Pumphrey94
06-14-2010, 07:26 PM
According to the Croatian website vecernji.hr, legendary Pride Champion Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has decided not to extend his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and to retire from Mixed Martial Arts. Cro Cop revealed that his mysterious eye injury was the main reason behind the decision to retire. Filipovic thanked his coach and long time mentor Ivan Hippolyte, claiming that he no longer feels hungry to perform at his best.
Only yesterday, Mirko Filipovic declared at the UFC 115 post-fight Press Conference that he is interested in renewing his UFC contract, with sights on continuing proving everyone that he still belongs to the MMA Heavyweight elite. Despite of the fact that Vecernji.hr is one of the biggest sports websites in Croatia, stay tuned to LowKick.com for official announcements from the UFC or Mirko Cro Cop.
Source: vecernji.hr (Use Google Translate)
Cro Cop in MMA and K-1:
PrideFC 2006 Openweight Grand Prix Champion
K-1 World Grand Prix 1999 Runner Up
K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka Runner Up
IKBF World Heavyweight Full Contact Champion
MMA Record of 27-7-2-1
20 Knockouts, 4 Submissions, 3 Decisions, 2 Draws and 1 No Contest.
fightersonlymagazine.co.uk provides a translation for the article:
"In addition to winning the Pride Grand Prix Finals, [UFC 115] it’s my favorite fight of my career [but] most of the training proved to me that I am now too old for this…I don’t know about a new contract with the UFC. I believe that I gave this game a lot, I fought with the greatest fighters," Cro Cop said.
"For 20 years I lived this life and now I have no motivation for the fight, no mental strength for all the Spartan training. I am no longer so hungry for victory. I will not stop training, but if I am asleep I’ll stay in bed and practice an hour later."
"I have some [seminar] contacts around the seminar circuit in the U.S., Australia, Europe and even Brazil," Cro Cop said.
Only yesterday, Mirko Filipovic declared at the UFC 115 post-fight Press Conference that he is interested in renewing his UFC contract, with sights on continuing proving everyone that he still belongs to the MMA Heavyweight elite. Despite of the fact that Vecernji.hr is one of the biggest sports websites in Croatia, stay tuned to LowKick.com for official announcements from the UFC or Mirko Cro Cop.
Source: vecernji.hr (Use Google Translate)
Cro Cop in MMA and K-1:
PrideFC 2006 Openweight Grand Prix Champion
K-1 World Grand Prix 1999 Runner Up
K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka Runner Up
IKBF World Heavyweight Full Contact Champion
MMA Record of 27-7-2-1
20 Knockouts, 4 Submissions, 3 Decisions, 2 Draws and 1 No Contest.
fightersonlymagazine.co.uk provides a translation for the article:
"In addition to winning the Pride Grand Prix Finals, [UFC 115] it’s my favorite fight of my career [but] most of the training proved to me that I am now too old for this…I don’t know about a new contract with the UFC. I believe that I gave this game a lot, I fought with the greatest fighters," Cro Cop said.
"For 20 years I lived this life and now I have no motivation for the fight, no mental strength for all the Spartan training. I am no longer so hungry for victory. I will not stop training, but if I am asleep I’ll stay in bed and practice an hour later."
"I have some [seminar] contacts around the seminar circuit in the U.S., Australia, Europe and even Brazil," Cro Cop said.