i'm fairly new to mma and i have a question on cro cop. some people have said in the comments section on youtube that he is a legend and a great fighter, how true is that? did he dominate in his weight-class at his peak? when would you say was his fighting peak? just how good was he, and will history show him as a 'great' fighter? what are considered his best fights?
He is a quality fighter who is in MMA history. He had a poor run at the end but he got old just like Chuck. It happens to the best just like it does in boxing.
i'm fairly new to mma and i have a question on cro cop. some people have said in the comments section on youtube that he is a legend and a great fighter, how true is that? Its very true. Mirko is one the most lethal strikers in MMA history, coming from a successful career in Kick Boxing. Mirko has a killer left hand, the best head kick in the game, a killer body kick and over time he developed good enough takedown defense to keep most of his fights on his feet. Now his resume backs that up. Mirko defeated former Champions Wanderlei, Randleman, Coleman, and Barnett 3 times. Add in destroying other top level fighters like Igor and Aleksander Emelinenko. Also he beat lots of other tough and quality fighters Herring, Fujita 2x, Yoshida, Minowa, Pat Barry among others. did he dominate in his weight-class at his peak? No he did not. Mirko has never been a World Champion and was defeated by both Fedor and Minotauro Nogueira both of whom are considered the 2 greatest Heavyweights in the history of MMA. Mirko was competitive vs both but came up short. when would you say was his fighting peak? This is tough. I think the best year of his career came in 2006 when he won the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix and wound up beating the **** out of Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett in the same night. But Mirko has such a fall from the top in 2007 some argue that he really wasnt in his prime in 2006 (total bull****). just how good was he, and will history show him as a 'great' fighter? Yes even once MMA gets alittle older he wont fall to far down the rankings or anything. Mirko really for the most part is still a rariety in MMA. Very few guys have been very successful in a standup art like Mirko was in K-1 Kickboxing and come to MMA learn the other aspects and put together a brilliant career. Maurice Smith is one guy whos come to mind but his resume in MMA really pales in comparison to Mirko's. I think once more guys come from being high level K-1 fighers or Boxers and perform well in MMA we will look back to Cro Cop as one of the pioneers for that. what are considered his best fights? I think his best performences would be the 2nd Wanderlei fight, the Igor bout, Heath Herring and a few others. His recent fight with Pat Barry is also a hell of a fight to watch. The fights with Fedor and Nogueira are epics and are both must watches. Id also say watch his KO loss to Gabriel Gonzaga its about as brutal a knockout thats ever happened.
he was the third best heavy ever. he lost to big nog and fedor. the fedor fight was quite good, and mirko was in his peak. but fedor outstriked him!!! and beat him in a good fight
excellent commentz by JIMMY for you BLACKLIKE right on the money so much it pissed me off because i waz gonna say that just to add a little hyperbole into the mix i would say he waz a TAD over-rated and i will tell you WHY BIG NOG and FEDOR couldnt compete at the top levelz of K1 as they would have a tough time only using striking. that said the top level guyz of K1 couldnt compete at the top levelz of PRIDE because they would get destroyed on the ground etc. cro cop could compete at the top levelz of K1 and amazingly had a ground game that waz good enough for the top levelz of PRIDE. therefore i think when he came over to pride and started kicking ass he got so much attention from the RIVILRY between STRIKERz and MMA fighterz that he got a tad over-rated. that said crocop waz wicked in his day and isnt very much over-rated but just a tad. when waz his PRIME ? alot is made of onez AGE when determaning onez PRIME but i think onez prime has alot to do with how many timez youve had your bell rung into unconciousness. i remember when i waz a young boxer without being knocked out and how after a brutal knockout even in sparring i couldnt take the same punchez that i had before without having my co-ordination effected even slightly. that slight effect in a real fight can be the end of your PRIME
Put simply theres a consensus on the top 4 ATG heavys. Fedor Big Nog CC Barnett The best and most focused CC iv ever seen was from the OWGP in 2006. Iv never seen CC that lethal throughout his entire career. He gave Wandy a frightful beating. The type that you never recover from. And went on to completely dominate and stop Barnett. To say CC was beside himself when the tourny ended with him as champ is an understatement.
In his prime he was very good. He is a kickboxer and has one of the best head kicks in MMA. He knockout many of his opponent with his high kick. If you get a chance go watch his fights in youtube when he was in pride. He was exciting to watch and is very skilled. He fought mostly in a ring from k-1 to pride so when he got to the UFC he wasn't used to fighting in the octagon. I guess he just never got used to it and it affected him when he fights. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK3KG0n-ZGY[/ame]
Great video Vitor, I still can't believe he blew Wandys head open with that headkick haha his kicks where a thing of beauty for sure!
i know they are not in the same weight division, but if mirko had of lost some weight, how would he of gone against chuck liddel? both fighters in their prime.
Chuck Liddell is a good mma striker, and combined this with his superb takedown defense to defeat superior grapplers and lesser talented strikers. Cro Cop is a world class striker. Liddell's typical strategy would have backfired against Cro Cop far worse than it did against Jardine.
Mirko and pretty easily. Id say both of these guys hit their peaks around 05-06 and by that time Mirko has developed great takedown defense so if Chuck needs to go to that plan B it likely wont be there. Now striking he gets lit up and KOed probably in the 2nd, I see some feeling out early. Chuck is good at giving angles and movement but whether he comes forward or moves backwards Cro Cop can counter both and I think those quick left hands expose the fundemental flaws Chuck has with keeping his hands low and chin up and Chuck is easy to hit with body kicks I think Cro Cop lands em at will. Chuck is always dangerous as a puncher and Cro Cop DOES NOT have a granite jaw but I think thats his only serious chance hoping Mirko comes in alittle to aggressive and gets caught.