Cro Cop's team member on Fedor fight:One significant mistake was made

[moreorless87]

So the jet lag f'd him all up because he got there too early? Looking back at a fight as a fighter or part of the team/coaching staff i'm sure there's a lot of things that should have or could have been different. I just don't get this one and the fact that Mirko did that trip SO many times previously he should know all too well how to handle it and what to do to combat it. I never had jet lag 10 days later lol. It's like saying you could compete great 2 days after having a nasty hangover but not 10.

I thought this was going to be something technical like how he let Fedor pressure him, backed up straight etc. Not that that was his mistakes, i'm just using an example. This is still my most anticipated fight ever so obviously I love both these guys and I don't mind excuses because someone asks someone what they thought went wrong and they say what they think. It's when excuses are overblown and respect isn't shown is when it's ridiculous.

Honestly it does sound like the kind of thing trainers and fighters say to keep themselves motivated for a potential rematch.

 

[TerrorTimmy]

Stupid mistake was also accepting Magomedov fight (Fedor's teammate and training partner) just 2 months before fighting Fedor. Not enough time to rest and go to camp again, and it helps Fedor's team to try tacical testings.

Cro Cop just fought too often. He had 10 fights in just a year and half before Fedor and was most likely overtrained and far from ideal shape.

Cro Cop could have done a lot better in rematch that he deserved, but demise of Pride and unlucky circumstances took it away from him.

Imagine if Fedor had signed with the UFC and they made that rematch first instead of the Gonzaga fight for Cro Cop. Even if Cro Cop lost again to Fedor, things would have gone very differently

 

[ThunderStruck]

Mirko's good friend and part of coaching staff talked recently about fighting Fedor in our podcast winch Mirko himself attended many times.


-What mistake was done,usually if the fight was on Saturday we would fly to Japan on Thursday,you get there in the morning and you can normally sleep through all day if you want to and be easily awake during the night and you can do that those few days and it doesn't affect you at all,you sleep during the day and come to fight just fine.
-Than,team changed that even though i was against that and so we came too early like 10 days before the fight. Mirko was like a rocekt,in great shape but i believe he fell apart few days before the fight,jet lag crushed him.It's one of those little things that make the difference.
-Fedor prepared for Mirko for a long time,a year at least and probably more.He was going to Amsterdam to work on his striking,perfecting blocks etc. and maybe Mirko underestimated him a little bit back then as much as this now sounds cocky.

Thoughts?

Really? Such a pathetic excuse. 10 days and he still had jet lag. What a load of crock.

 

[LEWIS540]

This obsession with weight is so stupid
I played rugby for 15 years and guess what, I saw first hand that 15 pounds difference is nothing
Im 5’11 and had to tackle guys 6’6 at full speed
You either do it or don’t, fuck weight

It’s as wrong as the conception that bigger muscles make you a better fighter

Do you have any experience on what you’re saying? I’d love to hear why you think 15 pounds is the reason Fedor won but he’s not the better fighter

Almost like MMA and rugby are 2 different sports.

 

[rakeleaves]

Fedor wasn't a better fighter, just a bigger one. He outweighed Cro Cop by 15 lbs. If Cro Cop outweighed Fedor by 15 lbs, Cro Cop would have won. Fedor might win, but Cro Cop is the better fighter.

All the emperical evidence supports Fedor being the better fighter.

 

[fzoid4454]

You'll find that Japan weighs things in "kg". They don't show dewey decimals either. So Fedor weighed 8.5 KG more, and there are 2 KG in 1 pound. 8.5 * 2 = 17 lb weight advantage for Fedor in this fight.

No, you stupid asshole, he weighed 8 POUNDS more.

1 KG > 2.2 pounds. If CroCop was 225 KG, that's over 495 lbs, and 233 KG > 512 lbs. That graphic was clearly in pounds.

Fedor weighed 3.6 kg more, not 8.5 kg. Actually, just a little bit LESS than 8 lbs.

Wow.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

You'll find that Japan weighs things in "kg". They don't show dewey decimals either. So Fedor weighed 8.5 KG more, and there are 2 KG in 1 pound. 8.5 * 2 = 17 lb weight advantage for Fedor in this fight.

no, there's 2.2lbs in 1kg, not 2kg in 1lb lol

 

[Miiiiiiighty]

Fedor wasn't a better fighter, just a bigger one. He outweighed Cro Cop by 15 lbs. If Cro Cop outweighed Fedor by 15 lbs, Cro Cop would have won. Fedor might win, but Cro Cop is the better fighter.

Yeah because that worked fine for Mirko once he went north of 230lbs and lost his speed...

Fedor is just too damn explosive and actually Mirko has a bigger frame and longer limbs..
By the way the difference was 8 lbs, and Crocop was a LOT more ripped than Fedor who was his usual chubby self at 233 vs 225lbs for CC.
CC should have had the better cardio too which he didn't.

Stop seeking excuses.
As far as who the better fighter is, well history told us that without a doubt...

 

[Sweater of AV]

No Jetlag Mirko is born.

 

[Miiiiiiighty]

Fedor's hand was messed up going into the Mirko fight, so I guess it evens out?

These troll conveniently forget that part, which is the reason why he didn't use heavy G'n'P in that fight, and didn't use his power right ( sambo cast swing ) for ages after that fight. Fedor himself said he couldn't grip/control wrists with his right hand.
Without this injury maybe Fedor stops him by sub on the ground (or TKO by G'n'P, jumping into his guard PRIDE flying style), we'll never know

 

[MCS]

Adrenaline for the biggest fight of his life surely kills jet lag.

 

[Miiiiiiighty]

I think the big issue cardio wise personally was simply that Fedor pushed Mirko hard, had him backing up constantly then on the ground he was stacking him up making him expend energy with that defensive guard.

He showed the blue print to beat a Prime CC : push him backward and make him gas without leaving enough space for these kicks to fly without a TD/retaliation threat

 

[moreorless87]

He showed the blue print to beat a Prime CC : push him backward and make him gas without leaving enough space for these kicks to fly without a TD/retaliation threat

I don't think that was a weakness of Mirko's, he was one of if not the best counter strikers in MMA history(probably him or Anderson) and so much of his sucess was down to destorying fighters liek Wand, Aleks, Igor, Herring, etc who were trying to chase him down. Its just Fedor was that dam good standing that he could actually pull it off, the same way Nog didnt have a weakenss to being GnPed vs anyone else.

Its were alot of Fedor's status comes from, he fought the two other best HW's of his era who had two of the most dangerous offencive games in MMA(Crocop's counters, Nogs guard) and he sucessfully went into the lions den.

 

[moreorless87]

No, you stupid asshole, he weighed 8 POUNDS more.

1 KG > 2.2 pounds. If CroCop was 225 KG, that's over 495 lbs, and 233 KG > 512 lbs. That graphic was clearly in pounds.

Fedor weighed 3.6 kg more, not 8.5 kg. Actually, just a little bit LESS than 8 lbs.

Wow.

View attachment 797543

View attachment 797544

View attachment 797545

If anything I think Fedor dropped muscle mass for this fight, to my eye he looked clearly smaller than he did against say Nog in 03/04, probably to maximise speed.

This was arguebly the fight between the two fastest HW's ever(maybe prime Arlovski might have a case) so having the edge there was I think more important than power.

 

[Miiiiiiighty]

If anything I think Fedor dropped muscle mass for this fight, to my eye he looked clearly smaller than he did against say Nog in 03/04, probably to maximise speed.

This was arguebly the fight between the two fastest HW's ever(maybe prime Arlovski might have a case) so having the edge there was I think more important than power.

Fedor was never that much bigger always 105 or 106kg in PRIDE.
But he dropped some muscle, because he started doing less strength and conditionning and more technique ( which would ultimately be his downfall as he aged ).

Also (not to be that guy but), speed is an important component of power as power = 1/2 * mv²

I agree with speed being the most important component in this fight though ( that and reactio times ) considering they were as you stated the two fastest HW in their primes

 

[Fioretti]

The guy is literally being delusional. Why wouldn't we comment on that? I don't see anyone in this thread being too offensive.

He's being delusional by saying he thought breaking their routine and coming in too soon might have been a mistake? Or Mirko underestimating Fedor's preparation for the stand up was a mistake?

He's giving his opinion on things that may have negatively impacted the fight for Mirko, and he has a much better idea than anyone on Sherdog who wasn't part of Mirko's camp.

I never said anything was offensive, I was actually saying the opposite, that the crybaby Fedor fanatics were offended and whining like little girls over an informed man's opinion on past events.

 

[MillingMeSoftly]

Full Night’s Rest Mirko beats ‘em all down with ease

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

That shows you the difference as well, Wanderlei tried to pressure Mirko the way Fedor did but he didnt have the speed/skill to do so without getting destoryed, the only guys in Mirko's prime who pressured him without getting beaten up were Fedor and Hunt, the latter needed to show a godlike chin eating a plum LHK. Guys like Wanderlei, Herring, ALeks, Igor, etc tried to pressure Mirko but couldnt.

Wanderlei was able to pressure him the first fight but he packed on too much muscle for the OWGP and lost his speed advantage.

 

[leatherf4ce]

Crocop's always been my favorite fighter of all time, but for this guy to state that Fedor was way more prepared is a pile of crap. Crocop was the one that called Fedor out. Keep in mind that Crocop was a way more active fighter, especially at that time. That's as lame as people using Conor's performance against Khabib as boozing, not taking him seriously, etc. You get in that ring/cage, you know what you're in for - especially for a title fight. This guy should've never spoke on this fight, laying out excuses. It's the best fight of all time, regardless of the results.



Look at 1:51 for the call-out. Sorry, I don't know how to timestamp on my phone.

 

[PalmStrike]