Cro Cop Crazy?
OfflineI saw this over at 5oz of Pain:
In an exclusive story, our good friend Caleb Newby of Nokaut.com is reporting one of the oddest news bits in a long while:
Mirko Cro Cop will face Ralek Gracie, a black belt in brazilian jiu-jitsu, in a special rules grappling match on June 15’s DREAM 4 card in Japan.
Originally slated to face Jerome LeBanner in an MMA-rules fight at DREAM.4, a minor leg injury supposedly pushed the bout back to DREAM.5 on July 20. There is no update on the injury and the exact status of the originally scheduled fight was not addressed. Newby’s report states the LeBanner fight is postponed but does not give a definite date for the fight. Gracie has not fought since July ‘07 against Katsuyori Shibata, last seen as the straight man on the Mayhem Miller Show at DREAM.3.
The match will be fought with ADCC rules for two five-minute rounds but without the points system. This seems to be the only concession given to Cro Cop against the much more technical Gracie. The match must end with a submission or else it will be called a draw.
Cro Cop agreeing to a grappling match with a Gracie sounds like a MMA blog nerd’s idea of an April Fool’s joke. The Croatian heavyweight is notorious for a ground game that is generously called serviceable and Ralek Gracie is typical of his lineage on the mat. This is the equivalent of Michael Jordan playing baseball, Sean Sherk standing up with BJ Penn and me attempting a Dragonforce song on my stepson’s PS2. This whole concept is so weird, so utterly Japanese freakshow, it’s almost impossible to come up with a prediction. I’ll go with the +145000 line and pick Cro Cop by donkey punch in the 2nd.
Comments
i got cro cop by reverse head kick.
Underboss MMAfia
Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83
i've got Cro Cop to win via dazzling battle rap lyrics...this sounds very lame if it's true...
cro crop spinning open palm slap
chief to the head of the west coast mmafia
Not happening.
"The much anticipated albeit never confirmed bout between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and fellow K-1 stalwart Jerome LeBanner (Pictures) has again been nixed, and will not take place at the July 21 Dream card at Osaka Castle Hall.
A Cro Cop-LeBanner matchup was first teased as a potential bout for June 15's Dream 4 middleweight grand prix continuance. However, the bout was never made official, and Filipovic was then curiously slated to face Ralek Gracie (Pictures) in a grappling bout. Cro Cop was eventually forced out of the grappling bout due to an elbow injury.
The bout was again rumored for the forthcoming July 21 Dream 5 effort, however, Filipovic announced Sunday on his personal blog that the bout would not be taking place.
Filipovic explained that he was initially slated to face LeBanner, but following LeBanner's decision to face K-1 kingpin Semmy Schilt (Pictures) on June 29, Cro Cop then expected to face Samoan slugger Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga. However, Siliga then pulled out of the fight, leaving the Croat without an opponent.
Rather than opt for another opponent, Filipovic confirmed that he will undergo an arthoscopy on his injured right elbow this week to heal his nagging injury, and also take time to recover from a lingering knee injury. Cro Cop explained that he hoped the time dedicated to recovery would allow him to be ready for Dream's Sept. 23 card at Saitama Super Arena.
"My goal is to become the first heavyweight champion in Dream and to do that I need to be ready to fight on September 23," wrote Filipovic. "I'm not interested in summer time, vacations or things like that; I'll focus on getting back to shape and hopefully I'll fight in September."