Why was Cro Cop such a disappointment in the UFC?

[The Blob]

I was reading an article which had some quotes by him about his UFC career a few weeks ago, and he said that even he was unable to properly explain why he had underperformed so much. I mean, he won the 2006 OWGP (best version of him ever) literally less than 5 months before he made his UFC debut against Sanchez, and only 2 months after that he was fighting Gonzaga, a guy that hasn't exactly proven to be some world beater since that fight. Then he lost to Kongo and thst was the end of his initial UFC tenure.

Can someone (without bashing him) provide any legitimate reasons why he performed like this?

 

[ROIDZ]

Gonzaga Cro Copped Cro Cop.

 

[Joohnmatrix]

He never looked comfortable to me in the octogan. He was more suited to the ring I believe.

 

[GaveOverForYou]

I think it had something to do with that brutal head kick he suffered in the 1st Gonzaga fight. He was practically dead and twisting his own ankle.

 

[Odysseus]

He looked slow and timid in his first fight, and seemed slower and less aggressive. Maybe his T levels dropped.

 

[Mondo Freaks]

ring setting. Like Fedor said, it takes a while to understand the cage.

 

[GODZILLA213]

He went from fighting for his legacy to fighting to make money.

 

[GalegodoVeneno]

His game was very limited, pretty much straight Left and Left High Kick. His takedown defense put him on the map, because he was one of the best strikers on pride, ground guys were just easy for him to pray upon... But in UFC he was slower and less powerfull, specially his leg kicks... Napao was able to take him down, guys like Kongo were big and talented on the feet to press him, he didn't have confidence anymore to let it go because of the losses.
We saw in the Fedor and Hunt fights that he get gun shy when you are in his face and his weapons don't scary you...
But i think he would be a good match up agaisnt COUTURE, so with a little bit of better luck agaisnt Napao, he could have been the CHAMPION, no doubt.

 

[tasticles]

Because he didn’t have the referees with the earpieces that told his opponents when to go down before the fight. As soon as he started fighting legit fights on American soil he started getting his ass kicked, just like Wanderlei and Fedor.

Choke on a dick

 

[Hellhammer84]

Cause he wasn't in Japan where the competition was easier......
Jokes aside it was probably all the injuries, fighting in a cage instead of a ring and yeah the whole "supplements" thing comes into play. Not that I have anything against it but he may not have been able to take as much Creatine as he did before and I imagine that in itself is another huge adjustment

 

[TheChance]

Because all those assholes who spent years extolling the virtues of pride while putting down the UFC we dead wrong.

 

[Hellhammer84]

Because he didn’t have the referees with the earpieces that told his opponents when to go down before the fight. As soon as he started fighting legit fights on American soil he started getting his ass kicked, just like Wanderlei and Fedor.

Is this Chael?

 

[GalegodoVeneno]

No drugs and used to the ring

This could be also it, he was less explosive for sure...

 

[GalegodoVeneno]

Because all those assholes who spent years extolling the virtues of pride while putting down the UFC we dead wrong.

Do you think he would fare well agaisnt COuture? Minotauro fucked Couture up and it looked easy... Couture was the Champion at the time.

 

[trident]

Gonzaga Cro Copped Cro Cop.

MirKoCroCop

 

[Dionysian]

He went from fighting for his legacy to fighting to make money.

Glad someone on the first page got it right, in between all the dogshit posting.

At no point in MMA history was this a mystery. He cried and dedicated it to his deceased father when he won the 2006 OWGP, said he achieved his dream. Then he said in multiple interviews the UFC gave him too much money to pass up, but that he wasn't especially excited/his passion for fighting was waning/he openly said he wouldn't even train in a cage. Then the physical/time/technical decline that everyone on Earth could see.

Again, not a mystery to anyone who actually knows the history of the sport. But to those mental midgets who came in piggybacking off Chael's WWE shtick, yeah... I guess it is a true mystery/earpiece/steroids (lol at the UFC being steroid free in 2007)/gee what happened.

 

[Slatersan]

They were encouraged to be on roids in pride. Even if it was easier to get away with back then in the ufc you would still have to cycle off. No mater what you may have heard you lose a huge amount of the benefits if you cycle off.

 

[sabretitan]

Opponents and cage?

 

[Ultimate Cuck]

his style is suited for the ring

 

[Brock-B-level-Athlete]

gold = best fighter
OWGP = tough warrior

lmao@Drug testing ufc cro cop was bigger than pride cro cop

 

[gono btw]

Because he didn’t have the referees with the earpieces that told his opponents when to go down before the fight. As soon as he started fighting legit fights on American soil he started getting his ass kicked, just like Wanderlei and Fedor.