I watched all of Crocop's fights in chronological order in the last 2 weeks...

[Highflyer]

true you can argue Barnett was at top of his game in PRIDE and now he is just older ,and you know what? He's TOP 5 right now and just knocked out Frank mir

Yah, and Cro Cop neutralized or outmuscled Barnett at times when Barnett weighed like 255 lbs(?) and in his prime.

That Cro Cop back in PRIDE was quick, powerful, and attacked. The UFC Cro Cop turned really old after the Gonzaga kick KO and just couldn't get anything going anymore.

 

[JKS]

Cro Cops style was also more suited for a ring then a octagon. He spent something like 70-80 fights in a ring over 10 years......he didnt adjust well to the octagon.

 

[Wand4Life]

People forget that CroCop said BEFORE the Pride GP that he was going to retire if he didn't win.

His fire to compete was already dwindling in 2006.
Nevermind reinventing your career in a new organization, new rules, new cage...

 

[Doomer]

The main was physical decline and lack of motivation, wasn't sharp and brutal. Prime Mirko destroys ''prime'' JDS.

 

[JKS]

The main was physical decline and lack of motivation, wasn't sharp and brutal. Prime Mirko destroys ''prime'' JDS.

No he doesn't Cro Cop was a good striker.....but JDS overall is better. Even Cro Cop in his prime had issues with Fedor and Hunt striking.

 

[Leonis]

I feel the same about Fedor because he just beat up Japanese cans most of his life as a can crusher. Then you look at who he loses to. People make it out as if he was some kind of god lol It's stupid, he would get body slammed and beat down by the big guns if he was in his prime and in the UFC today. Sorry but his competition was whack and not all that exciting. I'm not saying Fedor wasn't good, he was damn good, but he would just be "another fighter" if he fought competition as we know it today.

You may now hate....


And guys, don't let his record of can crushing distort your judgement by thinking he is the greatest or is a god. He was an elite can crusher, at best. Remember his competition, that's all I got to say.

 

[eXtv]

No he doesn't Cro Cop was a good striker.....but JDS overall is better. Even Cro Cop in his prime had issues with Fedor and Hunt striking.

Cro Cop almost killed Hunt when they fought in K-1 and in MMA he fought Mark with wrestling shoes on because he had a broken foot. It wasn't the same, Mirko had fought 4 times that year already and Mark edged him out on the feet. Also, that Mark was much more closer to his physical prime compared to the Mark Hunt of 2013 that broke his toe in the first round against JDS.

And as for Fedor, well, Fedor had one of the best striking games MMA had ever seen and put on an utterly masterful performance against Mirko, you can't really hold that against him when making a case for why JDS would beat a prime Mirko Cro Cop because JDS and Fedor are completely different fighters with vastly differing skillsets.

 

[arleyramos]

Leave the Legend alone. He did what almost the current guys nev er gonna do.

Lets just deal with it.

 

[KillerEX]

Well Cro Cop wasn't a killer in K-1. He was a good fighter, he made the finals once and all. The problem I noticed with him in those days was that he didn't response well when some took the fight to him. He was great when he got off first and but if you got to him early he was a totally different fighter. His hands were never that good, but his speed, reflexes, power and aggression were what overwhelmed his opponents. Look at the fights he lost, he was manhandled in most of them. For the haters watch his first K-1 fight, you'll see Hoost make him cry legkicks.

 

[shertard74]

you completely fail to mention any injuries. the guy was hurt badly going into a lot of those ufc fights, but never said a damn thing about it. the man is a warrior in every definition of the word and who the hell are you to reduce his accomplishments by following the zuffa zombie 'tougher competition' argument? the guy is a legend for a reason and deserves to be regarded as such

 

[HHJ]

Well Cro Cop wasn't a killer in K-1. He was a good fighter, he made the finals once and all. The problem I noticed with him in those days was that he didn't response well when some took the fight to him. He was great when he got off first and but if you got to him early he was a totally different fighter. His hands were never that good, but his speed, reflexes, power and aggression were what overwhelmed his opponents. Look at the fights he lost, he was manhandled in most of them. For the haters watch his first K-1 fight, you'll see Hoost make him cry legkicks.

he was still one of the better fighters,and only lost to tough guys. losing to hoost 3 times does not diminish him,hoost was THE man,and his speed was too much for mirko

 

[purpleheart]

Crocop was a completely different fighter in the ufc. He suffered a lot of leg injuries after the GP which he never 100% recovered from. A big part of his arsenal were the legs, which he couldnt use anymore the way he did in pride.

Also in Japan they eat horsemeat like theres no tomorrow, big difference.

 

[HHJ]

Also in Japan they eat horsemeat like theres no tomorrow, big difference.

obviously anyone who has ever fought in japan is on steroids

 

[Doomer]

No he doesn't Cro Cop was a good striker.....but JDS overall is better. Even Cro Cop in his prime had issues with Fedor and Hunt striking.

Mirko striking was at least one league above JDS. Not to mention the striking of real ''prime'' Mirko, who was in K-1.

And Mirko put three HKs to Hunt in Pride, which would end 99% of fighters. And Mark was 8 years younger than today and his durabilty was even higher than today. In their MMA fight, about the damage alone and dangerous strikes, Mirko was the winner,... Hunt was saved by his immense durability.

If Fedor would only strike with Mirko without takedowns, Mirko would brutalize him. Fedor was the better fighter, Mirko was far more dangerous striker.

 

[djacobox372]

Different era. It was a time when styles were still distinct and you didn't have "MMA" fighters. Cro Cop crossing over from kickboxing and doing as well as he did was a rare thing.

He was a great fighter, special for his time and unique. I hate people trying to discredit the guy's career just because he didn't do well in the UFC at the end of his career.

It's like taking any famous athlete in any other sport and then saying they wouldn't be good if they played with today's players. That's just not fair.

WTF is with this "different era" BS?

All of the top guys from crocop's era were well rounded MMA fighters (besides a few monster wrestlers, but that hasn't changed).

The single style "era" you're talking about is well before crocop's time. Frank Shamrock ushered in the modern era of MMA, and that was a long time ago.

 

[Doomer]

Well Cro Cop wasn't a killer in K-1. He was a good fighter, he made the finals once and all.

Hunt, JLB, Bonjasky, Aerts, Sam Greco, Bernardo... All top K-1 fighters and he defeated them when they were all in their pirme except JLB... they fought in 1996.

Hoost is anyway among top 3 best HW kickboxers ever.

 

[purpleheart]

obviously anyone who has ever fought in japan is on steroids

Lets ad every winner of the tour de france and every gold medalist of the olympics (in an athletic sport not curling) to that.

 

[MiroHa]

Well Cro Cop wasn't a killer in K-1. He was a good fighter, he made the finals once and all. The problem I noticed with him in those days was that he didn't response well when some took the fight to him. He was great when he got off first and but if you got to him early he was a totally different fighter. His hands were never that good, but his speed, reflexes, power and aggression were what overwhelmed his opponents. Look at the fights he lost, he was manhandled in most of them. For the haters watch his first K-1 fight, you'll see Hoost make him cry legkicks.

Yeah, he was. Wins over Le Banner (2x K-1 GP runner up), Musashi (2x K-1 GP runner up) Bernardo (1x K-1 GP runner up), Hunt (1x K-1 GP winner), Aerts (3x K-1 GP winner), Bonjasky (3x K-1 GP winner) etc. prove it.

 

[Chaos Theory]

Let me get this right, you watched all of CroCop's fights and that's what you came up with? BS plant troll.

Please actually go and watch them, his K-1 fights are awesome and will let you realise that JDS is not at his level of striking. Hands, feet, footwork, speed, reflexes and accuracy go to Mirko IMO.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

WTF is with this "different era" BS?

All of the top guys from crocop's era were well rounded MMA fighters (besides a few monster wrestlers, but that hasn't changed).

The single style "era" you're talking about is well before crocop's time. Frank Shamrock ushered in the modern era of MMA, and that was a long time ago.

Do you think a guy like Babe Ruth would be anything special if you took him out of 1920s and put him again 2013 players? Could he hit the fast balls that new players can throw nowadays? Would he hit nearly as many home runs as the steroid monsters of today do? He was one of the best at his time and a legend. It doesn't mean because he couldn't compete in modern times he sucks.

Cro Cop was one of the best of his time but with guys being more well rounded and complete MMA fighters, not to mention the switch from cage to ring and accumulation of injuries, he just couldn't hang around. His time had passed and there is nothing wrong with that.