Ufccccccccccc!
28-Dec-2007, 04:03 PM
#21
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: █♣█ Durham
Posts: 11,514
28-Dec-2007, 06:43 PM
#25
Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,570
28-Dec-2007, 09:59 PM
#29
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29-Dec-2007, 12:18 PM
#32
Luka
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 14,319
What I’ve learned from my friendship with Mirko Cro Cop is that you can never be sure what he is up to. He prefers to keep his thoughts for himself; he’s always been a man of a few words. His absence in the media often results in completely misleading stories, coming from people who are giving their best shot in evaluating Mirko’s position and the nature of his future plans.
After two consecutive losses in the UFC, Mirko made only a few public appearances, avoding the inconvenience of having to provide an explanationg for the curse of his career. On the Internet you can read tons of sceanarios where more than a few people actually believe that Cro Cop is done. So I decided to ask Mirko out for a friendly drink, to find out, among other things, where he really stands at the moment.
When I arrived to the caffe-bar “Virage” last Wednesday and shook his hand, I immediately noticed an abundance of pure energy coming from him. I don’t posses a Hannibal Lecter type of human scanner, but when I looked in his eyes, it was obvious that Mirko has refueled his “motivational tank” and that his fighting spirit has been reborn. This time he wasn’t there to talk about his retirement, which is what he used to do before and after his fight against Cheick Kongo.
We were talking about the change and Mirko confirmed everything that I saw on his face from that first sight. He said that he’s completely in the game again, focused only on how to get back on track. He doesn’t think about contract obligations, retirement, injuries and a few other things, which one shouldn’t think about if you are determined to give everything you’ve got in the cage or the ring. His day starts with a goal to be the best in MMA, and it ends the same way. Mirko Cro Cop is back to his Spartan-style training routine and motivation, I can tell you for sure.
So what was the problem, actually? Mirko said that he had been completely empty inside and that he had ran our of his motivation and his fighting spirit. Although he really wanted to get back on track after the fight against Gonzaga, he wasn’t mentally and psyhically ready to make it happen. He encountered more than a few obstacles that prevented him to provide a better performance against Kongo, and the majority of those obstacles were not related to the opponent directly, they appeared as a result of Mirko’s overall mental and physical condition.
What else is new? Mirko has a completely new training routine. He needed something new, a training routine that could wake up a sleeping power inside him. His training schedule now contains more sparring sessions, better cardio program and a whole different approach to an intensity level of his trainings and rest between the sessions. He’s continuing his cooperation with Vos gym’s head coach Ivan Hyppolite, who will assist him in the final preparations for the fight. Cro Cop Team now includes sparring partners Igor Pokrajac, Hrvoje Kisicek and Sasa Mucnjak, boxing coach Branimir Levak and Prof. Igor Jukic who’s in charge of conditioning.
And when exactly are we going to see Mirko back in action? Hunderds of topics throughout the Internet are crowded with predictions, wild guesses and “reliable sources”, but all of them are just speculations since Mirko has no information to share about his upcoming appearances in the cage. He said that he really doesn’t know when he’ll fight again and he’s relaxed about it. It will happen sooner or later, but what is far more important for him is to fight a top fighter. Mirko added that he has never choosen his opponent and that he will gladly accept any challenge the UFC puts in front of him, but his wish is to face the strongest opponent possible.
If you are a Cro Cop fan, then I guess your optimism is regained at this point of the article. If you are not, then you should at least enjoy the fact that one of the best strikers in the world of MMA is on his way to make a strong comeback to the sport. Either way, I see this as pretty big thing, mainly bacause MMA desperately needs a powerful heavyweight striker.
So why did Cro Cop decide to give it another shot? It’s about pride and self respect, I’d say. After 11 years of a professional career, you just can’t get out of the game like this. Maybe Mirko can’t win the UFC belt and maybe he’ll never get his chance to fight for a title, but the most important thing is that he steps in the cage to fight and to give his best. That’s something that everyone should do, and if you do it, you are already a winner. The famous Croatian cop will make his comeback and what’s left is to see if others will only have the right to remain silent.
After two consecutive losses in the UFC, Mirko made only a few public appearances, avoding the inconvenience of having to provide an explanationg for the curse of his career. On the Internet you can read tons of sceanarios where more than a few people actually believe that Cro Cop is done. So I decided to ask Mirko out for a friendly drink, to find out, among other things, where he really stands at the moment.
When I arrived to the caffe-bar “Virage” last Wednesday and shook his hand, I immediately noticed an abundance of pure energy coming from him. I don’t posses a Hannibal Lecter type of human scanner, but when I looked in his eyes, it was obvious that Mirko has refueled his “motivational tank” and that his fighting spirit has been reborn. This time he wasn’t there to talk about his retirement, which is what he used to do before and after his fight against Cheick Kongo.
We were talking about the change and Mirko confirmed everything that I saw on his face from that first sight. He said that he’s completely in the game again, focused only on how to get back on track. He doesn’t think about contract obligations, retirement, injuries and a few other things, which one shouldn’t think about if you are determined to give everything you’ve got in the cage or the ring. His day starts with a goal to be the best in MMA, and it ends the same way. Mirko Cro Cop is back to his Spartan-style training routine and motivation, I can tell you for sure.
So what was the problem, actually? Mirko said that he had been completely empty inside and that he had ran our of his motivation and his fighting spirit. Although he really wanted to get back on track after the fight against Gonzaga, he wasn’t mentally and psyhically ready to make it happen. He encountered more than a few obstacles that prevented him to provide a better performance against Kongo, and the majority of those obstacles were not related to the opponent directly, they appeared as a result of Mirko’s overall mental and physical condition.
What else is new? Mirko has a completely new training routine. He needed something new, a training routine that could wake up a sleeping power inside him. His training schedule now contains more sparring sessions, better cardio program and a whole different approach to an intensity level of his trainings and rest between the sessions. He’s continuing his cooperation with Vos gym’s head coach Ivan Hyppolite, who will assist him in the final preparations for the fight. Cro Cop Team now includes sparring partners Igor Pokrajac, Hrvoje Kisicek and Sasa Mucnjak, boxing coach Branimir Levak and Prof. Igor Jukic who’s in charge of conditioning.
And when exactly are we going to see Mirko back in action? Hunderds of topics throughout the Internet are crowded with predictions, wild guesses and “reliable sources”, but all of them are just speculations since Mirko has no information to share about his upcoming appearances in the cage. He said that he really doesn’t know when he’ll fight again and he’s relaxed about it. It will happen sooner or later, but what is far more important for him is to fight a top fighter. Mirko added that he has never choosen his opponent and that he will gladly accept any challenge the UFC puts in front of him, but his wish is to face the strongest opponent possible.
If you are a Cro Cop fan, then I guess your optimism is regained at this point of the article. If you are not, then you should at least enjoy the fact that one of the best strikers in the world of MMA is on his way to make a strong comeback to the sport. Either way, I see this as pretty big thing, mainly bacause MMA desperately needs a powerful heavyweight striker.
So why did Cro Cop decide to give it another shot? It’s about pride and self respect, I’d say. After 11 years of a professional career, you just can’t get out of the game like this. Maybe Mirko can’t win the UFC belt and maybe he’ll never get his chance to fight for a title, but the most important thing is that he steps in the cage to fight and to give his best. That’s something that everyone should do, and if you do it, you are already a winner. The famous Croatian cop will make his comeback and what’s left is to see if others will only have the right to remain silent.
30-Dec-2007, 12:32 AM
#38
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,570
I second that...i was watching the NFL game while that fight was on
im so pissed Silva lost....he should have pounced on Liddell when he knocked him down...i think Wanderlei should just retire after his 4 fight contract is over
GSP did an amazing job but i think Serra will over power him
im so pissed Silva lost....he should have pounced on Liddell when he knocked him down...i think Wanderlei should just retire after his 4 fight contract is over
GSP did an amazing job but i think Serra will over power him
