Kebal
2nd July 2010, 22:10
Cro Cop Unsure About his Fighting Future; Says If He Continues to Compete, He Wants Couture, Nogueira or Gonzaga
http://cdn.cagepotato.com/www/sites/default/files/cro-cop1.jpg
(Right leg, mild contusion. Left leg, charley horse.)
Former 2006 PRIDE open weight grand prix champion Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic spoke with Fighters Only's John O'Regan this week about a number of topics, including his future in the sport of MMA and what it would take to motivate him to continue to fight in the sport that he began competing in nearly nine years ago.
Filipovic says that he hasn't yet decided whether or not he will step into the cage or ring again as a fighter, but mentioned that being a coach and trainer is a role he would love to tackle after his fighting days are over.
Although he says age isn't necessarily a factor as he feels he is in great shape at 35, Cro Cop says that the toll that fighting and training has taken on him physically and mentally has made him much older in "fight years" than he is in "life years."
“I don’t know [what I will do]. First of all, I will take a rest, definitely I will talk with Lorenzo [Fertitta, UFC owner]. I closed this last contract with him and yes I will definitely talk with him. But I really cannot say right now if I will continue fighting. I think for me to keep fighting, the conditions would have to be right. What I mean by that is, first of all the fights have to be inspiring. It has to be an opponent that makes me inspired to go through eight weeks of hell with [trainer Ivan] Hippolyte. People say to me, 'Couture has 46, 47 years and he is still fighting, so you still have many years left'. But people forget, he has had 16 or 17 fights altogether in his career. I have 35 in MMA and 26 in K-1 and then 44 amateur boxing matches before that - I have had three times more fights than Randy. So of course I am not old in years, but believe me, I have been around! I have been to Japan 44 times. That is 44 times I got out of bed, went to the airport and travelled all the way to Japan, fought once, twice in a night. 44 times I went to Japan, suffered jetlag, no sleep, broken bones, stitches - at some point you become sick of everything. So I am still thinking about what to do and right now I need some rest. I will talk with Lorenzo and we will see. I just need motivation right now.”
What would motivate him, Filipovic says would be fights with legendary opponents who put on exciting shows for the fans, win lose or draw and a possibility to seek redemption.
“I think it means fights with the legends… Randy Couture, Antonio Nogueira and [Gabriel] Gonzaga - definitely Gonzaga. I would like to fight them in that order actually - Couture, Nogueira, Gonzaga. Those are the kind of fights that would inspire me and make me go through eight weeks of hell with Hippolyte again. Pat Barry is an excellent fighter, very tough and he can cause trouble for anyone in the UFC today but it is not the same kind of inspiration. I don’t mean to disrespect anyone here but what I am saying is at this point I would only really be interested in big-name fights and in straightening some things out," he said. "I need fights that will inspire me. Since 2003, its inside of me to have a rematch with Nogueira, definitely. He is one of the true legends, a pioneer of the sport, former Pride champion and former UFC champion as well. It would be a very interesting rematch for me. As for Couture, he is also a legend of the sport and a pioneer. When I was with Pride I was asked many times, how would I fight against Couture? Well now we could find out.”
One motivating factor that isn't at the top of his list this late in his storied career, Cro Cop says is the bottom line that motivates most fighters today.
"I have made decent money in this sport, I have made a name. Maybe I am in the best possible position now to compete. I don’t need the money, those days are behind me. Now I would fight only to entertain my fans and have great fights. So if I decide to fight again and if I close a deal with deal with Lorenzo, it would be interesting for me to fight in Europe in front of European fans who maybe haven‘t had the chance to see me very much...I don’t know, I don’t know[if I will continue to fight]. I need some inspiration I think. But its not about money. Obviously there has to be payment but this is bottom of the list for my motivation.”
If he does decide to retire, at least we'll still have Ultimate Force.
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http://cdn.cagepotato.com/www/sites/default/files/cro-cop1.jpg
(Right leg, mild contusion. Left leg, charley horse.)
Former 2006 PRIDE open weight grand prix champion Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic spoke with Fighters Only's John O'Regan this week about a number of topics, including his future in the sport of MMA and what it would take to motivate him to continue to fight in the sport that he began competing in nearly nine years ago.
Filipovic says that he hasn't yet decided whether or not he will step into the cage or ring again as a fighter, but mentioned that being a coach and trainer is a role he would love to tackle after his fighting days are over.
Although he says age isn't necessarily a factor as he feels he is in great shape at 35, Cro Cop says that the toll that fighting and training has taken on him physically and mentally has made him much older in "fight years" than he is in "life years."
“I don’t know [what I will do]. First of all, I will take a rest, definitely I will talk with Lorenzo [Fertitta, UFC owner]. I closed this last contract with him and yes I will definitely talk with him. But I really cannot say right now if I will continue fighting. I think for me to keep fighting, the conditions would have to be right. What I mean by that is, first of all the fights have to be inspiring. It has to be an opponent that makes me inspired to go through eight weeks of hell with [trainer Ivan] Hippolyte. People say to me, 'Couture has 46, 47 years and he is still fighting, so you still have many years left'. But people forget, he has had 16 or 17 fights altogether in his career. I have 35 in MMA and 26 in K-1 and then 44 amateur boxing matches before that - I have had three times more fights than Randy. So of course I am not old in years, but believe me, I have been around! I have been to Japan 44 times. That is 44 times I got out of bed, went to the airport and travelled all the way to Japan, fought once, twice in a night. 44 times I went to Japan, suffered jetlag, no sleep, broken bones, stitches - at some point you become sick of everything. So I am still thinking about what to do and right now I need some rest. I will talk with Lorenzo and we will see. I just need motivation right now.”
What would motivate him, Filipovic says would be fights with legendary opponents who put on exciting shows for the fans, win lose or draw and a possibility to seek redemption.
“I think it means fights with the legends… Randy Couture, Antonio Nogueira and [Gabriel] Gonzaga - definitely Gonzaga. I would like to fight them in that order actually - Couture, Nogueira, Gonzaga. Those are the kind of fights that would inspire me and make me go through eight weeks of hell with Hippolyte again. Pat Barry is an excellent fighter, very tough and he can cause trouble for anyone in the UFC today but it is not the same kind of inspiration. I don’t mean to disrespect anyone here but what I am saying is at this point I would only really be interested in big-name fights and in straightening some things out," he said. "I need fights that will inspire me. Since 2003, its inside of me to have a rematch with Nogueira, definitely. He is one of the true legends, a pioneer of the sport, former Pride champion and former UFC champion as well. It would be a very interesting rematch for me. As for Couture, he is also a legend of the sport and a pioneer. When I was with Pride I was asked many times, how would I fight against Couture? Well now we could find out.”
One motivating factor that isn't at the top of his list this late in his storied career, Cro Cop says is the bottom line that motivates most fighters today.
"I have made decent money in this sport, I have made a name. Maybe I am in the best possible position now to compete. I don’t need the money, those days are behind me. Now I would fight only to entertain my fans and have great fights. So if I decide to fight again and if I close a deal with deal with Lorenzo, it would be interesting for me to fight in Europe in front of European fans who maybe haven‘t had the chance to see me very much...I don’t know, I don’t know[if I will continue to fight]. I need some inspiration I think. But its not about money. Obviously there has to be payment but this is bottom of the list for my motivation.”
If he does decide to retire, at least we'll still have Ultimate Force.
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