Cro Cop Out?

Mirko "Cro Cop" Flipovic is done with the UFC.....for now. If the Croation lost 2 fights in a row (which he did to Gabriel Gonzaga & Cheick Kongo) the UFC had the right to release him from his contract. The UFC is calling the release "amicable" , and Cro Cop could be brought back at a later date. Mirko actually was given time to decide if he wanted to stay in the UFC, but decided to leave and sign with "Dream" (more on that new promotion later). "Well, as you all know, I had a bad period in my last two fights, which I'd lost in the UFC," Filipovic 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. Another thing is that I never liked fighting in the cage. I always liked to fight in the ring. The second thing is that I liked fighting in Japan. Japan is like my second home -- I feel like I'm home in Japan. All those reasons [have brought me] here, and I'm very happy that I'm going to fight here in Japan. But of course, one day, I don't know when, but definitely I'll be back in the UFC to show that it was just a bad period for me. Now I'm fully recovered, physically and mentally, most important mentally."

Obviously, Cro Cop is not mentally recovered or he would not have needed "tune up" fights and and battles in a ring instead of the UFC's Octagon. This is disappointing for Flipovic fans to see the "2006 Fighter Of The Year" fall on such hard times, but encouraging to know that he has not given up and is planning to return to prominence. Mirko had nasal surgery after his loss to Kongo in which he also sustained a broken rib that basically took him out of the fight. Cro Cop has stated he now feels like he can breathe again and this is attributed to his "physical" recovery. Many noticed that in the 1st round of his bout with Kongo he was almost immediately breathing out of his mouth and the rumor was Cro Cop had not trained hard for the fight and was unable to get his mind right for UFC fights. Now those rumors are proven false and the former Pride FC Open Weight Grand Prix winner is back on the path to becoming the #1 Heavyweight in the world, a goal he has come so close to achieving on 2 occasions (against Fedor Emelianko & Antonio Nogueira for titles in which he lost).

Are the injuries legit or just fighter excuses? Is Cro Cop running from the competition to where he was most successful in Japan? Will he re-establish himself as one of the most feared fighters in all the world? These are questions that will now be answered upon the Dream stage and by a proud fighter refusing to say die when times are at their worst and he is doubted the most.