Mirko Cro Cop Was 2-6 In the USA and UK

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Correlation is not causation. It had nothing to do with the place. He simply couldn't adapt to the octagon, he fought in K-1 in 1996, then he was an amateur boxer from 1996-1999, K-1 from 1999-2003 and Pride until 2007. His entire arsenal was adapted to the ring.

His footwork didn't work in the octagon because he couldn't trap people in the corners and set them up for kicks. His offensive footwork was always plodding forward and in the UFC people would just circle away from his left. Just watch the Sanchez fight, Sanchez circles to his right, Mirko follows the exact same arc instead of cutting the space. If Sanchez wasn't so terrified, he could have circled away easily for 15 minutes. Kongo did the same thing, JDS, Shaub, etc...

He was always arrogant, and he went to the UFC at his peak of popularity and feared reputation. He didn't train for elbows, didn't train in an octagon, he thought he could waltz in and KO everyone. Gonzaga's KO destroyed his leg, his confidence and ruined his aura so even though he tried to fix those things later on (brought an octagon in his gym, etc), it was too late, the damage was done.

Not adapting to the cage was part of the problem but the sheer number of fights he had and the injuries to his knees and ankles were also big factors. He had 86 amateur boxing matches and 26 kickboxing matches before he ever did MMA. That's a shit ton of fights.

 

[OldBoy91]

How is being on roids in a place where everyone else is on roids an advantage?

If everyone he was fighting was doing the same thing then it explains absolutely nothing.

Who says everybody was on roids? It's extremely likely but I don't know everybody used and neither do you. I know Cro Cop did because he admitted it.

Besides, its likely that he was still fighting guys on PEDs in the UFC. A lot of PRIDE guys came over and looked awful, probably because they had to stop or cut back on the roids until they figured out ways to beat the testing. Probably why the American PRIDE guys who fought stateside before came back over and adapted a lot better and were much more successful early on.

If it isn't an advantage then why did he look so much better in his 40s back in Asia than he did in his early 30s in the UFC?

If the reason everybody here gives is true, that between his lengthy K1 and MMA careers he was past his prime and unable to compete then he should have been an absolute can by the time he returned to Japan in his mid 40s. Yet instead he went on a massive finishing streak stopping everyone not named Roy Nelson.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

He did end his career 11-1 after leaving the ufc. Had a lot of success late as well. Only one of those fights was in the USA/UK though.

Yeah, he made adjustments late in his career and focused more on boxing and grappling cause he couldn't kick that well anymore.

 

[eddi]

How is being on roids in a place where everyone else is on roids an advantage?

If everyone he was fighting was doing the same thing then it explains absolutely nothing.

There is a lottery involved in how you respond to roids, some take a small dose and become incredibly strong with no side effects while others can take dangerous doses for a very small enhancement and huge side effect.
It depends on your genetics and androgen receptors.

some guys will turn into freaks with roids and destroy everybody while others wont change much

 

[Sweater of AV]

CC did ok in the United States and United Kingdom (2-6), but did better outside of it. 36-5-2(1)

Why do you think this is the case?

He was 3-0 in Canada, Germany and Australia though.



This thread did ok on Sherdog.

 

[AmericanMMA]

He was 3-0 in Canada, Germany and Australia though.



This thread did ok on Sherdog.

True he was undefeated in Canada, Germany, Australia, and of course, Connecticut.

 

[PhilMcCavity]

He obviously doesn’t give a shit about the English speaking world but he was 1-0 in Canada. Big thanks to Michael crocop he’s obviously a close personal friend of our messiah and dear leader Justin Fidel Trudeau

 

[MillingMeSoftly]

he put up a pretty good fight against JDS
Props to him for coming over and giving it a shot at his age

 

[markg171]

Correlation is not causation. It had nothing to do with the place. He simply couldn't adapt to the octagon, he fought in K-1 in 1996, then he was an amateur boxer from 1996-1999, K-1 from 1999-2003 and Pride until 2007. His entire arsenal was adapted to the ring.

His footwork didn't work in the octagon because he couldn't trap people in the corners and set them up for kicks. His offensive footwork was always plodding forward and in the UFC people would just circle away from his left. Just watch the Sanchez fight, Sanchez circles to his right, Mirko follows the exact same arc instead of cutting the space. If Sanchez wasn't so terrified, he could have circled away easily for 15 minutes. Kongo did the same thing, JDS, Shaub, etc...

He was always arrogant, and he went to the UFC at his peak of popularity and feared reputation. He didn't train for elbows, didn't train in an octagon, he thought he could waltz in and KO everyone. Gonzaga's KO destroyed his leg, his confidence and ruined his aura so even though he tried to fix those things later on (brought an octagon in his gym, etc), it was too late, the damage was done.

He sounds like a pretty shitty MMA fighter if he can't adapt to different situations.

That's kinda the entire point of MMA.

 

[jeff7b9]

He never trained to fight in a cage and you can't do left kick cemetery off your back.

 

[markg171]

He peaked by winning the Pride tournament and then was on the decline afterwards. It also didn’t help that he didnt know how to use the cage properly and had never fought with elbows being legal on the ground before.

What amazing timing that is that he became suddenly shot in the 5 months between winning the Pride tourney and his UFC debut.

 

[markg171]

Not adapting to the cage was part of the problem but the sheer number of fights he had and the injuries to his knees and ankles were also big factors. He had 86 amateur boxing matches and 26 kickboxing matches before he ever did MMA. That's a shit ton of fights.

Somehow didn't stop Izzy from winning and defending the title multiple times.

 

[Megatronlee]

Gotta look at the match ups

 

[Megatronlee]

Somehow didn't stop Izzy from winning and defending the title multiple times.

Izzy fought during the era of striking
Crocop fought when guys wanted to wrestle

 

[Space_Trucker]

Thank you for clarifying the reasons though. I was horrified it might have been because he was taking performance enhancing drugs when he was in places that he knew he would not be tested and did better in those places because of it.

Nothing like a guy with a Tom Brady av to make me feel like my favorite fighter isn't cheating.

Huge pats fan by the way. Goodell is a bitch.

Hah, you and Bellicheat deserve each other.

 

[mahavishnunj]

ngl his ufc run was depressing

His destruction of Gonzaga wasn't. That's one of the most brutal things I've ever seen.

 

[World eater]

Somehow didn't stop Izzy from winning and defending the title multiple times.

Somehow Izzy was the higher/biggest guy in MW before Perreira came. CC and Fedor were (relatively speaking) small guys. Also, most modern fighters like Izzy fight no-names in their initial 10 fights. CC’s first mma fight was against Fujita, fourth against Wand. It was a different time, apples to oranges. Don’t be so mad that some people still revere the old guard. We are old as well.

 

[markg171]

Izzy fought during the era of striking
Crocop fought when guys wanted to wrestle

Practically everybody has wanted to grapple Izzy.

 

[Haj01]

Because those countries started with United and he is the Croatian sensation.

When Crocop dies he specifically wants his legs to be cut off and buried. Right leg in the hospital and left leg in the cemetery.

 

[markg171]

His destruction of Gonzaga wasn't. That's one of the most brutal things I've ever seen.

Cro Cop was badly losing 20-17 before his 3rd round comeback.

The fight went exactly the same as the first fight except the last 30 seconds where the KO was reversed.