Mirko Cro Cop Says The UFC Was A Black Spot In His Career

Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic made his name in Pride FC as one of the most devastating and entertaining strikers in all of MMA. The former openweight grand prix champion made his much awaited UFC debut after Pride went defunct, but never really managed to live up to the hype he had built in Japan.

He debuted at UFC 67 with a TKO win over Eddie Sanchez, but ended up getting finished by strikes five times in the promotion between 2007-11 while amassing a 4-6 record, and has since gone 1-1 outside the organization. ‘Cro Cop’ spoke with MMAFighting last night to discuss his time with the UFC:

“It’s a black spot in my career, the UFC. UFC treated me like a king. UFC fans treated me like a king. I just failed, you know? Why? It’s hard to say. New fighters are coming. But, I will always believe, I will always believe, maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right; but I will always believe my bad UFC career started with injuries. I’ve told this story so many times, so, sometimes I just feel stupid to tell it again and sometimes people will just not understand the way I think.”

“There is an old wise (tale) that says, ‘winners will always find a solution and losers will always find an excuse.’ So, I don’t want to sound like a loser who is finding some excuse. But the fact is, after my last fight in PRIDE and before my first fight in UFC, I had foot surgery. It was a broken foot. I had a broken foot after the PRIDE Grand Prix final. A fragment of the bone was floating in my foot. So, after surgery, it took me two and a half months away from training. I wasn’t able to do kicking or running. I was riding a bicycle, push ups and sit ups, but I wasn’t able to train in MMA.”

Without a doubt, Filipovic’s foray in to the world of western MMA was less than stellar; it seemed the aging Croatian sensation had lost his fire, but perhaps his injury troubles are the main reason for that. Cro Cop continued:

“After that, I lost to Gonzaga with a terrible high kick. I was surprised and shocked by the cage. At the end of the day it was my second time in the cage and Gonzaga destroyed me with elbows on the ground. So, after we stood up, I didn’t have a double vision, I had three times vision. I saw three guys and he really beat me up badly and throw a high kick that I didn’t even notice. After that, I broke my leg, I broke my knee so I had a fourth knee injury. I would say it’s bad luck or maybe it’s not. In my previous career, I didn’t have any kind of injury so maybe I should consider myself lucky at the end of the day. In the UFC days, injury after injury.”

“before my last fight in UFC with Roy Nelson, I broke my arm. Not my bone, buy ligament broke in half completely. Pat Barry was there in training. I was sparring with Pat and I throw a right hook. I punched him to the head, but at the same time I felt a terrible pain. You could feel a hole in my bicep. The same night I went to the hospital and doctor said in two days I had to do surgery, but that was out of the question. In this case I was supposed to cancel the fight. It’s not a shame to go down, it’s a shame not to stand up. I’m fighter, I’m a warrior and that’s my job. That’s my love and I enjoy it.”

Since stepping away from the UFC, Cro Cop has won his first K-1 grand prix. After his so called ‘Final Fight’, a decision win against Ray Sefo in Zagreb, Croatia, Filipovic entered the 2012 K-1 world GP. One knockout and four hard fought decisions later; Cro Cop had finally fulfilled his kickboxing dream, at the ripe old age of 37.

I’d like to think that a fully healthy Cro Cop could have really made it in the UFC, but things don’t often play out how you’d expect in the fight game. His legend was already solidified through the amazing fights with Fedor Emelianenko, Rodrigo Nogueira, Josh Barnett and so many others in Pride, but his time in the UFC was heartbreaking for the hardcore fans.

Currently scheduled to face Remy Bonjasky at Glory 14: Zagreb, we’ll see how well the aging legend is firing at 39. One thing is for sure, the above interview only gives me more reasons to think that Croatian kickboxing and Pride FC legend Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic is a really cool guy.