Cro Cop by decapitation

Kongo better watch out

Nice Custom Cage…CC purchased…

Question: why is fighting in the octagon so different than the pride ring?

(Since we’ve been hearing a lot about some fighters not doing so well in the cage and needing to get used to it)

[quote comment=”123367″]Question: why is fighting in the octagon so different than the pride ring?

(Since we’ve been hearing a lot about some fighters not doing so well in the cage and needing to get used to it)[/quote]

Well you can use the cage to your advantage. Chuck Liddell is a perfect example, without that he can’t just stand up like he does when he gets taken down. Press your back against it and you can use it to push against and stand up. Can’t do that in a ring. Its smaller too, beyond that I’m not sure.

[quote comment=”123373″][quote comment=”123367″]Question: why is fighting in the octagon so different than the pride ring?

(Since we’ve been hearing a lot about some fighters not doing so well in the cage and needing to get used to it)[/quote]

Well you can use the cage to your advantage. Chuck Liddell is a perfect example, without that he can’t just stand up like he does when he gets taken down. Press your back against it and you can use it to push against and stand up. Can’t do that in a ring. Its smaller too, beyond that I’m not sure.[/quote]

It’s not just the cage its different rules too for new ufc fighters. They can’t kick to the face of a downed oppent. Elbows are allowed ect. A great example of how just a few rule changes can effect your preformance is USA basketball. The USA team has by far the best talent. However, with the slight rule changes, shorter 3 point line for example, the team can’t even place.

It’s great to see that Cro Cop has humbled himself and decided to learn Cage Tactics, as well as learning some Ju Jitsu. I wonder who he will fight after he destroys Kongo?

MIRKO BY BRUTAL RAPE

Yeah, I knew the rules are different, and that would definitely affect fighters… but the cage/ring didn’t seem like a huge difference to me..

That makes sense though about being able to use the cage to stand up. And I know you can squeeze an opponent into the cage and pound him. On the flip side though, the opponent can use the cage to spin out of it if they are skilled.

And Randy Couture has made some comments about how experience in the cage is an advantage over some Pride guys who never fought the cage…

Guess I still don’t see it being a huge factor over skill/etc… I must be missing something.

Red - Agreed! Cro Cop with cage tactics will be a monster.

Elbows on ground are a big difference. No kicks or knees to a downed opponent. In a ring if you go to the ropes, they stop it and center you. This can help you get your composure or catch your breath for a sec. In the cage if your pressed up against it your stuck there until you can get out.

[quote comment=”123383″]It’s great to see that Cro Cop has humbled himself and decided to learn Cage Tactics, as well as learning some Ju Jitsu. I wonder who he will fight after he destroys Kongo?[/quote]

He’s going to fight Minataro next and the winner gets a title shot

He looked weak and scrawny in that last pic where the guy is holding his leg up. Sorry CroCop fans, but we have seen the best of his career already. Anyway in 50 years people will look back and be like ” he was great in pride, didn’t do much in that old UFC organization that used to operate out of Vegas”

I am so pleased to see this,I have heard he has bought a octagon on another MMA blog site but to see the pictures just confirms this,you can see he looks determined and I am so glad I am going to UFC75,I think Crocop is gonna “woop some ass dude” as Americans say.

Another thing is that pride fighters are used to being able to stalk an opponent and corner them in a ring. With wider escape angles in the cage, it’s easier to escape and keep moving.

[quote comment=”123398″][quote comment=”123383″]It’s great to see that Cro Cop has humbled himself and decided to learn Cage Tactics, as well as learning some Ju Jitsu. I wonder who he will fight after he destroys Kongo?[/quote]

He’s going to fight Minataro next and the winner gets a title shot[/quote]

..That makes cents.

[quote comment=”123386″]MIRKO BY BRUTAL RAPE[/quote]

Ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Cage makes you need to know wrestling a lot more then in a ring.

For example….
If someone shoots at you…. you need to know to take a wide stance and press your back agains the cage to withstand the shoot. Tito and Chuck are both excellent at this. As soon as someone shoots at them they look for the wide stance…. and if they need extra support they will use two hands to underhook one shoulder of the shooting enemy to take away his leverage.

Thats just one example of a major difference.

[quote post=”2996″]Question: why is fighting in the octagon so different than the pride ring?
(Since we’ve been hearing a lot about some fighters not doing so well in the cage and needing to get used to it)[/quote]

I’ve heard some comments, i believe from Couture actually, that some of it has to do with the angles. The ring has four 90 degree angles, where the cage has more open angles. There is always an out, but in the ring you can get backed in the corner. One example I can think of was when Rampage beat Liddell, although it didn’t matter much in the cage either. But anyway, he wasn’t able to back up and counter punch like he normally does. He just ended up in a corner.

Just my 2 cents.

[quote comment=”123383″]It’s great to see that Cro Cop has humbled himself and decided to learn Cage Tactics, as well as learning some Ju Jitsu. I wonder who he will fight after he destroys Kongo?[/quote]

Cro Cop has been training Jui-Jitsu during his whole MMA career, not just know. Fabricio Werdum was his BJJ Coach, but now that he has joined Chute Boxe I don’t think that is the case.

[quote comment=”123377″][quote comment=”123373″][quote comment=”123367″]Question: why is fighting in the octagon so different than the pride ring?

(Since we’ve been hearing a lot about some fighters not doing so well in the cage and needing to get used to it)[/quote]

Well you can use the cage to your advantage. Chuck Liddell is a perfect example, without that he can’t just stand up like he does when he gets taken down. Press your back against it and you can use it to push against and stand up. Can’t do that in a ring. Its smaller too, beyond that I’m not sure.[/quote]

It’s not just the cage its different rules too for new ufc fighters. They can’t kick to the face of a downed oppent. Elbows are allowed ect. A great example of how just a few rule changes can effect your preformance is USA basketball. The USA team has by far the best talent. However, with the slight rule changes, shorter 3 point line for example, the team can’t even place.[/quote]
I think the Pride rules have changed too since the UFC bought them. They adopted or were forced to adopt the no kicking downed opponent. I don’t know if they allow elbows now though.

1 Lucky Kick and Cro Cop is a has been. Wow!! I am shocked at how much people think they know about fighters and there ability. Let him lose more than 1 UFC fight and then have a real opinion.

I wonder if Gilbert Yvel is teaching CroCop how to eye gauge.

I’m going to translate some stuff for you dudes.

Here it is:

Basically says that Mirko received the smaller version of the octagon cage as a gift from the company Throwdown.

Also it mentions that the cage costs $25,000.

Mirko’s spars look better than his fights because he’s spars with the Dutch dude named Bonjasky, Czech dude named Hron and an American Lister.

The other stuff is just random garbage that doesn’t deserve translation.

[quote post=”2996″]Another thing is that pride fighters are used to being able to stalk an opponent and corner them in a ring. With wider escape angles in the cage, it’s easier to escape and keep moving. [/quote]

yea they can cut the ring off but its real hard to cut the cage off

I forgot to mention that he cage is in his basement and that the same cage was installed for the iceman, rampage and couture but not in their homes.

Also Cro cop’s trainer mentions that cro cop’s stand up has worsen by P percent because he was focusing on technique more. The trainer said that Mirko was in charge of his own training sessions all these years. I guess that means he practiced what ever he wanted.

gotta love that pride 29 ring/cage.

the cage is muchh different because it can be used to a fighters advantage n the main difference is obvious, cage=circle ring=square!!!

yea cro cop will probably tko kongo

Mirko could actually take Kongo down and win this fight. Kongo is the worst fighter I’ve ever seen when he gets taken down. I think I’ve manuevered better on the ground in fights in the first grade.

boot to the head

Fighters are also stood up when they get into the ropes, and that cannot happen in the cage.

Well Kongo taking a fight to the ground would be a surprised. A man with his imposing stature with a wrestling background would truly be a force.

But he and Cro Cop suffer from the same thing, a lack of ground technique, and only using ground technique as a defence.

I personally would have rather seen these two meet up in the K1 arena, but it will be interesting to see how two K1 fighters adjust to MMA rules, when their bread and butter is the stand up game.

When he is on his back Kongo fights worse than a limbless child with down syndrome drunk on mouthwash. On their feet, one of these two men was a ranked K1 fighter, one wasn’t, and this will be a K1 fight. Cro Cop is going to kick Kongo’s head out of the arena.

[quote comment=”123433″]1 Lucky Kick and Cro Cop is a has been. Wow!! I am shocked at how much people think they know about fighters and there ability. Let him lose more than 1 UFC fight and then have a real opinion.[/quote]

That “lucky kick” happened courtesy of Napao working Cro Cop on the ground before they got stood up for no good reason. Cro Cop was already groggy and then got caught.

[quote comment=”123555″][quote comment=”123433″]1 Lucky Kick and Cro Cop is a has been. Wow!! I am shocked at how much people think they know about fighters and there ability. Let him lose more than 1 UFC fight and then have a real opinion.[/quote]

That “lucky kick” happened courtesy of Napao working Cro Cop on the ground before they got stood up for no good reason. Cro Cop was already groggy and then got caught.[/quote]

yeah Crocop made mistakes coming into that fight but it will have probably done him good in the long run.
I cant wait till sept8th,its my first UFC il be attending and Crocop is my second faveourite fighter in the world.

[quote comment=”123482″]the cage is muchh different because it can be used to a fighters advantage n the main difference is obvious, cage=circle ring=square!!!

cage=circle……dude it’s an octagon……

I’m surprised no ones giving Kongo a chance. When Silva wasn’t dry humping him on the ground his stand was insane at 70. I think Kongo poses a lot of problems for Mirko in the sense that he definitely does has knock power, is very aggressive and always looking to clinch and once he gets there he has extremely powerful knees. I pretty sure after the Gonzaga fight everyone saw how Mirko is affected by a fighter who goes after him and isn’t afraid of his kicks. The entire fight Mirko threw no punches and only a single kick. I certain that anyone who fights him from that point on is very aware of this. If I was going to put money down I would say Cro Cop I just think Kongo poses a large threat to anyone who decides to stand up with him.

Translation:

After he was beat up by the dutch masters of stand-up fighting this tuesday Mirko decided to invite us to his sparring.
- “You have to see how we are fighting. Man, I’m so tired I can’t lift my arms.”

And that’s the truth. Mirko’s sparring fights look better than most competitions since his sparring partners are the dutch Bonjasky and Yvel, american Lister and czech Hron. And this gladiator atmosphere is amplified by the cage from the US assembled last week.
- “Because the original cage can’t fit in my basement they assembled this 6m in diameter cage for me”, explains Mirko.

The cage worth $25000 was a gift to Mirko from the specialized american constructor Throwdown. Mirko’s cage was assembled by Brent Stuchlik and Ari Hagen.
- “We assembled the same octagon for Quinton Jackson, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.”

But none of the them has the cage in their basement.
- “We love the way Mirko fights and we gave the cage to him.”

The guys cruised the croatian coast after the assembly and realized then what Mirko means to the croatians.
- “I can see that you are proud of him, just as you should be proud of your cuisine. I’m crazy about the cheese from Pag”, Stuchlik added.

Also impressed by Croatia was the fighter they call Uragan, Gilbert Yvel.
- “I was in Russia and also in some other eastern European countries and I have to admit that I was expecting something similar. But Croatia definitely looks more like Europe than Russia. We were surprised by how many people recognized Remy.”

And Remy is really a gentleman, something you wouldn’t believe if you see him kick people. He rushed Mirko with an amazing arsenal of kicks. Also, he is a two time champion in K-1 and Crocop has been spending too much time training grappling in the last years.
- “Because of the hard training of grappling techniques Mirko has lost a lot of his stand up skill. I’d say maybe up to 50%. On top of that, all these years he was running his own trainings and he expressed his wish to have me yell at him so that he can get used to instructions from ringside, said trainer Ivan Hyppolite.”

His apprentice Remy Bonjasky was impressed with Mirko’s training hall.
- “It’s great to have something like that in your own house. When you go to training you just go downstairs and when you’re done you’re in your living room in a second.”

No such thing as a lucky kick unless somehow he didnt have control of his leg and it kicked him without his knowledge, which I find very unlikely.

kongo will ko cro cop in my opinion. he has excellant striking and hes huge powerfull and has very long reach. plus i know you all have seen cro cop in k1 and how he has trouble with really strong kick boxers for example ernesto hoost… michael mcdonald (black asassin). these guys are really powerfull kick boxers and kongo will ko him. all kongo has to do is keep circling away from that strong ass lhk and put the kill on cro cop

Whats with the “croatian guy who speaks bad english” theme? Unless you speak as well croatian as Cro Cop speaks english… frankly, you should STFU.

Hey UFCMANIA! Why such strong-handed arbitration when 2 idiots start getting off-topic but no mediation or censorship when racial comments are posted? Please clean up the mess!

[quote comment=”123662″]Hey UFCMANIA! Why such strong-handed arbitration when 2 idiots start getting off-topic but no mediation or censorship when racial comments are posted? Please clean up the mess![/quote]

FYI, this is at least the 3rd thread in which I’ve seen such non-sense go un-checked.

[quote comment=”123663″][quote comment=”123662″]Hey UFCMANIA! Why such strong-handed arbitration when 2 idiots start getting off-topic but no mediation or censorship when racial comments are posted? Please clean up the mess![/quote]

FYI, this is at least the 3rd thread in which I’ve seen such non-sense go un-checked.[/quote]

Well, I’m not chained to this thing every second of every day. Sometime iditoic comments slip through … and for that I apologize. For the most part I spend a great deal of time trying to keep this board as trash-free as possible.

[quote post=”2996″]1 Lucky Kick and Cro Cop is a has been. Wow!! I am shocked at how much people think they know about fighters and there ability. Let him lose more than 1 UFC fight and then have a real opinion. [/quote]
You call 5 minutes of DOMINATION a lucky kick, wake up to reality ,he got OWNED. CC is one dimentional and he will lose again and again against well rounded fighters like Randy, GG and Vera unless he expands his game. CC is one of the best kickboxers ,but this is MMA and you have to have the full package if you want to be at the top. You’re right we have to wait and see how he does in his next couple of fights ,but I wouldn’t hold my breath and expect him to be champ.

The black guy in picture number 4, isnt he the guy that KO’ed Kongo in 2004?

[quote comment=”123580″]I’m surprised no ones giving Kongo a chance. When Silva wasn’t dry humping him on the ground his stand was insane at 70. I think Kongo poses a lot of problems for Mirko in the sense that he definitely does has knock power, is very aggressive and always looking to clinch and once he gets there he has extremely powerful knees. I pretty sure after the Gonzaga fight everyone saw how Mirko is affected by a fighter who goes after him and isn’t afraid of his kicks. The entire fight Mirko threw no punches and only a single kick. I certain that anyone who fights him from that point on is very aware of this. If I was going to put money down I would say Cro Cop I just think Kongo poses a large threat to anyone who decides to stand up with him.[/quote]

Watch Crocop vs Alexander Emilienenko (or howhever you spell it)

[quote comment=”123610″]kongo will ko cro cop in my opinion. he has excellant striking and hes huge powerfull and has very long reach. plus i know you all have seen cro cop in k1 and how he has trouble with really strong kick boxers for example ernesto hoost… michael mcdonald (black asassin). these guys are really powerfull kick boxers and kongo will ko him. all kongo has to do is keep circling away from that strong ass lhk and put the kill on cro cop[/quote]

Crocop dosnt even have to use his kicks to beat Kongo,CC is just way faster then him and he will pick Kongo apart with his hands and then maby finish him off with a kick,just for the fans.Watch some of Crocops PRIDE and K1 fights and you will see just how good he is when he is on form.
Also Kongo may be bigger then Crocop but one thing is undisputable,Crocop hits much faster and much harder and Kongo has been KOed by lesser fighters then Crocop,twice I believe.

CroCop is the man. I cant wait

[quote comment=”123829″]The black guy in picture number 4, isnt he the guy that KO’ed Kongo in 2004?[/quote]

There are two black guys in the picture. You are talking about Gilbert Evel, the guy in the front of the pic, looking like a demon. He KO’ed him pretty bad, yea. The guy in the back is Remy Bonjasky btw, one of the Top5 K-1 fighters of all times.

Hey people! look at this fight. Cro Cop couldn’t handle Gonzaga’s striking and you think he is going to KO Kongo? Yeah right. The only reason Kongo wasn’t overly impressive in his last two fights is because he has no takedown defense. This fight will stay on the feet and Kongo will win by (T)KO by the second round.

Think I’ll cry like a baby if CC loses this one…lol. No kidding I’ll be pretty pissed off though. It just seems like he’ll never win a hw title. (Open weight gp doesn’t count).

Man, I havnt really seen enough of Kongo fighting legit fighters to judge this one. Hope it is good and competitive though.

[quote comment=”124304″]Think I’ll cry like a baby if CC loses this one…lol. No kidding I’ll be pretty pissed off though. It just seems like he’ll never win a hw title. (Open weight gp doesn’t count).[/quote]

You know that in PRIDE the OWGP title/belt was the most prestigious one, right? Its worth more than the HW belt in PrideFC because you had the best fighters of all classes represented. Just look at the semi-finals: CroCop-Wanderlei, Barnett-Minotauro! Beating Wanderlei and Barnett at the same night is no easy feat and Emelianenko said he regrets he couldn’t participate and that he values the OWGP belt more than the HW belt - as everyone else in PRIDE did.

[quote comment=”124204″]Hey people! look at this fight. Cro Cop couldn’t handle Gonzaga’s striking and you think he is going to KO Kongo? Yeah right. The only reason Kongo wasn’t overly impressive in his last two fights is because he has no takedown defense. This fight will stay on the feet and Kongo will win by (T)KO by the second round.[/quote]

“Crocop couldnt handle Gonzagas striking”, Let me explain,all Gonzaga did in that fight was circle away from Crocops left leg and throw a jab at him,he did not out strike him what-so-ever,for whatever reason Crocop did not throw any punches,instead he threw a kick to the body as his first move which Gonzaga caught and took him to the ground(he wouldnt of took him down if he was outstriking him)Gonzaga then almost finished the fight with elbows on the ground but the ref stood them up again,Gonzaga himself says he could see Crocops eyes were blurry so that was why he decided to throw the kick,if you watch the replay you can see clearly that Crocop couldnt see it coming and he just cringed and braced for impact,but he chose to cover his body and not his head and he took the full impact of the kick.
Gonzaga beat Crocop with elbows on the ground,the kick was just to finish him off.

I predict Crocop wins this fight by KO(not TKO) in the second round.

[quote comment=”123610″]kongo will ko cro cop in my opinion. he has excellant striking and hes huge powerfull and has very long reach. plus i know you all have seen cro cop in k1 and how he has trouble with really strong kick boxers for example ernesto hoost… michael mcdonald (black asassin). these guys are really powerfull kick boxers and kongo will ko him. all kongo has to do is keep circling away from that strong ass lhk and put the kill on cro cop[/quote]

How many CC fights have you Watched? His hands are unbelievable and if he would have used them against Gonzaga he would have beat him,he has unbelivable speed and reflexes so that makes him very hard to hit,I honestly think hes gonna run circles around Kongo,Crocop has great take down defence also.
What do you mean “all kongo has to do is circle away from the left kick” Crocop usualy uses his hands to set up the HK and he has KO power in his right leg also,Crocop is gonna pick Kongo apart with his hands and then maby finish him off with a kick,he beat Bob Sapp with a punch,he hurt Mark Coleman with a whole variety of stuff then distracted him with a few light jabs while setting him up for a brutal upper cut and KOed him.
Crocop has alot more then just a powerfull left high kick.

[quote comment=”124578″][quote comment=”124304″]Think I’ll cry like a baby if CC loses this one…lol. No kidding I’ll be pretty pissed off though. It just seems like he’ll never win a hw title. (Open weight gp doesn’t count).[/quote]

You know that in PRIDE the OWGP title/belt was the most prestigious one, right? Its worth more than the HW belt in PrideFC because you had the best fighters of all classes represented. Just look at the semi-finals: CroCop-Wanderlei, Barnett-Minotauro! Beating Wanderlei and Barnett at the same night is no easy feat and Emelianenko said he regrets he couldn’t participate and that he values the OWGP belt more than the HW belt - as everyone else in PRIDE did.[/quote]
Yeah we know they value it more, there are just so many more factors that are in the OWGP that make it so much different from the regular belt. Somebody may have had tougher fights during the night, due to styling match ups, or just tougher opponents, and then might get placed with someone who has had a lucky punch in his previous fight and is still fresh. The “treatment” so to speak of each opponent as it gets closer to the finals, is never gonna be equal. Thats why I like regular titile, you have to prove month after month you still can beat teh best who come to challenge you. It is me at my best vs. you at your best, both fresh at 100%, ready to go. That in my opinion is the better determiner of who is just the best fighter as a whole, period.

[quote comment=”124916″]Thats why I like regular titile, you have to prove month after month you still can beat teh best who come to challenge you. It is me at my best vs. you at your best, both fresh at 100%, ready to go. That in my opinion is the better determiner of who is just the best fighter as a whole, period.[/quote]

Alternative A: Or you go to retirement, are on good terms with the president of the organization and take out a overrated Ork. One fight and you are the greatest heavyweight of all times, you are Captain America, you are what every fighter wants to be like, because you have a vocabulary of more than 800 words and prove it with eloquent interviews.

Alternative B: Or you participate in TUF with old guys and wash-ups, win the whole thing with a arguable decision win in the finals, yet the president gives you a title shot at the title holder. Lucky punch, pow! You are the greatest fighter there has ever been.

Don’t take me too serious on those two things, I just wanted to show that for “regular belts” there should be some consistency in the way the UFC hands out title shots. Without a fight streak of 4-5 good fights no one (not even my beloved CroCop) should get a shot. Also there should be a transparent ranking system, not the favorism that is currently being displayed.

[quote comment=”125007″][quote comment=”124916″]Thats why I like regular titile, you have to prove month after month you still can beat teh best who come to challenge you. It is me at my best vs. you at your best, both fresh at 100%, ready to go. That in my opinion is the better determiner of who is just the best fighter as a whole, period.[/quote]

Alternative A: Or you go to retirement, are on good terms with the president of the organization and take out a overrated Ork. One fight and you are the greatest heavyweight of all times, you are Captain America, you are what every fighter wants to be like, because you have a vocabulary of more than 800 words and prove it with eloquent interviews.

Alternative B: Or you participate in TUF with old guys and wash-ups, win the whole thing with a arguable decision win in the finals, yet the president gives you a title shot at the title holder. Lucky punch, pow! You are the greatest fighter there has ever been.

Don’t take me too serious on those two things, I just wanted to show that for “regular belts” there should be some consistency in the way the UFC hands out title shots. Without a fight streak of 4-5 good fights no one (not even my beloved CroCop) should get a shot. Also there should be a transparent ranking system, not the favorism that is currently being displayed.[/quote]
Well, I was talking about the “ideal” conditions. Going soley on who has EARNED this or that, rankings and wins losses and that being the sole determiner of your next opponent, of course in reality that is not the case, and you are right about that.

This should be a very entertaining fight. I love Cro cop, however he is very 1 dimensional. In this match it doesnt matter because Kongo is just as 1 dimensional. This will be like a K-1 fight. Maybe us ignorant American fans wont boo for once since I expect a stand up war. Kongo and cro cop wont have to worry about being taken down, witch will bring out the best out of both of them. Mirko is the favorite but we have to realize that kongo is a very dangerous opponant for Mirko. Cro cop can loose this match. Kongo’s kickboxing is world class. he is bigger and stronger then cro cop.

I hope Mirko wins this match because 2 losses in a row would be devastating to his career

Translation from Croatian:

After Tuesday, when Mirko fights (training) with masters of stan-up fight, Mirko told us a few new things.

The octagon that Mirko has, is actually a gift from the company Throwdown and the real price is about 25.000 dollars.. which diameter is 6 meters. Diameter of originally UFCs cage is 9 meters.

Mirko’s trainings looks better than lots of real fights, because fighters Bonjasky, Yvel, Lister and Hron are non-stop exchanging in the octogon during the training.

“But nobody of them has a cage in his basement. We like the way that Mirko fights and because that we decided to give him the octogon for free.” … by Brent Stuchlik

A loss against Gonzaga i would explain as Mirkos mistake. If you watch the fight, you saw Mirko is walking all around the ring, which is not usually for him at all. He just can’t focus on the fight, and i don’t know why. You saw also that Mirko did not strike at all, just that one kick which results a ground game. Simple, Mirko was just a bag for training, or whatever you calling it..

So for me is funny fact that people rises Gonzaga up to heaven, he is not much different than his last two fights. And I think Gonzaga will lose from Couture, not necessarily talking why, except if Couture let Gonzaga to be suprised at the moment.

Literally same thing happend with Randelman, when he KO Mirko, same thing. Mirko says in an interview that he can’t explaint even to himself what hapend, that he simple can’t focus on fight and that he gets what he deserved. And also when people talks that he has no condition.. it is because you see that Mirko is breathing through his mounth, he must, because he can’t on his nose, simple, his nose is broken two times.

The fight with Kongo would be an interesting one, and I would not sad that there is no chance that fight finish or even go to the ground. Because I know Mirko is better on the ground. Just look Mirkos last two fights in Pride, against Silva and Barnett in one night, in both cases Mirko brings them a seriously damage on the ground…

Can’t wait the fight.

i’ll be shocked if mirko doesn’t win.
i won’t be surprised if he takes it to the ground ’cause he’s probably been working on that lots - plus it’s really that he hadn’t dealt with elbows before - not so much that he doesn’t have good ground defense - he held off Fedor under Pride rules.
Also taking it to the ground will neutralize the height reach difference. Not that I don’t think he could outstrike and probaly KO Kongo , but he may opt for the smater way to victory. Also if there is something that Kongo has the advantage in it might be knees.
Kongo may have very few options available on the mat.

Further, just to cut down on replyies interpreting my last post as saying that Mirko is turing into a grappler…

- my point is basically, that except for the Gonzaga fight, Mirko has great survival on the ground - I think he’s been submitted only by Nog (correct me if I’m wrong), and showed happening GnP in his win against Barnett. Although he did, more or less get Barnett down with striking it wasn’t just finishing but good manouvering & striking from Barnett’s guard.

Likewise i wouldn’t be surprised if he makes kindling sticks out of Kongo’s leg’s before moving upstairs

[quote comment=”123373″][quote comment=”123367″]Question: why is fighting in the octagon so different than the pride ring?

(Since we’ve been hearing a lot about some fighters not doing so well in the cage and needing to get used to it)[/quote]

Well you can use the cage to your advantage. Chuck Liddell is a perfect example, without that he can’t just stand up like he does when he gets taken down. Press your back against it and you can use it to push against and stand up. Can’t do that in a ring. Its smaller too, beyond that I’m not sure.[/quote]

Disadvantage is not the cage only, but the UFC rules.
Elbows…Elbows …Elbows Thatis the big problem.
You can defend against hands, but elbows are ‘killing factor’.
They are short and hard to defend. If you are down and agressive guy is riding you and start kicking your face and body by elbows…you are out. That why guys with ground skills have advantage. For CC is better if he can finish fight in standing, by breaking legs w/ashybarrai..you remember that last fight for Pride when japanise fighter couldn’d stay on his legs (that was one of my specialties when I was figthing)

Yessssssssssss !!! Mirko is back, and so am I !!
It’s show time people!
Mirko has been working his butt off to get his act together after that good kick from Gonzaga!
I am a great Mirko fan, but hell, you can’t say Gonzaga didn’t deserve to win it.
Hey Kongo, reserve a bed in the nearest hospital!!

BTW, Why the hell do you people like to act(and write) as if this is some sort of science, it’s just a sport ??

I said it a thousand times Mirko is not the great fighter people think he is his just a striker he’s not a complete mma fighter he never was and that’s why Kongo is going to kick his ass also !

payback time!!!

http://dnevnik.hr/naslovnica/vijesti/sport/20070903_24683_67161.php

One interview on a Croatian TV station who projects Mirko’s fights..

http://dnevnik.hr/naslovnica/vijesti/sport/20070905_24903_68981.php

CROCOP DONE- CROCOP FINISHED IN THE UFC