As a fan, the re-signing of the legendary Mirko Cro Cop left me deeply, deeply confused. The famed Pride warrior left the UFC in 2011, having amassed a 4-6 record in two stints in the organisation, with knockout losses to Gabriel Gonzaga, Roy Nelson, Frank Mir and Brendan Schaub, a decision loss to Cheick Kongo, and a verbal submission to Junior Dos Santos in a fight he was nowhere near winning. Those knockouts, particularly Gonzaga's vicious head kick, shattered the myth of Cro Cop as an unstoppable kicking machine. He was arguably never the same after that fight.
He returned to kickboxing with a bang after leaving the UFC, winning the 2012 K-1 Grand Prix against an admittedly weaker field than during his first stint in K1 a decade earlier. He joined Glory, where he went 1-1, before returning to MMA. Since then he's fought four times, with his only loss coming to now UFC heavyweight Oleksiy Oliynyk via scarf-hold submission. He won the IGF heavyweight belt in Japan last year and defended it, beating Satoshi Ishii twice by stoppage. It seemed he could and would continue competing in weaker competitions... then Bellator came calling. But before Scott Coker could sign Mirko, he was snatched up by the UFC for his third stint in the organisation.
It speaks volumes of the UFC’s newly-found desperation to give nothing to Bellator. The UFC believed they could afford to let a man like Kimbo Slice sign with Bellator, given his dubious skill set. Mirko Cro Cop, even at 40, is a far bigger draw than Kimbo. However at 40 years old and after nearly two decades of giving – and taking – vicious amounts of damage, you have to wonder exactly what he has left in the tank. Generally speaking, the body gives out long before the fire, the desire to compete, dies. Smart fighters know when the jig is up, but if Mirko still thinks he has what he takes, who are we to disagree?
Something massive would have to happen for Mirko to make a legitimate run at the title. If he’s fit and healthy, as he claims to be, there’s no reason he couldn't crack the top 10, but I can’t see him making it much further. He could go on a tear against lower-ranked fighters, but he's going to run into trouble sooner or later. So how do you bring Cro Cop back in the right way? One word, my friends.
Pride.
If you look at the UFC heavyweight division, it throws up a few options. For starters, there are intriguing rematches for the taking against Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett and particularly Mark Hunt. But for my money, there is only one opponent that makes sense for both Cro Cop and the UFC. That opponent is Big Nog. The two have met before, at Pride Final Conflict 2003, with the Brazilian stopping Cro Cop in the second round via armbar. For all his profile and legendary wars, Big Nog is on the decline, and with the damage he's taken over the course of his career, you can't imagine he has too many fights left in him. He's said himself 2015 will likely be his last year in the game. A rematch between the two Pride legends, possibly at the Saitama Super Arena, would make perfect sense. It may well be a fond farewell for Nog, and a warm welcome back for Cro Cop.
Source - Cro Cop has unfinished business
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