Results tagged “Croatia” from MMA Explosion

One of the top MMA Web sites out there, bloodyelbow.com, ran a post featuring a few MMA artists, including Al Youl, whose work can be seen on this Web site. Al has done some work for Hanover-based fightwear company Tap or Sleep. Here's the drawing Al did of Pennsylvania welterweight pro Charlie Brenneman:

Charlie's next fight is headlining the WKU Warrior Challenge in the Poconos later this month.

Here's the one bloodyelbow featured, of Cro Cop:

By the way, looks like the rumors are true - Cro Cop, who skulked out of the UFC like a thief in the night, does have a fight in Japan.

by Kevin Iole, mmajunkie.com:
COLOGNE, Germany - Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic's return to the UFC was a short one.

Not long after stopping Mostapha Al-Turk in the first round of UFC 99 on Saturday at Lanxess Arena in his first fight in the UFC since back-to-back losses in 2007, Filipovic informed UFC president Dana White that he had signed a three-fight contract with the Japanese-based DREAM organization.

White had signed Filipovic less than a month ago to a one-fight deal, the first time in more than nine years that he'd done that. He had worked out terms on two additional fights, but said he'd only put pen to paper for Saturday's bout.

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

Mirko Filipovic joined the UFC two years ago amid more hype and expectation than perhaps any fighter in mixed martial arts history - and Cro Cop flopped.
After three desultory fights forced Filipovic into a yearlong retreat for mental adjustments and knee surgery, he returns to the octagon at UFC 99 on Saturday night in Cologne, Germany, against Mostapha Al Turk. The former anti-terrorist policeman in his native Croatia should have plenty of countrymen cheering the start of his second run toward the UFC heavyweight title.

from mirko's Web site:

These days the boys from Cro Cop team are training in full force. After a long break and highly demanding recovery process, Mirko Cro Cop is ready to fight in MMA again.

All problems with injuries are history and Cro Cop is very optimistic to start another chapter in his career:
"I feel great, the recovery process is going well and we train at high intensity now. I never had such a strong desire to prove myself and I'll climb up again, or die trying."

Mirko's next fight is set for June 13th in Germany, which means that he's back in the UFC, a place that he didn't have his best moments:
"I decided to fight in the UFC again, because of the stronger competition in the heavyweight division. My next opponent will be Mustapha Al-Turk. I didn't do well in my first three appearances - I wasn't myself. By returning to the cage I want to prove that I can still fight at highest level, no matter when or where," he said.

UFC 99 will be Cro Cop's first fight this year with the possibility of three fights coming by years end.
"It's hard to talk about concrete plans, but I would really like to fight at least three times this year. I wish to fight against quality opponents and to fight my way up to a title shot but for now, I'll focus only on my next fight and after that we'll see what's going to be on the menu next," says Cro Cop.
Although the UFC 99 card looks stacked, it seems that the UFC officials can see the benefits of hiring a top European fighter for their first ever UFC show in Germany.

"I want to say thank you Mr. Dana White for your interest and for an invitation back to the UFC. I owe you a lot from our first deal, and I'll make it up to you," promises Cro Cop.

All news related to Mirko Cro Cop's career are posted on Mirko's official MMA-ID profile on http://www.mma-id.com/CROCOP and Mirko's official homepage http://www.mirko-crocop.com.

Yours truly,
The CROCOP Team