Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has reportedly (not officially) signed with the UFC for a 3rd tour, after Zuffa out bid Bellator and their Viacom wallets. The Croatian superhero left the UFC after going 1-2 back in '07 and returned to Japan where he found his greatest success. Mirko went 2-0-1 fighting in DREAM and K-1 with the No Contest coming from repeated knees to the groin that left him unable to continue against Alistair Overeem. Filipovic returned once again to the UFC in '09 and went 3-4 from through '11 and stated he was retiring from MMA.
Mirko was not retired from fighting however. "Cro Cop" returned to his 1st love of kickboxing defeating legend Ray Sefo in his homeland in '12. Filipovic went on to defeat 4 more kickboxers and became the K-1 World Grand Prix Champion! Now a champion in both MMA and kickboxing, "Cro Cop" continued with 3 more bouts winning 2 and losing 1 to stellar fighter Remy Bonjasky.
Like most fighters, Mirko just couldn't hang up the gloves and returned to MMA in '12 winning by Armbar of all things at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2012. He would lose his next bout by submission to Oleksiy Oliynyk who went on to sign and win with the UFC. Filipovic returned to Inoki's federation and defeated Judo Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii to win the IGF Heavyweight Championship! The two would rematch on New Year's Eve '14 as "Cro Cop" again stopped the Japanese fighter after the 2nd round to defend said belt.
Now it's 2015 and once Bellator began to show interest in "Cro Cop" the UFC swept in and signed the Croatian for a 3rd tour of duty. Perhaps a move to thwart Bellator more than reward Filipovic but the legend has returned as 1st reported by Bloody Elbow on January 20th. The initial tries were unsuccessful with Mirko earning a paltry 4-6 record for Zuffa, but there is no doubt about the value of "Cro Cop" who is a legend in the sport, a future 1st ballot Hall of Famer, and a man widely loved and respected by all combat sports fans.
Mirko may not compete for the title anytime soon, but there are potentially interesting bouts and many Heavyweights in the UFC Filipovic could give trouble. What old school fan wouldn't want to see "Cro Cop" hook up against Andrei Arlovski, or rematches against Mark Hunt, Antonio Nogueira, and the ball busting Alistair Overeem? And don't tell us Filipovic couldn't best the likes of Antonio Silva, Stefan Struve, Ben Rothwell, Ruan Potts, Soa Palelei, Josh Copeland, or Walt Harris because you'd be a damn liar!
The odds are stacked against the legend but we here at MMAFO are longtime fans of "Cro Cop" and wish him nothing but the best as he tries to compete at age 40 at the highest level in MMA.
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