How special was Mirko Cro Cop?

WHITEBELT JESUS said:
He got a right kick cemetery in UFC once me thinks.

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The saddest day for me, as an MMA fan.
 
Mirko is a living legend and despites the fact that he never captured a real Pride or UFC belt he will still be remembered as a true pioneer and legend of the sport, way before some real champs.

He was a top K1 fighter during an era which I would consider the best or at least second best time in K1, he later went on and won the last official k1 tournament ever (don't forget the first tournament was won by Branko Cikatic who was Mirkos coach at the very beginning of his career), he was a top2 fighter in pride and won the last OWGP, and he went out on a 10 fight winning streak.

His UFC run was disappointing for all of us but in retrospective I am not shocked he did not bloom in this new environment where he didn't feel comfortable at all, and I think I know the reason for that.

I've followed Mirko for a long time, inside and outside the ring/octagon, and without any hate or negative feelings I can say that Mirko has some tendencies which would make me believe that he has some slight autism. Again, this is no hate but just the summary of the observations I have had over the last 2 decades. Autism doesn't mean he is stupid, no vice versa actually, Mirko is partially a very intelligent man and you can discuss some high brain topics with him if he is into them. But that's how most people with slight autism are...

I have rarely seen a person which is so much into repetition and especially a routine life as Mirko, which shows not only in his training where from a young age he would train single punches and kicks over thousands and thousands of time without getting bored by them, but also in his daily routine which basically didn't change since he was a teenager. Its enough to say that he hasn't changed his nutrition and eating habits since he was a kid, he only eats a small portfolio of things and he eats that every fucking day since like 40 years, and if he is forced to eat something different (as for example in hotels before fights) he is pissed and hard to deal with (as also trainings partners confirmed who travelled with him). The same goes for his family vacation, the guy, despites living in a beautiful country with one of the best coasts in Europe, only travels to 2 destinations, which of course, he visits since he is a kid. Slavonia where he was born and Pula in Istria, where they used to go for vacation with his parents. He never goes anywhere else, really never, not even take his kids to typical destinations which parents with his financial situation would do 100%.

Moreover, his unwillingness to train outside of the comfort zone of his own backyard seems more like a xenophobia from other places than just pure comfort. And thats also the point why he is his own coach! Coaches challenge their students and try to bring in new stuff, Mirko doesn't like to do stuff he didn't plan with and he wants to know what he will do from start to beginning, this is why he plans his training. As mentioned in the paragraph above he never travels anywhere unknown and if he has to he will only stay the bare minimum time there, this is why he never arrived earlier to an Event and tried to acclimate or deal with a jetlag, he just accepted it. Japan became a small exception as he traveled there so many times so sometimes he would stay one, two, three days longer and train in a gym of somebody he knew, but all that is far away from training camps we know from other people. As another example, for his Gonzaga rematch in Poland they travelled by Bus from Croatia to Poland, like 9h, and immediately after the fight went back. He said its much more comfortable to travel that way because he is in a known surrounding, a car, and with his friends, instead of taking a 1h flight from Zagreb to Warszaw where he would need to enter an airport.

Basically what I wanted to say is that I think he couldn't bloom in the UFC because he didn't feel comfortable in there. He said it so many times that he just doesn't feel well in the UFC and I believe him. Mirko never liked change and once he felt uncomfortable he wasn't able to perform on 100%. You could see he didn't want to be in there, although his training performance was better than it used to be.

Long live Mirko CroCop Filipovic
 
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The only time Fedor showed any emotion was watching Alex getting his block knocked off in the fight. It's the only time he's sworn on video.
 
He had the speed and the power and each headkick or liver kick KO added to his confidence. He was the man. With a better coach/manager, he would have had a better win/loss record without his injury prone UFC slump. When you're badly injured, you need to pull out or risk getting wrecked.
 
balkanbomber85 said:
Mirko is a living legend and despites the fact that he never captured a real Pride or UFC belt he will still be remembered as a true pioneer and legend of the sport, way before some real champs.

He was a top K1 fighter during an era which I would consider the best or at least second best time in K1, he later went on and won the last official k1 tournament ever (don't forget the first tournament was won by Branko Cikatic who was Mirkos coach at the very beginning of his career), he was a top2 fighter in pride and won the last OWGP, and he went out on a 10 fight winning streak.

His UFC run was disappointing for all of us but in retrospective I am not shocked he did not bloom in this new environment where he didn't feel comfortable at all, and I think I know the reason for that.

I've followed Mirko for a long time, inside and outside the ring/octagon, and without any hate or negative feelings I can say that Mirko has some tendencies which would make me believe that he has some slight autism. Again, this is no hate but just the summary of the observations I have had over the last 2 decades. Autism doesn't mean he is stupid, no vice versa actually, Mirko is partially a very intelligent man and you can discuss some high brain topics with him if he is into them. But that's how most people with slight autism are...

I have rarely seen a person which is so much into repetition and especially a routine life as Mirko, which shows not only in his training where from a young age he would train single punches and kicks over thousands and thousands of time without getting bored by them, but also in his daily routine which basically didn't change since he was a teenager. Its enough to say that he hasn't changed his nutrition and eating habits since he was a kid, he only eats a small portfolio of things and he eats that every fucking day since like 40 years, and if he is forced to eat something different (as for example in hotels before fights) he is pissed and hard to deal with (as also trainings partners confirmed who travelled with him). The same goes for his family vacation, the guy, despites living in a beautiful country with one of the best coasts in Europe, only travels to 2 destinations, which of course, he visits since he is a kid. Slavonia where he was born and Pula in Istria, where they used to go for vacation with his parents. He never goes anywhere else, really never, not even take his kids to typical destinations which parents with his financial situation would do 100%.

Moreover, his unwillingness to train outside of the comfort zone of his own backyard seems more like a xenophobia from other places than just pure comfort. And thats also the point why he is his own coach! Coaches challenge their students and try to bring in new stuff, Mirko doesn't like to do stuff he didn't plan with and he wants to know what he will do from start to beginning, this is why he plans his training. As mentioned in the paragraph above he never travels anywhere unknown and if he has to he will only stay the bare minimum time there, this is why he never arrived earlier to an Event and tried to acclimate or deal with a jetlag, he just accepted it. Japan became a small exception as he traveled there so many times so sometimes he would stay one, two, three days longer and train in a gym of somebody he knew, but all that is far away from training camps we know from other people. As another example, for his Gonzaga rematch in Poland they travelled by Bus from Croatia to Poland, like 9h, and immediately after the fight went back. He said its much more comfortable to travel that way because he is in a known surrounding, a car, and with his friends, instead of taking a 1h flight from Zagreb to Warszaw where he would need to enter an airport.

Basically what I wanted to say is that I think he couldn't bloom in the UFC because he didn't feel comfortable in there. He said it so many times that he just doesn't feel well in the UFC and I believe him. Mirko never liked change and once he felt uncomfortable he wasn't able to perform on 100%. You could see he didn't want to be in there, although his training performance was better than it used to be.

Long live Mirko CroCop Filipovic
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That's very interesting. Never changing anything is a sign of Asperger's, I've known a couple people with it.
 
Some can shit on him like they are in this thread, but guy was scary and full of the tools to put u out in the blink of an eye. Had a pretty damn good sprawl for someone with a mainly kickboxing background. I'm definitely appreciative to have watched his fights win or lose throughout his career.
 
It seems like he lost it when he went to UFC. It never became an important weapon to him. He would throw axe kicks to Pat Berry for shits and giggles

In Pride it was his greatest weapon. One of the deadliest strikes ever
 
Very special fighter, that high level of k1 kickboxer who was that strong with that good of TDD in his prime, incredible.
 
William Huggins said:
Not strictly true, some people respond particularly well to different PED's, as drastic as night and day......
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What part is not strictly true?

A level playing field is a level playing field… some people also learn skills quicker than other people, do we discredit the more successful athlete because he’s better at adapting?
 
Killer Kadoogan said:
He was the King without a Crown. Arguably the second best after Fedor. One of the most accomplished kickboxers, MMA fighters, martial artists to ever grace the ring/octagon. Already a successful high-tier K-1 Striker with wins over K-1 champions. Then to make the move to MMA and not be wrestle fucked by everyone, and STILL land that LHK that they knew was coming, was very damn insane. Yes, he did not have the best UFC run. Motivation, hungry UFC fighters, the game "catching up," etc, etc, all kinds of reasons why he did not do as well. He did avenge that loss to Gonzaga, and then even better IMO, he captured the Rizin HW title with an easy win over current ONE HW fighter, Amir Aliakbari, who will no doubt challenge the current HW champ. One of the best fighters ever, most entertaining, for a moment, had that "Tyson" like aura about him, and his 2006 OWGP run he was unstoppable. If Fedor was there, I think we would have witnessed history. One of my favorite fighters of all time.
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Dude you summed it up absolutely perfectly.
 
CroCopsLHK said:
It seems like he lost it when he went to UFC. It never became an important weapon to him. He would throw axe kicks to Pat Berry for shits and giggles

In Pride it was his greatest weapon. One of the deadliest strikes ever
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On debut I think he looked good physically, it was just his opponent was on his bike and he wasnt used to the octagon size. Against Gabea I think a mix of not being prepped for elbows and Gonzaga being a flaky but very dangerous guy who had the perfect performance. Mirko's style was always dangerous because he'd stand right infront of people and only look to pick out big shots, he didnt throw any weak jabs or lowkicks to disrupt opponents just depended on his reactions to get out of the way or counter. I think the Kongo fight a mix of lack of confidence(had some lacklustre performances in pride after loses as well), not being able to deal with cage clinching and Cheick cheating like crazy landing about half a dozen low blow, Big Jon seemed to think it was only a foul if you caught both of them that night.

The return to the UFC I think he'd clearly declined, several bad leg injuries plus age/wear generally meant he no longer had the speed to land his big kicks on reaction anymore, he had to totally change his game.
 
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balkanbomber85 said:
Mirko is a living legend and despites the fact that he never captured a real Pride or UFC belt he will still be remembered as a true pioneer and legend of the sport, way before some real champs.

He was a top K1 fighter during an era which I would consider the best or at least second best time in K1, he later went on and won the last official k1 tournament ever (don't forget the first tournament was won by Branko Cikatic who was Mirkos coach at the very beginning of his career), he was a top2 fighter in pride and won the last OWGP, and he went out on a 10 fight winning streak.

His UFC run was disappointing for all of us but in retrospective I am not shocked he did not bloom in this new environment where he didn't feel comfortable at all, and I think I know the reason for that.

I've followed Mirko for a long time, inside and outside the ring/octagon, and without any hate or negative feelings I can say that Mirko has some tendencies which would make me believe that he has some slight autism. Again, this is no hate but just the summary of the observations I have had over the last 2 decades. Autism doesn't mean he is stupid, no vice versa actually, Mirko is partially a very intelligent man and you can discuss some high brain topics with him if he is into them. But that's how most people with slight autism are...

I have rarely seen a person which is so much into repetition and especially a routine life as Mirko, which shows not only in his training where from a young age he would train single punches and kicks over thousands and thousands of time without getting bored by them, but also in his daily routine which basically didn't change since he was a teenager. Its enough to say that he hasn't changed his nutrition and eating habits since he was a kid, he only eats a small portfolio of things and he eats that every fucking day since like 40 years, and if he is forced to eat something different (as for example in hotels before fights) he is pissed and hard to deal with (as also trainings partners confirmed who travelled with him). The same goes for his family vacation, the guy, despites living in a beautiful country with one of the best coasts in Europe, only travels to 2 destinations, which of course, he visits since he is a kid. Slavonia where he was born and Pula in Istria, where they used to go for vacation with his parents. He never goes anywhere else, really never, not even take his kids to typical destinations which parents with his financial situation would do 100%.

Moreover, his unwillingness to train outside of the comfort zone of his own backyard seems more like a xenophobia from other places than just pure comfort. And thats also the point why he is his own coach! Coaches challenge their students and try to bring in new stuff, Mirko doesn't like to do stuff he didn't plan with and he wants to know what he will do from start to beginning, this is why he plans his training. As mentioned in the paragraph above he never travels anywhere unknown and if he has to he will only stay the bare minimum time there, this is why he never arrived earlier to an Event and tried to acclimate or deal with a jetlag, he just accepted it. Japan became a small exception as he traveled there so many times so sometimes he would stay one, two, three days longer and train in a gym of somebody he knew, but all that is far away from training camps we know from other people. As another example, for his Gonzaga rematch in Poland they travelled by Bus from Croatia to Poland, like 9h, and immediately after the fight went back. He said its much more comfortable to travel that way because he is in a known surrounding, a car, and with his friends, instead of taking a 1h flight from Zagreb to Warszaw where he would need to enter an airport.

Basically what I wanted to say is that I think he couldn't bloom in the UFC because he didn't feel comfortable in there. He said it so many times that he just doesn't feel well in the UFC and I believe him. Mirko never liked change and once he felt uncomfortable he wasn't able to perform on 100%. You could see he didn't want to be in there, although his training performance was better than it used to be.

Long live Mirko CroCop Filipovic
Click to expand...

Full disclosure, I was prepared to completely dismiss your diagnostic as another internet armchair psychologist dumb take... then you started talking about the repetition thing, and I remembered that old documentary on him, it was right maybe in 2003?

The camera crew went to his village, and Mirko's dad was showing the house, and a wall outside in particular that Mirko would constantly kick as a teenager and the bricks started to crumble, and Mirko would just go seem him "dad I broke the wall again :( ", and his dad would have to put a new brick in, a bit of cement, a coat of paint, and lil Mirko would immediately go back to front/teep/push kicking it before it had time to dry.

He was kinda chuckling while telling the story, but to me It just felt kinda weird, even as a gym rat...

Your diagnostic might not be that farfetched, doc <{titihmm}>

I'm really happy to have had the chance to watch Cro Cop fight live in his prime, he is still one of my favorite fighters ever... and he's had a solid career after his failed UFC runs, winning a tournament in RIZIN and finally winning a K1GP, both of those against some pretty good competition.

WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE
The other day in TUF: McGregor vs Chandler, episode 6, Kurt Holobaugh was hailed as being the only MMA fighter in the world to have been signed by the UFC twice, and been cut twice (because he was trying for a third run).

They made a point to say that he would establish a record if he got into the UFC a third time
Even the friggin' wikipedia article on the episode mentions it
Episode 6: Break Your Nose (July 4, 2023)[12]
• Kurt Holobaugh, the only fighter to have been signed and cut twice from the UFC, hopes that the third time is the charm as he prepares for his quarterfinal fight. McGregor has high hopes for his next athlete, fellow Irishman and protégé, Lee Hammond. After a hard-fought battle, mayhem ensues at the Apex between the coaches.
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I didn't challenge it at the time but it didn't sound right, and now looking at Mirko's record I know why <EdgyBrah>

Anyway, this season is hilarious, Conor is taking one of the biggest beating of TUF's history, ever since Rampage vs Rashad at TUF 10 (or at least I think?)
 
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