Mirko "Cro Cop" Flipovic Tribute Thread

[Evan]

Rich Franklin

unfair yo

[LEONARD]

He is really good, but he got a big push from the UFC after beating...

Ken Shamrock
Evan Tanner
Nate Quarry
David Loiseau

Really?? That quartet of fights made him a big star. How did Quarry get a le shot? Loiseau was clearly over-rated. Love Tanner, but…not a top level guy in today’s MMA.

Then you have the pattern of losing to an elite fighter and getting 2 wins over solid guys (with Wanderlei being the exception) that repeats a couple times. Belfort broke that pattern.

Loss Anderson Silva
Win Jason MacDonald
Win Yushin Okami
Loss Anderson Silva
Win Travis Lutter
Win Matt Hamill
Loss Dan Henderson
Win Wanderlei Silva
Loss Vitor Belfort

Wanderlei is Rich’s biggest in IMO.

Other notable fights…
Loss Lyoto Machida (LHW)
Win Jorge Rivera
Win Edwin Dewees
Win Evan Tanner

Good, but not great or elite...IMO.

[Evan]

CC is who took me from a UFC fan to a MMA fan.

One aspects of CC's greatness that us rarely mentioned was his amazing cross over from Kickboxing to MMA. Rarely is it ever done and even more rare is it done with such amazing success.

By the time CC made it over to the UFC he had four problems.

1 - he was wracked by injuries and I don't think his leg ever healed from KO'ing Wanderlei. so we had a massive injury on top of dozens of other ones. Just look at how many fights he had from kickboxing to MMA.

2 - he was barely holding on mentally with the toll it takes to train & fight.And the money he got from the UFC likely wiped out the remaining shred of motivation.

3 - I think the dude had severe depression problems.

4 - he never took the time to change gyms and evolve. back in Pride when he put that freaking boxing ring in his barn where he wasn't going to be exposed to enough fighters & different styles. Brock has the same thing but at least he trains at a regular gym a few times a week.

Cro Cop was an elite fighter who had bizarre dips in his career. He was never very consistent.

By the time he got to the UFC his speed & desire was shot so sadly he was just a another HW dude. I was very worried when I saw CC's profile pic at UFC.com that was taken the day before his first fight. He looked so tired I wondered how seriously he took prepping for the fight. Like his gameplan was going to .

[Evan]

He is really good, but he got a big push from the UFC after beating...

Ken Shamrock
Evan Tanner
Nate Quarry
David Loiseau

Really?? That quartet of fights made him a big star. How did Quarry get a le shot? Loiseau was clearly over-rated. Love Tanner, but…not a top level guy in today’s MMA.

Then you have the pattern of losing to an elite fighter and getting 2 wins over solid guys (with Wanderlei being the exception) that repeats a couple times. Belfort broke that pattern.

Loss Anderson Silva
Win Jason MacDonald
Win Yushin Okami
Loss Anderson Silva
Win Travis Lutter
Win Matt Hamill
Loss Dan Henderson
Win Wanderlei Silva
Loss Vitor Belfort

Wanderlei is Rich’s biggest in IMO.

Other notable fights…
Loss Lyoto Machida (LHW)
Win Jorge Rivera
Win Edwin Dewees
Win Evan Tanner

Good, but not great or elite...IMO.

you can pick apart almost everyone's career like that tho. You have to take into context where his opponents were when he fought them.

[oligarchy]

Plus it's not even the same argument. He came from a different organization with a ton of hype. It's not even the same as the examples given.. guys that were in the same org. Rich has beat some top level guys in the US. CC hasn't. I don't even think Japan wins are even real -- too tainted for me.

It's also funny to call guys over-hyped after the fact. CC is exactly that and every other HW from Pride. Wandy was fun in Pride but can only beat Jardine -- overrated. etc. etc.

[polandprzem]

Plus it's not even the same argument. He came from a different organization with a ton of hype. It's not even the same as the examples given.. guys that were in the same org. Rich has beat some top level guys in the US. CC hasn't. I don't even think Japan wins are even real -- too tainted for me.

It's also funny to call guys over-hyped after the fact. CC is exactly that and every other HW from Pride. Wandy was fun in Pride but can only beat Jardine -- overrated. etc. etc.

[LEONARD]

I don't even think Japan wins are even real -- too tainted for me.

It's also funny to call guys over-hyped after the fact. CC is exactly that and every other HW from Pride. Wandy was fun in Pride but can only beat Jardine -- overrated. etc. etc.

Funny how CC sucking in the UFC means all the Pride HW's are over-rated.

So what's Couture then? He just lost to today's Nog who isn't what he used to be. Is Nog over-rated???

Rampage has done pretty well in the UFC...took down the almighty Chuck...

Shogun is about to fight for the le... (say what you want about his performances)

Hendo fought for the MW and LHW les (against one "Pride guy" and another that could be considered that)...and is close to doing so again at MW...

Wanderlei losing great fights with Chuck and Rich (close one) makes him over-rated? , he'd lost his last 2 fights in Pride before he even came back to the UFC. Sorry, but you can't hate on Wanderlei for how he fights...

[oligarchy]

Funny how CC sucking in the UFC means all the Pride HW's are over-rated.

So what's Couture then? He just lost to today's Nog who isn't what he used to be. Is Nog over-rated???

Rampage has done pretty well in the UFC...took down the almighty Chuck...

Shogun is about to fight for the le... (say what you want about his performances)

Hendo fought for the MW and LHW les (against one "Pride guy" and another that could be considered that)...and is close to doing so again at MW...

Wanderlei losing great fights with Chuck and Rich (close one) makes him over-rated? , he'd lost his last 2 fights in Pride before he even came back to the UFC. Sorry, but you can't hate on Wanderlei for how he fights...

Heavyweight. Hi. I remember you can't read.

Couture is 50. yay. Funny how Nog is a s of himself after losing to Mir. Bring those excuses too.

I didn't say anything about Rampage or any other non-HW.

Yes. Wandy is over-rated. Vastly. Sorry. He's fun to watch..

[LEONARD]

Heavyweight. Hi. I remember you can't read.

Couture is 50. yay. Funny how Nog is a s of himself after losing to Mir. Bring those excuses too.

I didn't say anything about Rampage or any other non-HW.

Yes. Wandy is over-rated. Vastly. Sorry. He's fun to watch..

So uh...

I don't even think Japan wins are even real -- too tainted for me.

that was only pointed at HW's???

Nog is still a good fighter, but he's nowhere near as good as he was 4-5 yrs ago. Maybe you disagree with that?

I think most agree that Nog wasn't himself for the Mir fight. Again, you're free to go against the grain there...

Couture isn't 50...and he's still one of the top UFC HW's isn't he? He lost the le in the last year and would've been in le fight discussions had he beaten Nog. If you dismiss him you're dismissing one of Lesnar's big wins and he's the best HW in the world, right?? He's the UFC champ, after all...

[oligarchy]

So uh...
that was only pointed at HW's???

Japan doesn't test for steroids or anything resembling what real commissions do. When any of those people fight in the US and win.. then I believe it. That's all the comment meant. Sure some came over and looked good, but some of the hyped guys are trash that beat top compe ion over there, but now look like . You're trying to argue a point I didn't make. I'll break it down like you don't have reading comprehension. If you win in Japan, it doesn't mean anything to me. If you win the US, it carries more weight to me.

[LEONARD]

Japan doesn't test for steroids or anything resembling what real commissions do. When any of those people fight in the US and win.. then I believe it. That's all the comment meant. Sure some came over and looked good, but some of the hyped guys are trash that beat top compe ion over there, but now look like . You're trying to argue a point I didn't make. I'll break it down like you don't have reading comprehension. If you win in Japan, it doesn't mean anything to me. If you win the US, it carries more weight to me.

I see...I was unaware that there was no testing in Japan. Thanks for that...

Completely dismissing all wins in Japan is bit extreme IMO...

I'm glad Fedor smashed Coleman, Sylvia, and Arlovski over here...otherwise I'm sure he'd be getting the steroids questions from the haters. He's still "over-hyped" though like all the Pride HW's, right?

[oligarchy]

I see...I was unaware that there was no testing in Japan. Thanks for that...

Completely dismissing all wins in Japan is bit extreme IMO...

I'm glad Fedor smashed Coleman, Sylvia, and Arlovski over here...otherwise I'm sure he'd be getting the steroids questions from the haters. He's still "over-hyped" though like all the Pride HW's, right?

Fedor? No. He's the greatest. He chose the best org with the best tests. Over-hyped? No way. I mean, Coleman, Sylvia and Arlovski? Wow. Maybe we can get Ray Mercer to beat Coleman and Arlvoski.

[LEONARD]

The fact that you reference Mercer vs Sylvia (at 320 lbs) as some sort of evidence that Fedor is over-rated shows just how far you're reaching...

[oligarchy]

Yes. Because his weight affected Mercer knocking him out in 9 seconds. Shows how far you are reaching.

[LEONARD]

It shows that he damn sure didn't train or take the fight seriously...

That fight tells us nothing about Tim or Mercer...

[oligarchy]

Then either does Fedors win over Sylvia. Scratch that one from your list.

[LEONARD]

Does not compute...

[oligarchy]

I'm sure it doesn't.

[Evan]

To nobody's surprise...he isn't retiring...

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/10/1...ll-coping-with

[dallaskd]

"I was very, very disturbed after the loss to Dos Santos. I was in such a state that I wished to hang myself in my hotel room so I would be gone. Three losses in my last seven fights is nothing but a disaster to me. That’s a terrible score and I’m not happy about it"

"I already know some things that I did wrong both in the fight and in the preparation for the fight, but there are many questions that remain to be answered. I am seriously thinking about hiring a psychiatrist to help me out. I have already made some calls about it."

Mirko is ed up

[Evan]

Mirko is ed up

not to be too dramatic but from all of his quotes I have read over the years I am pretty sure he sufferers from rather severe depression.