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Name | Mirko Filipović |
---|---|
Birth name | Mirko Filipović |
Birth date | September 10, 1974 |
Birth place | Vinkovci, Croatian SR, Yugoslavia |
Death date | |
Nationality | Croatian |
Other names | Cro Cop |
Residence | Zagreb, Croatia |
Height | |
Weight lb | 229 |
Weight class | Heavyweight |
Reach in | 73 |
Style | Kickboxing |
Stance | Southpaw |
Team | Cro Cop Squad Gym Tigar Gym Vos Gym |
Trainer | Ivan Hippolyte |
Rank | ''black belt in Taekwondo |
Years active | 1996 – 2003 (Kickboxing)2001 – present (MMA) |
Kickbox win | 16 |
Kickbox kowin | 11 |
Kickbox loss | 7 |
Kickbox koloss | 4 |
Mma win | 27 |
Mma kowin | 20 |
Mma subwin | 4 |
Mma decwin | 3 |
Mma loss | 9 |
Mma koloss | 4 |
Mma subloss | 2 |
Mma decloss | 3 |
Mma draw | 2 |
Mma nc | 1 |
Am label | Amateur boxing record |
Am win | 40 |
Am kowin | 31 |
Am loss | 5 |
Spouse | Klaudija |
Url | http://www.mirko-crocop.com/ |
Students | Fabricio Werdum |
Sherdog | 2326 |
Updated | November 08, 2009 |
Mirko Filipović (; born September 10, 1974) is a Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and former law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007. His nickname, Cro Cop, short for "Croatian Cop", comes from his membership in the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit, Croatia's elite Police Special Forces tactical unit.
Filipović has been successful in both K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships. On September 10, 2006, he won the Pride 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix, and in 2007 began fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Filipović is famous for his left head kicks. He has been famously quoted as describing his kicks as, "Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery."
Filipović continued to have successes in K-1, winning a number of matches against such top ranked opponents as Peter Aerts, Mark Hunt and Remy Bonjasky. He was the first fighter to beat then-undefeated giant, "The Beast" Bob Sapp in 86 seconds, breaking Sapp's zygomatic bone with a left punch. In 2000 he beat karate fighter Glaube Feitosa and boxer Hiromi Amada to reach the finals of the Nagoya Grand Prix, losing by first-round TKO to Mike Bernardo in a rematch. Once again, previously acquired injuries were the major factors in this loss. Filipović actually entered the ring limping on one leg due to injuries sustained in previous bouts. Bernardo repeatedly attacked Filipović's damaged leg and rendered him unable to continue due to injuries. Filipović, however, gained tremendous respect among Japanese fight enthusiasts for his courage and heart. As a finalist he progressed to the final eight for the 2000 Grand Prix, but once again dropped a decision to his nemesis Hoost.
In 2001 he was unexpectedly defeated by Canadian fighter Michael McDonald in the first round. Shortly thereafter, he began a transition to Pride, a Japanese mixed martial arts organization. He fought four more K-1 matches, however, winning each, most notably against Mark Hunt, Remy Bonjasky and Bob Sapp.
Following a TKO win over Kazuyuki Fujita in his MMA debut, Filipović made his Pride debut at Pride 17 against Nobuhiko Takada. The bout featured a special rule stating if it went to a decision it would be ruled a draw. Neither fighter was able to stop the other.
Filipović's next Pride fight was against then-middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva. This bout featured the same rules as the Takada fight and also ended in a draw. On August 28, 2002 Filipović faced Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba at Pride Shockwave. Filipović won after fracturing Sakuraba's orbital bone.
His next fight was a rematch with Fujita at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 event where he picked up his fourth victory, this time by decision.
Filipović returned to Pride to face heavyweight contender Heath Herring at Pride 26 (June 8, 2003). Filipović defeated Herring decisively, scoring a TKO victory with a left roundhouse body kick to Herring's liver at 3:17 into the fight. His next fight was against Ukrainian striker Igor Vovchanchyn at Pride Total Elimination 2003. Following the powerful kicks of the Herring fight, this fight continued to showcase Filipović's kicking power as he knocked out Vovchanchyn with a head kick 1:29 into the fight. Filipović then defeated Mexican professional wrestler Dos Caras Jr. at Pride Bushido 1, also with a head kick knockout, in 46 seconds.
Filipović's string of Pride wins secured him a chance to fight for the interim heavyweight championship against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on November 9, 2003. Filipović's stand-up fighting proved effective in the first round, allowing him to control the fight from his feet while defending every takedown attempt Nogueira made, and landing a head-kick at the end of the round. Nogueira, however, prevailed in the second round after finally getting a successful takedown, forcing Filipović to submit to an armbar after being mounted. Filipović admitted to Bas Rutten in a later interview that he was overconfident against Nogueira.
In 2004 Filipović put his K-1 career on hold and recruited Fabricio Werdum (a former world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu) as his coach, working on improving his ground fighting skills. He went on to win his next two bouts by KO and TKO at a combined time of only 3:49, against Yoshihisa Yamamoto and 280 lb. Ron Waterman.
Filipović then participated in Pride's Heavyweight Grand Prix. In a upset, Filipović was knocked out in the first round by Kevin Randleman. Filipović later submitted Randleman in a rematch at the end of 2004.
Filipović repeatedly requested Pride to let him challenge the heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko. After winning seven straight matches since his loss to Randleman, including a head-kick knockout victory against Aleksander Emelianenko (the 6'4", brother of the champion) and wins over Josh Barnett, Mark Coleman and Ibragim Magomedov, Filipović received a chance to fight Emelianenko for the title on August 28, 2005 at Pride Final Conflict 2005. After three rounds, Emelianenko won by unanimous decision and retained his title. Filipović later stated on Croatian national television that he came exhausted to the match, mostly because he was not used to the time difference in Japan and he had sleeping problems. He also said many times after the match that he fought too defensively and cautiously. The champion, likewise, was not in his top form. According to Emelianenko he "could not take full advantage of his right hand during the striking exchanges and had to try to close the distance", due to a previous hand injury.
On October 23, 2005, less than two months after the loss to Emelianenko, Filipović stepped back into the ring to rematch open-weight King of Pancrase Josh Barnett. After three rounds Filipović received a unanimous judges' decision victory.
On December 31, 2005, Filipović lost his match against Mark Hunt via split decision. Hunt was the more aggressive fighter, an important criterion in Pride judging. Unusually, Filipović wore shoes for this fight, something that had no precedent. This had led to speculation and statements from his camp about Filipović having sustained injuries to his feet before the fight. Filipović himself has never confirmed these speculations. Filipović also displayed considerable problems with his cardio during his fights with Emelianenko, Barnett and Hunt leading to the speculation that he was much too active and a resting period from the ring would work to his advantage.
On September 10, 2006, Filipović won the Open-Weight Grand Prix at Pride Final Conflict Absolute. In the semi-finals, Filipović knocked out then-Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva with his trademark left high kick. In the final match, Filipović won a third victory over Josh Barnett, who submitted after sustaining an eye injury. With these two victories, Filipović became the Pride Openweight Grand Prix champion, the first widely recognized championship belt he has ever won. In a post-fight interview with Frank Trigg, Filipović stated if he had not won the tournament, it would have been his last night fighting. The night was also his birthday, and Filipović dedicated winning the tournament to his deceased father.
UFC president Dana White and the UFC officially announced on December 30, 2006 during the post-UFC 66 press conference, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, that Filipović had signed a two-year, six-fight deal with the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts promoter. It was also announced that Filipović would make his UFC debut on February 3, 2007 at UFC 67 in Las Vegas against Eddie Sanchez, promoting him under the name Mirko "Cro Cop" alternatively with and without quotation marks. Filipović defeated Sanchez in the first round via TKO. Filipović entered the octagon under the Pride FC theme.
On April 21, 2007, Filipović faced Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70 in Manchester, England. At 4:51 of round one, Gonzaga won with a head kick knockout. Filipović has stated since that the elbows on the ground confused and damaged him enough that he was disoriented after the stand up, contributing to the subsequent knock-out. During the fall to the canvas, Filipović suffered a minor injury to his ankle and a ligament was detached in his knee.
Filipović's next fight was on September 8, 2007 at UFC 75 against French kickboxer Cheick Kongo where he lost via unanimous decision. In a post-fight interview upon his return home, Filipović stated that he cracked a rib during the fight and that the three illegal knees to the groin he received also cost him some strength. Filipović trained with Remy Bonjasky and Gilbert Yvel, and 2003 Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion grappler Dean Lister for this fight. Lister joined Filipović at his home town for a month to train for this upcoming bout. Filipović's coach was Vos Gym's main trainer and muay thai practitioner Ivan "Hydro" Hippolyte. According to his home page, Marijan Žižanović is the new head coach again, since October 1, 2007. Žižanović was his K-1 trainer.
After much speculation and many possible rumoured opponents, (including Yoshihiro Nakao and Dong Sik Yoon), Fight Entertainment Group confirmed on March 11, 2008 that Filipović would face Tatsuya Mizuno at Dream 1 on March 15, 2008 at Saitama Arena, in Japan.
When asked about the Croatian's current contract status with the UFC and whether it would interfere with his participation in 'Dream' events, Dream producer and front man Keiichi Sasahara said, "Though I can't share specific details about his contract, there will not be any foreseeable problems arising."
Filipović was vague in answering the question himself, qualifying his response by mentioning his intent to return to the UFC sometime in the future.
"Well, as you all know, I had a bad period in my last two fights, which I'd lost in the UFC," Filipović said. "I don't want anyone to think that I'm running away from the UFC, but I was thinking a lot about how to continue with my career, and I think in this moment, I think Dream is the right place for me." After almost half of the first round saw Overeem takedown Filipović twice and the two fighters exchanging stand-up and ground strikes (with Filipović sustaining a cut) the bout was stopped and declared a no contest due to Overeem landing multiple knees to the groin of Filipović. Filipović stated after the match that he had wanted to continue to fight, as evident by his remaining in the ring, but the ringside doctor would not allow him to continue. Filipović's manager stated that the injury was not serious and that a rematch as soon as possible was sought. Filipović said that he was planning for a long fight and a KO towards the end. He expressed frustration and quoted "I'm angry it ended this way, it seemed as if he was the dominant one, however I wasn't in trouble for a second and was waiting for my opportunities. I prepared very well because I thought the match could last a while. I thought I would knock him down in the end."
Filipović defeated the 30 cm taller and 50 kg heavier opponent from Korea, Choi Hong-man, on December 31 at FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008. The winning leg kick was to the back side of his opponent's left knee and resulted in a TKO win for Filipović. After the fight, Filipović announced that he would have a medical procedure carried out on his injured knee.
After the one-fight agreement with the UFC, it was announced Filipović was scheduled to return to Dream to face Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga on July 20 at Dream.10. On July 3, 2009 however, it was reported that he might have re-signed with the UFC after getting an offer "he couldn't refuse" by UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta who personally flew to Filipović's residence in Zagreb. It was later confirmed at the UFC Fan Expo by Fertitta that Filipović had indeed signed a three fight contract with the UFC.
Filipović fought Junior dos Santos at UFC 103. During the third round, Filipović sustained a punch to his left eye that caused him to wave his hand at the referee saying "I can't see". The fight was stopped due to submission, giving Dos Santos the win. After the fight, Filipović showed signs of frustration, stating, "I don't feel the hunger anymore. I started playing it safe, I'm not ready to take risks." A few days later, Filipović seemed more upbeat, and looked to continue his career, saying fighting is the only life he knows, and at least wants to honour the last two fights on his UFC contract. He was quoted as saying "I did a few things wrong in training and in preparation for the Dos Santos fight, and will find the motivation and strength needed to come back".
Since then, Filipović has hired legendary former Muay Thai champion Ivan Hippolyte and revamped his whole training team. The source went on to say "After the defeat by Dos Santos, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has announced drastic changes in the training methods and composition of Team CroCop. Marjan Zizanovic is no longer his boxing coach. Instead, Cro Cop is now working with the Dutch Muay Thai legend Ivan Hippolyte, who these days resides in Zagreb. Filipović will combine training at his own facility with visits to the Netherlands where he can train with top-notch sparring partners. Igor Pokrajac, Cro Cop’s long-time friend and sparring partner, is also no longer in Filipović's team. Pokrajac continues his career with the UFC, but is no longer training with Filipović although the pair remain on good terms."
Filipović has stated that he plans to fight at least three times in 2010.
Filipović was scheduled to face Ben Rothwell on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110. Just days before the fight, Rothwell was forced to withdraw from the event because of an illness. Australian fighter Anthony Perosh stepped in to replace Rothwell.
During the fight, Filipović dominated for two rounds before opening a cut on Perosh's forehead which forced a doctor stoppage before the third round and awarded the TKO win to Filipović. Filipović fought despite receiving a cut in training that required stitches.
Filipović next fought against Patrick Barry at UFC 115 in Vancouver,Canada. After being knocked down twice to the canvas in the first round by Barry's strikes, he won the second round after utilizing his ground game. The third round saw Filipović open up with a head kick followed by an axe kick to Barry's head. He ended the fight with a strong flurry, dropping Barry against the cage where he continued his assault with numerous punches to the face. He then took his back and defeated Barry by rear naked choke with no hooks, earning him Submission of the Night honors which Mirko had joked to Dana White and the crowd earlier that he deserved it.
Prior to the Barry fight, Filipović was detained by Canadian officials, who threatened to deport him. He revealed that the Canadian officials had asked for details of his activities in the Lucko ATJ (anti-terrorist unit) that he had joined a few years after the Croatian War of Independence. Filipović was held for a total of six hours, across two days.
Filipović faced Frank Mir on September 25, 2010 at UFC 119, replacing an injured Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. There was a brief scare the weekend before the fight when Cro Cop suffered an eye injury in Croatia during his final day of training, but upon arrival in the U.S., was medically cleared to compete. It was a largely uneventful fight in which both fighters stayed on their feet. Neither fighter managed to deliver any significant damage to the other until Filipović was defeated by Mir at 4:02 of the third round by knockout due to a knee strike to the head. Mirko Filipović was defeated by Brendan Schaub on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones by way of knockout at 3:44 of the third round. Shortly after the knockout loss to Schaub, Dana White stated that Filipović is most likely retiring. Since this time, Dana White has appeared to have had a change of heart. In a recent interview White said "This guy wants to fight again, and I owe him another fight." White also added "Do I think he should have retired? Yeah," White said. "But I don't think he's in one of these situations like Chuck Liddell, who needed to retire right then. He's a man, a grown man, and if he wants to continue to fight, that's his right. And he still has a fight with me."
Filipović and his wife Klaudija have a son named Ivan. The couple had their second child, a son named Filip on November 22, 2010.
On his UFC profile, Filipović lists his father as his hero.
Category:1974 births Category:Athlete-politicians Category:Croatian kickboxers Category:Heavyweight kickboxers Category:Croatian mixed martial artists Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:People from Vinkovci Category:Living people Category:Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament
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