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2008-02-14 23:00:05
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic Leaves the UFC, Signs with DREAM
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Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, once one of the most feared Mixed Martial Arts fighters in the world, will be attempting to recapture some of his old glory when he moves from the UFC over to the Japanese based DREAM promotion.
Filipovic still has a sterling record of 22-6-2 in his professional MMA career, with 15 of those victories coming via knockout and 4 coming via submissions. He is still known as being one of the deadliest strikers in the world.
He arrived in the UFC to much fanfare, however his results were largely disappointing. He initially lived up to the hype, dropping Eddie Sanchez in the first round of their bout at UFC 67 - All or Nothing. However, his five match winning streak was stopped in a brutal fashion against Gabriel Gonzaga, who floored the Croatian fighter with a vicious head kick that quickly made the rounds on online video sites.
Filipovic's last fight in the UFC took place at UFC 75 - Champion vs Champion, in which Filipovic turned in another disappointing performance, losing via unanimous decision to Cheick Kongo.
Filipovic was initially contemplating retirement from MMA fighting after two straight losses. He decided that a change of scenery would be best, so he opted out of his UFC deal and signed with the DREAM promotion. Filipovic had a clause in his deal that allowed the UFC to renegotiate his contract if he lost two straight bouts in a row, so the UFC invoked this clause and the two sides decided to mutually part ways.
Filipovic has announced that his first bout will take place on March 15th, but an opponent hasn't been announced as of yet.
Filipovic is only 33 years old, and you have to think that with his superb conditioning and work ethic, he has at least a couple of years of fighting left in him. He has gone toe to toe with some of the best MMA fighters in the world (he went to a decision with Fedor Emelianenko at PRIDE - Final Conflict 2005), and I have no doubt that he can still compete. We are looking forward to seeing "Cro Cop" in his new promotion.
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