Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic Is Returning To MMA!

It is said that fighters never retire, and legend Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic is yet another example of this narrative.

Mirko "retired" from MMA and the UFC in October of 2011 after losing via TKO to Roy Nelson.  "Cro Cop" returned to the sport of kickboxing that spawned him for bout called inappropriately, Final Fight: Cro Cop vs Sefo in March of 2012 which Filipovic won by Decision.  This brought back some confidence to Mirko who then fought a kickboxing bout again in May 2012 at the K-1 World Max 2012 World Championship Finals where he won yet again via 2nd round KO by uppercut!  These victories have now caused a stir within the Croatian to return to MMA though not likely with the UFC.

"Concerning my retirement from the UFC, I said it was my last fight for the UFC and last fight on the present contract, but I did not say, 'I won't keep fighting,' " Filipovic said. "I never said that. I think the best thing to say is that I was born to fight."

Filipovic has had surgery to repair torn muscles and tendons in his arm which left him feeling like a fighter reborn. "I feel like a little kid," Filipovic said. "I'm so happy. I'm training every day. I usually train twice a day, and Thursdays and Sundays are supposed to be my days off. But even on those days I'm training at least once. I have to do at least one session each day to be happy."

Mirko is 27-10-2 in MMA and currently fights for the kickboxing organization K-1, where he continues through their 2012 World Grand Prix tournament in October.  Once his participation in that tournament is over, Filipovic is planning to field the already offered contracts for various MMA promotions.

"If you ask me, when I look deep into my soul, of course I would like to fight MMA again," Filipovic said. "People don't get it. Martial arts is my life. K-1 was my first love, but even as recently as this week I was sparring kickboxing, and it was so difficult not to throw them on the ground and look to ground and pound," he said. "Even while I'm preparing for the K-1 grand prix, I'm training on the ground with grappling several times each week.My motivation now is to prove to everyone that I'm still capable of being in the cage. I'm not old. I'm 37, but I can do things that fighters 10 years younger cannot. I will prove that, or I will die trying."

A healthy “Cro Cop” would destroy the stables of Bellator and the SFL  but I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t want to see the long awaited rematch with Fedor Emelianenko in Russia’s M-1 Global promotion.  Of course the “Last Emperor” is retired but as we see that means very little. 

There are opportunities for “Cro Cop” as the world has a shortage of viable MMA Heavyweights, and with the UFC still employing the likes of Dave Herman, Oli Thompson, Christian Morecraft, and the Rob Broughton’s of the world, anything is possible.