While its future is still very much uncertain, Pride Fighting Championships put together one of the great events in MMA history, as Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic put to rest any questions about where he stands among the all-time greats by winning the toughest final four tournament ever.
On his 32nd birthday, on a show broadcast live in his native Croatia, where he’s such a hero that he now serves in parliament, Cro Cop put on a textbook display of how to beat Wanderlei Silva. He followed it up by overwhelming Josh Barnett. When it was over, he broke down in tears, but even in the end, when asked, refused to show weakness, claiming he didn’t know why he cried nor was he thinking of anything in particular at the time. But after getting out of the ring, he claimed he had decided going into the tournament several months back, that had he not won, it would be the end of his MMA career.
Last week was a period of arrivals and departures for WWE.
Without much advance warning, Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa all debuted on Raw last Monday. After news of them being backstage was reported online, WWE tweeted out pictures of them to hype that they were at the show. Triple H then opened Raw and confirmed that they would be debuting later in the night. Ricochet made a save for Finn Balor and teamed with him to defeat Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush, Black defeated Elias, and Gargano & Ciampa got a win against Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival in a non-title match.
Roman Reigns (Leati Joseph Anoa’i, 33), returned to WWE after four months off, which included both a battle with leukemia as well as a role in the movie “Hobbs and Shaw” on the 2/25 show in Atlanta.
Georges St-Pierre announced his retirement on 2/21, seeming very happy to go out on his own terms but admitting that he was retiring now because UFC wasn’t interested in making a fight between him and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
New Japan this past week announced their first-ever 32-man New Japan Cup tournament, as well as announced its 47th anniversary show and sold out two joint Honor Rising shows with ROH.
Jeff Jarrett and his now-dormant Global Force Entertainment Company have filed a new $4.8 million lawsuit against Impact Wrestling and Anthem Entertainment in U.S. District Court in Tennessee on 2/21.
This week’s update on WrestleMania is that HHH vs. Batista is obviously a done deal.
The UFC debuted in the Czech Republic on 2/23 with a fight night event in Prague held on ESPN+ headlined by Jan Blachowicz and Thiago Santos in a light heavyweight bout.
Honky Tonk Man (Roy Wayne Ferris, 66) was announced on 2/26 as being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on 4/6 at the Barclays Center. Ferris had been asked in the past and turned it down because he didn’t like some of the restrictions in the contract claiming it would cost him independent money because he’d have to cancel dates.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
by Bryan Rose, Joseph Currier and Dave Meltzer
WWE
As currently advertised, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Ronda Rousey are only scheduled for television in Philadelphia on Monday and not any of the weekend Raw brand house shows. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton are working the entire weekend with the SmackDown crew. Becky Lynch is not advertised but that doesn’t mean anything since she’s “suspended,” but she is being advertised anyway for TV in Wilkes-Barre. The Miz is not advertised for Minneapolis on Saturday, but he is for Syracuse on Sunday. Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens are only advertised for television on Tuesday.
WWE This Week has behind-the-scenes footage of Reigns on the set of the Nickelodeon show ‘Cousin for Life’.
Koji Kanemoto was arrested today in Kobe for assaulting his wife. According to the translation, Kanemoto stated that she suspected him of cheating, and when she went to look at his phone he hit her with his hand. Tokyo Sports reported that there is no record of prior incidents of domestic violence.
A Crockett Cup qualifying match will take place on the ROH TV tapings the night after the 17th Anniversary show.
The next Triple Crown title defense will take place at 3/19 in Korakuen Hall as Kento Miyahara will defend against Naoya Nomura.
All Japan will also hold a tournament to crown new All Asia tag team champions on 3/21. The teams are Jake Lee & Koji Iwawoto, Masaya Takahashi & Takayuki Ueki, Takao Omori & Black Menso~re and Daichi Hashimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani.
Priscilla Kelly on Twitter mentioned that she is now a free agent. She most recently was under contract to WWN.
Caleb Konley also announced that he’s a free agent: “Today I’m officially a free agent. For 3 years I’ve had the opportunity to wrestle on national TV Work on 4 continents & be ZNAs resident orphan child. I owe all of that to @IMPACTWRESTLING I want to thank everyone who has supported me. I look forward to what ever comes next”
UFC/MMA
Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic announced today on Croatian television that he is retiring from MMA after suffering a stroke following a win over Roy Nelson last month at Bellator 2016. He apparently just came out of the hospital today after having bleeding in his brain. He told ESPN that he can never take punches to the head again.
Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier, Kelvin Gastelum, and Israel Adesanya took part in a press conference for UFC 236 today, which is taking place on April 13.
Walt Harris has been suspended for four months by the CSAC for a positive drug test. His win over Andrei Arlovski at UFC 232 has been overturned to a no contest.
In a press release, UFC announced a broadcast partnership with the BBC that will have their BBC Radio 5 and BBC Sport Online stations carry live commentary on four UFC events this year.
Paige VanZant on Twitter: “Well…. I fractured my arm again. So there’s that.”
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Sunday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
Welcome to our live coverage of Bellator 216. It’s night two of back-to-back shows for Bellator MMA from the Mohegan Sun Arena — and the main event is a grudge match years in the making.
Michael “Venom” Page, aka MVP, puts his unbeaten record on the line against fellow Brit Paul Daley as both men attempt to advance to the semifinal round of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix tournament where the winner will get a million dollars and the 170 lb championship.
The co-main may be 10-15 years late for some, but it should still be fun to see former TUF winner Roy Nelson lock up with the legendary Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop promises that this will be his retirement fight, although he’s said that before. Nelson will attempt to halt a two-fight losing streak, while Cro Cop has won nine in a row and has not lost in over five years.
Former heavyweight champion Vitaly Minokov returns to the promotion after a long hiatus and will attempt to earn a shot at the belt he never lost. Stepping up against him is another long-in-the-tooth veteran, Cheick Kongo. Kongo was inexplicably left out of the recent heavyweight Grand Prix, despite a seven-fight win streak in Bellator, and is out to prove a point.
The other fight with some intrigue is the promotional debut of Erick Silva, the former UFC welterweight. He will face a man fighting on a main card for the first time, Yaroslav Amosov, who comes in with a dazzling 20-0 record.
Action kicks off with the main card fights at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Quick results from Bellator 215 last night, which was recapped by Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzalez on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, available now for subscribers:
Matt Mitrione (13-6, 1 NC) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (29-7, 2 NC) ended in a no contest
Logan Storley (10-0) defeated Ion Pascu (18-9) via unanimous decision (30-27 30-26, 30-26)
John Douma (4-1) defeated Mike Kimbel (2-1) via submission (triangle choke) at 2:51 of round one
Austin Vanderford (7-0) defeated Cody Jones (6-3) via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:49 of round one
**********
Kicking off the main card is a women’s flyweight fight.
Colby “Dreamcatcher” Fletcher (1-2) vs “Master” Valerie Loureda (pro debut)
Loureda is an accomplished Tae-Kwon Do expert coming in with a lot of hype and she gets a huge reaction from the crowd so that explains why this fight is on the main card. Fletcher is clearly something of a set-up fight for her. The “Master” in Loureda’s name is actually a title she earned, as explained by commentator John McCarthy. Loureda is only 20 years old so could be at this for awhile.
Fletcher throwing a lot of punches early. Loureda mixing in high and low kicks. Loureda lands a great punch combo and follows up with a high kick. Great punch exchange about 2 minutes in. Fletcher is the one controlling the pace so far. Loureda knocks her down with a body kick and finishes her off with a vicious barrage of punches and the ref may have let it go on a little long honestly.
Official result – Valerie Loureda (1-0) by TKO (punches) at 2:55
Loureda cut a tearfelt promo after the fight, saying she’s been dreaming of this moment since she was a little girl. Her coaches were in tears as she thanked them for making her the woman and the mixed martial artist that she is today.
Two welterweights making their Bellator main card debut are next up.
Erick “The Tiger” Silva (20-9) vs Yaroslav Amosov (20-0)
For those that remember Silva from UFC, his fights usually end early and are almost always exciting. Amosov trains with American Top Team and it’s not easy to rack up 20 wins in a row in this sport. He did handle another former UFC vet, Gerald Harris, pretty easily, in his first Bellator fight.
Mauro Ranalo points out that both guys have 12 first round finishes on their record. Silva pushign the pace early. Silva lands a nice punch combo 90 seconds in that opens a cut around Amosov’s right eye. Silva is pacing himself much better than usual. Silva blocks a takedown attempt at 2:45. Amosov controlling a clinch on the cage. They separate 30 seconds later and Amosov lands a nice punch combo. Amosov goes back to the clinch but Silva breaks free quickly. Amosov rocks Silva with punches at 4:00. Amosov now pushing the pace. Silva lands some nice counter punches. 10-9 Silva but close
Silva stuffs a takedown early. Silva again controlling the pace. Amazov gets a takedown. Silva up quickly but Amosov controlling his back and drags him down again. Amosov landing punches to the head but Silva gets to his feet. Amosov drags him down again. Silva blocking most of the punches as Amosov attempts to secure a body lock. Silva to his feet and immediately thrown to the canvas by Amosov at 3:00. Amosov landing punches and elbows as he attempts to advance position. Crowd getting restless at the 4 minutes mark. Ref not warning them as Amosov is controlling Silva pretty well. Silva ties up Amosov with a body lock at 4:45 as he is trying to work out a sub from his back but not enough time. 10-9 Amosov, 19-19
Both guys throwing leg kicks early in round 3. Amosov moves in for a takedown but Silva defends it. Silva with a hard knee to the body as Amosov moves in for a takedown. Amosov gets him down but Silva right up. Amosov controlling the back again through. Silva breaks free and grabs a standing guillotine. He gives it up quickly and eats a body kick for his efforts. Both guys looking pretty tired. Amosov gets a takedown at 2:00. Amosov landing punches from half guard. Amosov takes the back but Silva to his feet. Amosov drags him right down again and lands more punches to the head. Silva works back to guard but still eating punches. Silva to his feet but Amosov takes the back again. Amosov throws him down at 4;00. Silva to his feet again but Amosov still on his back. Amosov throws him down again. Silva up again at 4:30 and right back down. 10-9 Amosov, 29-28 overall
Official result – Yaroslav Amosov (21-0) by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28 x 2)
Next up is a heavyweight rematch. In Vitaly Minakov’s last Bellator fight in April 2014, he won a unanimous decision over Cheick Kongo. He returns to the promotion and faces the same opponent. Kongo is on the wrong side of 40 but on the longest winning streak of his career, with 7 straight. In fact his only loss since the previous Minakov fight was a split decision vs King Mo.
Vitaly Minakov (21-0) vs Cheick Kongo (29-10-2)
Scott Coker has promised a title shot to the winner of this fight. With a win tonight, Cheick Kongo will set the record for most wins as a heavyweight and his 14th fight is also a heavyweight record. This came all after a long UFC career.
Nice punch exchange 15 seconds in. Minakov is the one advancing but Kongo landed a nice counter punch in the exchange. Minakov with a takedown attempt blocked and Kongo clinches up on the cage. They separate at 1:15. Kongo lands a nice punch combo at 2:00 and goes back to the clinch. Kongo lands an inadvertent low blow in the exchange. Minakov is looking very tired when the action restarts. Minakov goes back to the clinch after missing some punches. Kongo breaks free. Kongo mixes in some kicks as Minakov is looking to land a home run shot. Minakov catches a kick and Kongo slips but gets up quickly after a guillotine attempt by Minakov. Kongo controlling the clinch but they separate quickly. Kongo lands a nice punch combo and some knees to the body. 10-9 Kongo
Herschel Walker and Michael Strahan were shown sitting together at cageside and Mauro brings up having called Walker’s MMA fights. John McCarthy disagrees with me and gives round 1 to Minakov. He also gave Amosov round 1 in the last fight and all 3 judges disagreed. Kongo throwing counter kicks as Minakov is controlling the pace and again looking for that big punch. Crowd getting restless as they’ve barely touched 2 minutes in. Some chants for Kongo. Heavy boos from the crowd at 2:45 as they’ve still barely touched. Minakov is throwing punches but they’re missing and Kongo not throwing anything. Ref warning them to engage at 3:45. More heavy boos. Kongo with a punch combo and then he clinches up at 4:15. Kongo with a knee/punch combo as they separate. Kongo lands a couple of counters as Minakov misses more punches. Kongo with some punches landed right before the bell. 10-9 Kongo, 20-18 overall
Kongo landing hard leg kicks to start. Minakov is advancing but very tentative and very tired. He misses a huge punch but catches a kick and gets a takedown at 1:00. Minakov setting up a head and arm choke while landing punches to the body and head. Minakov with an Ezekiel joke from the top. Kongo landing desparation punches from his back and gets out of it but Minakov maintains top position. Minakov postures up to land some hammer fists before settling back into half guard. Kongo makes his way to the cage as he attempts to get to his feet . Kongo with a guillotine attempt and gets to his feet at 4:30. Kongo unloads with a punch/knee combo. Kongo with vicious knees to the head and Minakov is barely standing but the round ends. 10-9 Minakov, 29-28 Kongo overall.
Official result – Cheick Kongo (30-10-2) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
John McCarthy had Kongo winning all 3 rounds and Mauro reacts like it was a bad decision. I’m not sure what those two were watching because Minakov did not win this fight.
Co-main event is next up and it’s a battle of the legends.
Roy “Big Country” Nelson (23-16) vs Mirko Cro Cop (37-11-2)
Cro Cop is introduced as a former K-1, Pride and RIZIN champion and comes out to the vintage “Wild Boys” theme. If he’s interested in fighting again after this, he could steal Kongo’s title shot with an impressive win.
Nelson advancing to start. Cro Cop blocks a takedown attempt 45 seconds in. Cro Cop blocks another takedown and pushes Nelson to the other side of the cage. Nelson takes over clinch control at 1:45 after eating an uppercut. Cro Cop lands some punches to the body and then walks Nelson across the cage again. Cro Cop rocks Nelson with an uppercut and then lands more punches to the body. They separate at 3:30. Back to the cage clinch and Cro Cop quickly takes control. Cro Cop with knees to the body and more uppercuts before separating. Nelson looking tired. Cro Cop wih a vicious body kicks and then blocks a takedown. 10-9 Cro Cop
Nelson against controlling the pace early. Cro Cop to the cage clinch at 1:00. Knees and punches to the body from Cro Cop. They trade elbows to the head. Cro Cop with hard uppercuts to the head and Nelson is rocked. They separate. They trade hard body kicks. Cro Cop just landing hard single shots but no combos. Nelson stuffed on another takedown attempt and Cro Cop ends up controlling a cage clinch. They separate after Cro Cop lands body punches. Nelson lands some punches that rock Cro Cop. Nelson with a punch/knee combo at 3:30. Nelson again stuffed on a takedown attempt. Cro Cop with a standing guillotine attempt but gives it up quickly. Cro Cop controlling a cage clinch and lands punches to the body and head. Separation at 4:30. Nelson lands some uppercuts to the head at 4:45. They trade hard body shots. 10-9 Cro Cop, 20-18
When they fought in 2011, Nelson scored a finish in the 3rd round and he’ll have to do the same to win here. Cro Cop starting to land leg kicks. Nelson lands some uppercuts to the head as Cro Cop tries to clinch. Cro Cop starting to tire. Nelson advancing. More leg kicks from Cro Cop and he stuffs another takedown attempt from Nelson. Yet another takedown attempt blocked by Cro Cop. Punch combo from Nelson and he attempts another takedown but fails. Cro Cop walks him across the cage but Nelson breaks free. Cro Cop blocks another takedown attempt. Crowd starting to get restless. Nelson with a punch combo and another takedown attempt and then finally lands one at 4:00. Cro Cop landing punches to the head from his back. Cro Cop ties him up with a body lock. 10-9 Nelson, 29-28 Cro Cop
Official result – Mirko Cro Cop (38-11-2) by unanimous decision (30-27; 29-28 x 2)
Main event is a first round match in the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix tournament with the winner advancing to face Douglas Lima for a spot in the finals. Sonnen, Thomson and Glazer interview Lima at the desk about his thoughts on the main event. He thinks Daley’s durability may be the difference.
Michael “Venom” Page (13-0) vs Paul “Semtex” Daley (40-16-2)
MVP chants as Page makes his entrance. Daley was much more subdued but Page clowning all the way down the ramp. Daley giving up 6 inches of height and 3 inches reach, which could be telling. Because this is a tournament match, it’s five rounds. Page is also 2-0 as a pro boxer. They do not touch gloves.
Page takes the center of the cage to start. Loud MVP chants before they even engage. They don’t touch for the first minute and there are some boos. Boos getting louder at 1:30. MVP has thrown a couple shots but missed while Daley hasn’t even thrown a thing. MVP just backing off and taunting Daley, who won’t engage. 3:30 in and no one has landed a strike. Daley finally throws a kick but misses. Page may have landed a punch at 4:30. Page lands a leg kick at 4:45. Deafening boos at the end of the round. 10-9 Page
Round 2 starts the same as the whole first round went. Page doing more taunting. Page lands a front kick to the head. Daley misses a takedown attempt as he’s chasing MVP around the cage. He catches him and they end up in a cage clinch with Daley in control. Daley with knees to the body. Separation at 2:45. Daley gets a takedown at 3:00. Daley with punches to the body. MVP doing nothing from his back. Daley has the legs tied up so MVP basically trapped on the ground. MVP does gets up but Daley lands some nice punches on the feet at the end of the round. 10-9 Daley, 19-19
MVP landing shots from distance early in round 3. Daley controlling the pace but MVP timing the counters well. MVP lands a great right cross at 1:15. MVP stuffs a takedown at 1:45. Daley controlling the cage clinch. Page takes control at 2:30 but Daley gets a takedown. MVP ties up the body but Daley landing body punches. Daley postures up to break the body lock and then goes back into guard. Daley postures up and lands punches to the body and head and the crowd explodes. Page to his feet at 4:45 but Daley still controlling the clinch. 10-9 Daley, 29-28
PAge advancing to start and lands a couple of strikes early. He’s just landing single shots and moving. Daley gets a takedown at 1:00. MVP lands a couple of weak elbows from his back. MVP ties up the body of Daley and lands more elbows. They’re not doing damage but they are landing. Page with punches to the head from his back. Ref warns them to work. Daley stands up and MVP follows. MVP lands a hard kick to the body. MVP lands a flying knee that hurts Daley and clinches on the cage at 3:30. MVP gets a takedown at 3:45. MVP lands hard punches to the head. Page with more punches to the head at 4:45. 10-9 Page, 38-38 overall
MVP lands a jumping knee and attempts a takedown but Daley lands one. Daley stands up but MVP stays on his back throwing upkicks. Daley landing kicks to the legs. before going back into guard. MVP ties up his body so Daley stands up to break it. MVP setting up a triangle from his back. Daley lands some punches to the head as Page attempts to get to his feet. Page to his feet at 2:30. Page with elbows to the head as he defends a takedown attempt. Page takes the back standing and drags Daley to the ground. Page landing punches to the head as he sets up a rear naked choke. Daley to his feet but Page still on his back and drags him down again. Page landing punches to the head as he contrinues to look for the choke. MVP chants from the crowd. Elbows to teh head from Page. Daley to his feet at 4:15 but Page controlling the clinch. Daley with a takedown attempt but MVP reverses and on top, landing punches as the round ends. 10-9 Page, 48-47 overall
Official result – Michael Page (14-0) by unanimous decision (48-47 x 3)
Crowd boos the result but the scoring of each round was pretty obvious and it’s good that all the judges got it right after some questionable scorecards in earlier fights. MVP said that Daley tried to take it to the ground but he beat him there and he’ll take the belt. He says he respects Douglas Lima a lot and it will be an honor to fight him in the next round.
In perhaps the most interesting booking decision and risk of a current and future superstar of this or any other year, it was announced this past week that Yuji Nagata of New Japan Pro Wrestling would be facing Mirko Cro Cop of K-1 on 12/31 in what may be the main event of a show that will be carried live on national television.
The Nagata-Cro Cop match has been reported on in many Japanese newspapers, although neither New Japan, K-1, Antonio Inoki or Pride has officially announced the match. The only public comment from Nagata is that he said he would do the Inoki show if he got a match with Cro Cop, but wasn’t interested in doing the show against anyone else. If the match is legitimate, and there is no way ahead of time of knowing whether it will be or not, this would be the biggest risk a pro wrestling organization has truly made with one of its top wrestlers.
Mirko Cro Cop, one of the legends of the PRIDE era, who told John McCarthy in 2007 that he was “getting too old for this,” has signed with Bellator.
The promotion wasted no time in booking his first fight as he’ll face Roy Nelson at Bellator 200 in London, England on May 25th. This will be a rematch of their October 29th, 2011 UFC fight that Nelson won via third round KO.
The 43-year-old was in talks with Bellator in 2015, but UFC beat their offer and he signed with the company. Just before his second fight with UFC that year, he announced his retirement, although it later came out that he had been suspended but it had not been announced yet. He later admitted to using HGH to attempt to heal up from a shoulder injury. He said that when USADA came for a surprise test, although due to the difficulty of catching HGH usage, he actually did not test positive.
Given his retirement, UFC released him from his contract, but he came out of retirement in 2016 for Japan’s RIZIN group. He’s gone 5-0 in Rizin, including a knockout of King Mo Lawal.
Nelson is coming off a February decision loss to Matt Mitrione in the first round of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. He’s 1-1 since signing with Bellator and hasn’t won two in a row since 2012-13.
Bellator 200 features middlewight champion Rafael Carvalho vs. Gegard Mousasi, and Michael “Venom” Page vs. David Rickels.
It seemed rather sudden, and there appears to be more to the story of the sudden retirement of UFC heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop on Tuesday.
The UFC announced on Wednesday that Cro Cop has been notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of a potential violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and has been provisionally suspended. The UFC released a full statement on their website on Wednesday.
“UFC announced today that a scheduled bout between Mirko Cro Cop and Anthony Hamilton in Seoul, South Korea has been canceled. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has notified both Mirko Cro Cop and UFC that he has been provisionally suspended at this time due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation,” the statement read.
“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Cro Cop. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time in the process.”
Cro Cop was scheduled to fight Hamilton in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 79 on November 28, but then announced he was out of the fight due to a shoulder injury and retiring from the sport. With today’s announcement, Cro Cop becomes the first fighter to be suspended since USADA took over the responsibilities for the UFC’s anti-doping program in July. Cro Cop last competed at UFC Fight Night 64 in April, scoring a TKO win over Gabriel Gonzaga in Krakow, Poland.
The UFC announced they will book Hamilton in a new bout on a card in the near future.
A shoulder injury has forced Mirko Cro Cop out of his UFC Fight Night 79 co-main event slot against Anthony Hamilton. It has also brought an end to the career of Cro Cop.
Cro Cop revealed the injury, and subsequent retirement, on his website, mirkofilipovic.com, early Tuesday. UFC officials have yet to make a formal announcement, and it is currently unknown if a replacement will be sought to fight Hamilton on the November 28 card. That event takes place in Seoul, South Korea and airs on UFC Fight Pass. It is headlined by a five-round welterweight bout between Benson Henderson and Thiago Alves.
“Dear friends, unfortunately I had to cancel the fight in Seoul. In the beginning of the preparation I already hurt my shoulder, so I couldn’t raise a hand. I tried to save a shoulder injury and repair in all possible ways: daily therapy, injections of blood plasma and various cocktails of drugs but didn’t work out. The only cure would be a break of two to three weeks, and that I could not afford in the midst of final preparations. By daily trainings the injury gets worse. Part of the muscle is snapped, the shoulder is filled with a lot of fluids, and the great danger is that tendon ruptures and then go to operation again,” wrote Cro Cop on his website.
Cro Cop has competed in the UFC, PRIDE and K-1 during his combat sports career. He was one of the major stars during the height of PRIDE in Japan, being in numerous high-profile bouts against competitors such as Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Josh Barnett. He made his Octagon debut in 2007, but has gone just 5-6 during three UFC stints. If this is the end of his career, he will end it on a high note after scoring a come-from-behind third-round TKO win over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC Fight Night 64 in April.
The 41-year-old has announced retirements in the past, only to come back to fight again. However, it truly seems like this will be the end of the legendary career of Cro Cop.
“I am aware that I have come to the end of my martial times, but training with pain I want no longer,” Cro Cop said in his statement. He continued, “This is not a temporary decision because I was unhappy due to all of that, but it’s my final decision and it’s best for me. Sooner or later the time comes when a man has to think on the health. I had a really long and great career and I believe I left a deep mark in the martial arts, in a free fight and in K-1 and I have no regrets. Thanks to everyone who followed me and supported me, but for me there remains beautiful memories.”
He finishes his career with a 33-11-2 with 1 NC record in MMA, and a 23-8 record in kickboxing.
