Who was the better heavyweight striker between Overeem and Cro Cop?

[leifi]

Alistair Overeem and Mirko Cro Cop had a great mma-career and they both fought in PRIDE and UFC with mixed results. Apparently Overeem did better in UFC in general since he fought for the title 2016 while Cro Cop fought for the title in PRIDE FC and won the open weight grand prix 2006.

Overeem had knees
Cro Cop had high kicks

My question is, who was the better fighter in general when it comes to the ranking , name and style?


Here is a video from 2008 when Cro Cop literally did not had the balls to continue so to speak

 

[Frank Kain]

Interesting question. I’ll go Reem, but it’s razor thin. Ubereem was still one of the most devastating killing machines ever created.

 

[RichardHarrow]

In MMA I’d say Overeem. Crocop in K1.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

i think Cro Cop. his defense was better when he was really on in MMA. in K-1, i still think Overeem's first fight with Badr Hari was a master class on feinting and setups.

 

[JohnCena27]

Both were fantastic, Reem was a little bit more fluid in his striking I believe, especially when he got a bit boring (and smart) around 2015

 

[World eater]

As a big fan of Mirko, I’ll still go with both. Great fighters, exciting, beatable for sure but always dangerous.

 

[PhotographyRaptor]

In 2006 and before in a ring def Cop. After that, Reem wherever

 

[HHJ]

Interesting question indeed.

i think both of them had similar strengths and weaknesses. Both exceptionally strong,both not liking to be pressured

 

[HHJ]

Overeem seemed to perform better over a longer period of time

He would get ko'd and just come back like aint nothin happen. Whereas Mirko was never the same after the gonzaga loss...Reem did look bad in that last fight with Ubervolkov though. Then he came back as an almost Sapp-esque Ubereem behemoth against Badr Hari. But Glory wasnt havin none of his mexican supplements schenanigans. Still,they had to know. Oh well the fans cant give their ppv buys back lolz

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

Pure striking at their respective best is 50/50, but Reem has a solid edge when it comes to overall MMA.

 

[Baby Hanma]

Was Cro Cop no longer in his prime when he fought Gonzaga?

 

[Pepy]

Overeem seemed to perform better over a longer period of time

He would get ko'd and just come back like aint nothin happen. Whereas Mirko was never the same after the gonzaga loss...Reem did look bad in that last fight with Ubervolkov though. Then he came back as an almost Sapp-esque Ubereem behemoth against Badr Hari. But Glory wasnt havin none of his mexican supplements schenanigans. Still,they had to know. Oh well the fans cant give their ppv buys back lolz

someone here wrote that in the last Hari fight Reem looked like kid playing Reem on XBOX and I couldn't have agreed more. It was awkward.

 

[HHJ]

Was Cro Cop no longer in his prime when he fought Gonzaga?

Who knows,but he already had close to 60 (mma and kickboxing fights) matches by then


Without healing PEDS and whatever else the guy used to keep getting in the ring,the wheels were bound to come off sooner or later. I also think mentally there were issues there.

The guy has been fighting elite competition for 10 yrs straight,people seem to think that if you dont have 10 more your a can.

 

[moreorless87]

Overeem seemed to perform better over a longer period of time

He would get ko'd and just come back like aint nothin happen. Whereas Mirko was never the same after the gonzaga loss...Reem did look bad in that last fight with Ubervolkov though. Then he came back as an almost Sapp-esque Ubereem behemoth against Badr Hari. But Glory wasnt havin none of his mexican supplements schenanigans. Still,they had to know. Oh well the fans cant give their ppv buys back lolz

Its true Mirko seemed to be more of a form fighter, a loss would often be followed by poor performances but I would say when he was on form he was better mentally than Reem. Mirko had quite a narrow gameplan so if he wasnt winning didnt really have a plan B BUT I don't think he actually folded under pressure the way Reem did many times.

In MMA honestly I think Mirko was quite a bit better than Reem peak vs peak, the latter's boxing defence was always so so and he depended too much on backing up as well without the big gloves to hide behind. Mirko's striking I think translated to MMA much more sucessfully, better boxing, MUCH better laterial movement and more dependable counters.

Reem did obviously have the advantage of being a superior grappler though, indeed during his LHW run I would say he was actually a better grappler than a striker.

 

[HHJ]

Its true Mirko seemed to be more of a form fighter, a loss would often be followed by poor performances but I would say when he was on form he was better mentally than Reem. Mirko had quite a narrow gameplan so if he wasnt winning didnt really have a plan B BUT I don't think he actually folded under pressure the way Reem did many times.

In MMA honestly I think Mirko was quite a bit better than Reem peak vs peak, the latter's boxing defence was always so so and he depended too much on backing up as well without the big gloves to hide behind. Mirko's striking I think translated to MMA much more sucessfully, better boxing, MUCH better laterial movement and more dependable counters.

Reem did obviously have the advantage of being a superior grappler though, indeed during his LHW run I would say he was actually a better grappler than a striker.

it is telling that Mirko was much older than the Reem and was still learning,as evidenced by his 10 fight win streak before suffering a stroke,beating guys who he lost to before...and yes,he was mentally strong in the fight.

 

[moreorless87]

it is telling that Mirko was much older than the Reem and was still learning,as evidenced by his 10 fight win streak before suffering a stroke,beating guys who he lost to before...and yes,he was mentally strong in the fight.

I think the problem with Reem was that whilst he was actually an exellent learner, it tended to be one skill forced another out. Reem with his LHW ADCC grappling, his Uber clinch work and his Econo distance work all together would be a beast of a fighter.

I think you could also argue that meant Reem aged better, he could change his style to suit his abilities although Mirko's style was I think simply more dependant on speed/reactions.

 

[HHJ]

Overeem as a grappler wss weird. He def was one of the first strikers I saw with an aptitude for submissions,but sometimes in his LHW days hed take a guy down and seemed to not know what to do with them afrer he got them there...still slick w the guillotine,but it was more effective at LHW where he enjoyed a good height adv

 

[Goutfather]

reem

 

[moreorless87]

Overeem as a grappler wss weird. He def was one of the first strikers I saw with an aptitude for submissions,but sometimes in his LHW days hed take a guy down and seemed to not know what to do with them afrer he got them there...still slick w the guillotine,but it was more effective at LHW where he enjoyed a good height adv

His very early career as I understand it was as much grappling as striking, maybe kickboxing got him involved first but pretty quickly he was heavy on grappling before his MMA career even started.

To be fair I think even grappling wise he was still a bit flakey at LHW, he lost grappling heavy fights to Shogun and Lil Nog. EVen mythic "all skills at peak" Reem would I think still lose the odd fight.

 

[HHJ]

His very early career as I understand it was as much grappling as striking, maybe kickboxing got him involved first but pretty quickly he was heavy on grappling before his MMA career even started.

To be fair I think even grappling wise he was still a bit flakey at LHW, he lost grappling heavy fights to Shogun and Lil Nog.

His fight w Lil Nog,the one where his corner threw in the towel,is an underrated classic