Cro Cop: Mjesto mi je u 'starom željezu' - Jutarnji.hr
Cro cop admited after ufc 103 that he dosnt have the passion for mma.
Croatian gladiator Mirko Filipovic didnt make any excuses for him self or anyone else after a new failure in the UFC octagon in Dallas. Defeat from the brazilian "stallion" Junior dos Santos best describes hes own sentance: I fucked up, and thats it.
Its obvius your far from a champion form?
- Maybe those who say i'm for old metal scrap yard are right. Its obvius i cant break the psychological barrier in the octagon. In addition there is 20 years of spartanic training behind me, its come to some fatigue. Years have caught up to me, "i'm eaten by saturation" (hes a bit fed up).
What exactly happend at to stoppage in the 3rd round?
- Dos Santos hit me with hes fist in the eye and slashed my eyelid. Blood and sweet compliantly blurred my sight field, i stood like a blind man in the cage. In one moment at the end of the fight i confused the referee and the opponent. Later on it was reviled that the inside from my eyelid broke from the punch.
In the locker room I got four stitches.
Did you on surrender on your own or was it the referees initiative?
- No, i didnt give up, nor did i asked the referee to stop it. It was hes call.
Did the refree stop the fight prematurle ?
- It dosnt matter, i would have lost on points regardless.
Did Dos Santos surprise u with hes aggressiveness and strength?
- Simply, hes younger, hungrier, more motivated. He wanted to win more.
The blood on Santos face shows that you were not completely harmless?
I broke hes arcade, several times I hit well, but overall speaking, it was my failure.
Where did that lethal HK vanish?
The surface was slippery as glass. A couple of times i almost landed on my butt trying to do the high-kick.
However, thats no alibi. That was not a performance people would buy tickets for.
So what did hinder you in Dallas?
The hunger for wining is missing. I became a "ziheras" (some who only does safe things. dose not take risks) , i'm not wiling to risk anymore. I thank everyone who supported me, all who cheered for me and everyone who helped me to prepare for a duel against Dos Santos. I'm sorry I have disappointed them.
These sound like farewell words from ultimate fight?
For two decades, I feel like i'm on military time. Every morning i get up at 6 and i dont stop with sport activities till night.
I wishing some civilian life. I enter the cage, and i'm thinking of fishing in Privlaca. You cant win that way
If this was your last fight in his career?
- Maybe I should have said my goodbyes in 2006, after I won the Pride Grand Prix ...
EDIT/update:
Today from the airport:
Cro Cop se vratio: Ovo je najvjerojatnije kraj! - Sport
Mirko wasnt in the mood for long statements, he just repeatedly stated that hes not in the mood for long analysis of the match vs Dos Santos.
On the question of our journalist is this the end of hes career, Mirko said: "Yes, most likely yes"
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Dnevnik.hr
Just a little edit to this. In the video the question was is the end of your career
near? "probably yes"
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Potresni Cro Copov povratak: Da, ovo je najvjerojatnije kraj! - Sport - Index.hr
More in the mood for a statement was Mirko’s coach Marijan ZiZanovic - Ziza, who said:
"After that kind of battle, everyone feels bad. We were basically preparing the whole summer for it. Part of the blame is on me as the head coach Cro Cop team. We should have worked on some things more. I thought it was enough. Regardless of all, Mirko will in agreements with his family to decide whether to end or more on.”
Was it a mental preparation or technical area?
"Its not about mental preparations, it's about some technical details. Like timing and such. Mentally he was ready before the fight, but we can’t talk about that. That’s a long story. Some things I should have already changed (taken care of)”
Although he did not want to underestimate Dos Santos, Ziza, however, said:
"Now we can say that Dos Santos is a big bite (to chew of). No offense to him, the Brazilian is only 10 percent of what Mirko was beating before. I mean he fought against the best strikers of the world. Certainly hes in martial arts when sports like kick boxing, ultimate fight take into account ... Mirko is the greatest fighter today. He was not scared. There was a blockage and it can happen to anyone. "
Zizanović in the end concluded:
"I think that Mirko should stay out of spite and to show what he can do. I still think he can win the UFC's belt. He should sit down and work out what needs to be done with the manager Lucic. I still think he can win the UFC's belt."
