411 Fighter Profile: Mirko
Posted by Justin Thomas on 04.30.2008
Mirko Cro Cop is known for his devastating head kicks. He was one of PRIDE's biggest superstars and one of the most exciting fighters ever. He's also called the most feared striker in MMA history. Come in and find out more about the legendary Croatian.
Mirko Filipović
Nickname: "Cro Cop" Record: 23-6-2 Weight: 223 lbs. Height: 6' 2" Hometown: Zagreb, Croatia Ranking: #9 Heavyweight Association: Cro Cop Squad Gym Organizations: DREAM (current), UFC, PRIDE FC, Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye, K-1 Accomplishments: PRIDE 2006 Open weight Grand Prix champion, K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka Finalist, K-1 World Grand Prix 1999 Finalist, IKBF World Heavyweight Full Contact Champion
Introduction
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, better known to casual UFC fans as the most overrated fighter ever, is a huge superstar in Japan and a former PRIDE Heavyweight championship contender. He's known for his exciting kickboxing style and lethal kicks. He was/is one of the most feared strikers in history of MMA. Mirko's kicks are so powerful that his opponent after two unprotected kicks will suddenly be in a really bad shape. And all it takes is for Cro Cop is one head kick for his opponent to go down and out. He's very famous for his head kicks and when he's fighting, everyone is waiting to see a head kick knockout. Filipovic won most of his fights by KO/TKO and this is the guy you want to show footage of to your friend, who knows nothing about MMA. He was one of the most exciting and most popular fighters to ever fight in a PRIDE ring. Period.
Early Life
Filipovic was born on 1974 September 10 in Zagreb, Croatia. He started his professional kickboxing career in 1996 after gathering a 40-6 amateur boxing record. He was also working as a commando in the Croatian police anti-terrorist unit Alpha. That earned him the nickname Cro Cop (Croatian Cop). He was a very successful kickboxer in K-1 and holds victories over Jerome LeBanner, Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky, Mark Hunt and Bob Sapp. However, one fighter he never beat was Ernesto Hoost, who holds 3 victories over Mirko. In 2001 he started his MMA career and in 2003 he finished his job as an anti-terrorist and his kickboxing career to focus entirely on MMA. Mirko was very successful in his first MMA matches and instantly established himself not only as an exciting fighter, but as a very dangerous one.
MMA Career
Win, Kazuyuki Fujita, TKO (cut), round 1, 0:39 K-1: Andy Hug Memorial
Draw, Nobuhiko Takada, Special rules, round 5, 3:00 PRIDE 17: Championship Chaos
Takada was running away from Mirko the entire 5 rounds and did not want to trade punches with Cro Cop. Luckily for Nobuhiko, this fight was under K-1 rules, which meant an automatic draw after 5 rounds.
Draw, Wanderlei Silva, Special rules, round 5, 3:00 PRIDE 20: Armed and Ready
Wanderlei dominated most of the fight with some takedowns and aggressive approach. Mirko landed some hard kicks to Silva‘s body, but the fight was never in danger of being stopped. This bout, just like Mirko‘s fight against Takada, was under K-1 rules, meaning an automatic draw after 5 rounds.
Win, Kazushi Sakuraba, TKO (broken orbital bone), round 2, 5:00 PRIDE Shockwave 2002
Kazushi could not continue after 2 rounds because of a broken orbital bone. This was a first big win in PRIDE for Cro Cop.
Win, Heath Herring, TKO (strikes), round 1, 3:17 PRIDE 26: Bad to the Bone
Mirko easily defeated Heath Herring and instantly became a contender in the PRIDE‘s Heavyweight division.
Win, Igor Vovchanchyn, KO (head kick), round 1, 1:29 PRIDE Total Elimination 2003
First head kick in Mirko‘s MMA career. Mirko earned a title shot with this victory.
Win, Dos Caras Jr., KO (head kick), round 1, 0:46 PRIDE Bushido 1
Head kick #2.
Loss, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Submission (armbar), round 2, 1:45 PRIDE Final Conflict 2003
Lost the fight for PRIDE Interim Heavyweight title. Mirko dominated the first round, but in the second one, Nogueira took down Filipovic and quickly locked in an armbar.
Win, Ron Waterman, TKO (strikes), round 1, 1:37 PRIDE 27: Inferno
Win, Yoshihisa Yamamoto, KO (strikes), round 1, 2:12 PRIDE Bushido 2
Loss, Kevin Randleman, KO (punches), round 1, 1:57 PRIDE Total Elimination 2004
This was the first round in PRIDE‘s Heavyweight Grand Prix 2004. Randleman was a big underdog, but he quickly knocked out Mirko.
Win, Shungo Oyama, TKO (strikes), round 1, 1:00 PRIDE Bushido 4
Win, Aleksander Emelianenko, KO (head kick), round 1, 2:09 PRIDE Final Conflict 2004
Head kick #3.
Win, Josh Barnett, Submission (shoulder injury), round 1, 0:46 PRIDE 28: High Octane
Very anti-climatic ending. Barnett took down Cro Cop early and suddenly tapped out. The shoulder injury was not caused by an offensive manouver from Mirko.
Win, Kevin Randleman, Submission (guillotine choke), round 1, 0:41 PRIDE Shockwave 2004
Cro Cop avenged his loss to Randleman. This is also the only victory in Mirko‘s career by a submission hold.
Win, Mark Coleman, KO (punches), round 1, 3:40 PRIDE 29: Fists of Fire
Mirko demonstrated excellent takedown defense in this fight. Coleman deperately tried to take Mirko down, but eventually he got knocked out. Cro Cop earned a title shot with this victory.
Win, Ibrahim Magomedov, TKO (body kick), round 1, 3:53 PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005
Tune up match. Mirko was cautious and used his kicks to damage Ibrahim‘s legs and body. Magomedov fell down after a body kick and the fight was stopped.
Loss, Fedor Emelianenko, Decision (unanimous), round 3, 5:00 PRIDE Final Conflict 2005
Fedor dominated the fight on the feet by pressing the action. Later in the fight Mirko got tired and Emelianenko took him down several times and got the victory.
Loss, Mark Hunt, Decision (split), round 3, 5:00 PRIDE Shockwave 2005
Mirko has previously defeated Mark in a kickboxing match. The fight was close, Filipovic threw a lot of head kicks, some of them connected, but Mark did not go down and eventually won the fight.
Win, Ikuhisa Minowa, TKO (strikes), round 1, 1:10 PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute
First round of PRIDE‘s Open Weight Grand Prix 2006.
Win, Hidehiko Yoshida, Verbal submission (leg kicks), round 1, 7:38 PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute
Quarter finals of PRIDE‘s Open Weight Grand Prix 2006.
Win, Wanderlei Silva, KO (head kick), round 1, 5:22 PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute
One of the biggest wins in Mirko‘s MMA career. Before this fight, Wanderlei was knocked out only once in his career and that was 8 years ago. Silva came out as a victor in their first meeting, but this time, Mirko won decisively with a Head Kick #4 and advanced to the finals of the tournament.
Win, Josh Barnett, Submission (strikes), round 1, 7:32 PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute
Filipovic faced Barnett, for the 3rd time, in the finals. Josh was tired after a 15 minute war against Nogueira and Mirko used his superior striking to knock down Barnett and forced him to submit. Cro Cop won the PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix.
Win, Eddie Sanchez, TKO (punches), round 1, 4:33 UFC 67: All or Nothing
Mirko makes his UFC debut. He was a huge favorite to win this fight. Sanchez was running from Cro Cop the entire round, but eventually got caught.
Loss, Gabriel Gonzaga, KO (head kick), round 1, 4:51 UFC 70: Nations Collide
Filipovic got destroyed by Gonzaga and suffered a second knockout in his MMA career. This was a big upset as Cro Cop at the time was considered to be #2 or #3 heavyweight in the world and Gonzaga was nowhere near Top 10.
Loss, Cheick Kongo, Decision (unanimous), round 3, 5:00 UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion
Kongo outstriked Mirko, who once again didn‘t look like he was himself. Mirko won the first round, but the 2nd and 3rd were dominated by Cheick. After the second loss in a row in the UFC, Mirko was called the most overrated fighter and the most overpaid fighter in the world.
Win, Tatsuya Mizuno, TKO (punches), round 1, 0:56 DREAM 1
Mirko came back to Japan and fought at DREAM‘s debut show. He easily defeated Tatsuya Mizuno, who was a big underdog.
The Future
Filipovic, after suffering two losses, got back on track with a win over Mizuno and now he'll continue to fight in DREAM. His next fight is scheduled to be at DREAM 4, against a kickboxer, he once beat – Jerome LeBanner. If Mirko wins this one, then he could prove that his striking skills are still top level and that he's ready to face Fedor again or return to the UFC. However, if Filipovic loses here, which is likely, then he'll probably be out of the Top 10 lists for good.
As a fellow Croatian, Mirko has been a favorite of mine since I first saw him fight, when he faced Heath Herring. I wouldn't necessarily say he's overrated; his record should counter that. I think he just had a hard time facing heavyweights in UFC for two reasons: 1) a lot of his opponents would NEVER be able to make the UFC Heavyweight standards, and 2) the cage is a totally different environment than a ring. The UFC cage is TINY compared to the Pride ring. It's hard to press someone against ropes as compared to a steel mesh wall.
Had he fought all heavyweights in his career, maybe his record would be different, but that's just the way things work over in Japan.
I remember the Mirko/Fedor match. That was a HUGE deal, arguably one of the most anticipated matches in Pride history. Fedor did win, but he looked a heluva lot worse for wear after the fight than Mirko did.
It'll probably be for the best that he doesn't come back to UFC. His style of stand-up is much more suitable for an open ring than a smaller cage.
I know Mirko is a predictable figher, but damn, is he exciting to watch when he's on his game!
Posted By: Jbell (Guest) on April 30, 2008 at 01:09 AM
