days as an MMA fighter are dwindling fast. But that is only partly the case.
Other fighters have figured out how to use angles to stay away from Cro Cop's left high kick. And if his kicks aren't landing, what other really dangerous offensive weapons does Cro Cop possess? He's always been reluctant to throw combination punches because he knows it risks his sprawl reflex. And for some reason, his right high kick hasn't as much speed, power, or accuracy as his left kick, therefore, he rarely launches it.
Even though Cro Cop's takedown defense is superb, it's still defense. And he's hardly one to fear being submitted by. To his credit, he's really honed his submission defense with help from Fabricio Werdum. Werdum also taught him how to stay active in the guard to avoid direct blows. But it's still defense.
Defense wins Superbowls, and Cro Cop is no linebacker.
from 2 months ago
Excellent comment. Very well thought out. Now that's what I call adding to an article conversation.
I agree with everything you said.
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