Crocop Wants a Crack at Nogueira
January 4, 2008
Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic is facing a very difficult time in his mixed martial arts career. The Croatian superstar has lost his last two matches prior to that he won his debut UFC match in a fairly unimpressive fashion. He was heavily favored to win his match against the relatively unknown fighter Gabriel Gonzaga only to have the match upset in a very impressive head kick knockout. He then went on to face Cheick Kongo, again heavily favored to win, this time he would lose by unanimous decision.
A breathing injury had prevented any kind of proper air intake during those matches, after his last match Mirko underwent successful surgery and is said to be back on track. Motivated by many people dismissing Mirkos ability in the UFC he trains harder and harder. He has plans to increase his weight in order to better deal with heavier fighters in the clinch and is now back in training with the likes of Ivan Hypolite at his camp in the city of Amsterdam.
Although the surgery has taken its toll, and would not allow Mirko back to sparring for approximately 2 months after the injury, he worked on boxing and his already impressive standup game while healing. Once his nose has healed enough he went right back into his hard core training regime as if he had taken no time off at all. The only difference now is when he practices sparring he wears a special type of helmet to protect his nose in order to prevent any chance of the injury happening again in training.
Mirko has set his eyes upon Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira for his next opponent. He has hopes that the match will be set up by UFC president Dana White for the upcoming UFC 80 pay per view event. Although not listed on the card, fans are hopeful to see the return of Crocop at the event or at the very least hear word of what the future holds for him in the Ultimate Fighting Championship League. Look for an announcement January 19th during the pay per view event.
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