Cro Cop: Wants back to MMA, ‘I was born to fight’
37 year old Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic announced his retirement following a loss to Roy Nelson at UFC 137 in…
37 year old Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic announced his retirement following a loss to Roy Nelson at UFC 137 in November. Or did he?
Following successful surgery to repair torn muscles and tendons in his arm, the Croatian says he wants back to the cage.
Cro Cop is currently in the K-1 2012 World Grand Prix, 16-man, $1,000,000 kickboxing tourmanent. This follows two successful post UFC bouts in the ring.
Back in September Filipovic negotiated with an unnamed MMA promotion, but could not come to terms. After the K-1 Grand Prix, he will again seek to enter the cage.
“Concerning my retirement from the UFC, I said it was my last fight for the UFC and last fight on the present contract, but I did not say, ‘I won’t keep fighting,’ ” Filipovic said. “I never said that. I think the best thing to say is that I was born to fight.”
“I feel like a little kid. I’m so happy. I’m training every day. I usually train twice a day, and Thursdays and Sundays are supposed to be my days off. But even on those days I’m training at least once. I have to do at least one session each day to be happy.”
“If you ask me, when I look deep into my soul, of course I would like to fight MMA again. People don’t get it. Martial arts is my life.”
“K-1 was my first love, but even as recently as this week I was sparring kickboxing, and it was so difficult not to throw them on the ground and look to ground and pound. Even while I’m preparing for the K-1 grand prix, I’m training on the ground with grappling several times each week.
“My motivation now is to prove to everyone that I’m still capable of being in the cage. I’m not old. I’m 37, but I can do things that fighters 10 years younger cannot.
“I will prove that, or I will die trying.”