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Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:52 pm EDT

Mirko 'Cro Cop' no longer scary: Dos Santos' knees force the Croatian legend to quit

By Steve Cofield

Two brahma bulls met in the Octagon at UFC 103 and after 13 minutes, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic couldn't take it anymore. In a rough, tough fight, Cro Cop and Junior Dos Santos slugged it out with heavy shots. The 236-pound Dos Santos employed some brutal knees in the final round to set up a finishing right hand uppercut. Cro Cop didn't go down but it appeared that he suffered an eye injury because he backed up and signaled "that's enough" at 2:00 into the third round. 

Cro Cop (25-7-2, 2-3 UFC) was the most devastating striker in the heavyweight division for years while fighting for PRIDE in Japan, but it appears the 35-year-old has lost much of his snap and athleticism. He was known for his unreal kicks to the head and body, yet in this fight he only threw eight kicks, and they were all to the legs and body of Dos Santos.

The 24-year-old Brazilian threw the heavier shots throughout the fight, and sitting cageside you could the loud thuds as 462 pounds beef collided. Dos Santos did a great job of wearing down the older fighter with a lots of body work in the first two rounds.

Dos Santos (9-1, 3-0 UFC) didn't come out of the fight unscathed. His face actually looked worse than Cro Cop's at the end of the fight. In just three fights with the UFC, Dos Santos has put himself in the mix for a shot at UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar but he does need to shore up his defense a bit. Cro Cop was sluggish but he was still able to land plenty of shots.

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90 Comments

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  1. Matt M
    1. Posted by Matt M Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:03 am EDT

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    Cro Cop had the look of a mentally broken man on his face. He looked like he was about to cry entering the 3rd round.
  2. forgot2wipe
    2. Posted by forgot2wipe Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:15 am EDT

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    My butt itches.
  3. Sandman
    3. Posted by Sandman Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:15 am EDT

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    I told everyone, Belfort by death blow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    That is all that matters, Vitor is back.
  4. Gee
    4. Posted by Gee Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:16 am EDT

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    I'd like to hear from those idiots that said Cro Cop would be a good challenge for Brock Lesnar.
  5. The Mex
    5. Posted by The Mex Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:18 am EDT

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    They actually pay you to make these mistakes "Cornflake"? Man, I guess they would probably even give me a job these days!!!!!!!! Good fight though, such power. "Cro Cop" is done.
  6. bpie81
    6. Posted by bpie81 Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:19 am EDT

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    I cried watching this :(
  7. SotoMojo
    7. Posted by SotoMojo Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:20 am EDT

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    Awful card. But the boxing card isn't much to write home about, Marquez's shots are like mosquito bites to Floyd. I'm glad I didn't pay for any of the PPVs.
  8. f.aaden
    8. Posted by f.aaden Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:23 am EDT

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    Cro cop was feeling sick had swine flu but didnt want to pull out so he was at........around 35 % and he still put on a show.
  9. Joe
    9. Posted by Joe Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:24 am EDT

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    That might be the last fight for Cro Cop in the UFC. With that performance ... I can't think of any HW contender he can beat. He looked as though he didn't even want to be there. Very dissapointing performance.
  10. Joe
    10. Posted by Joe Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:24 am EDT

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    That might be the last fight for Cro Cop in the UFC. With that performance ... I can't think of any HW contender he can beat. He looked as though he didn't even want to be there. Very dissapointing performance.
  11. Matt M
    11. Posted by Matt M Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:28 am EDT

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    Gee - The possibility of Cro Cop challenging Lesnar was purely based on if Cro Cop had rejuvenated himself. And he hasn't, unfortunately. He never will. Just look at his facial expressions in the fight. He's just not there mentally anymore to fight. And Cofield was right for once. Cro Cop has lost his speed and athleticism.
    That said Dos Santos wasn't all that impressive either. He really needs to work on his defense, and if he had a lot of trouble trying to outmuscle Cro Cop, he'll have hard time dealing with the strength of a Lesnar or Carwin.
  12. trickydick41
    12. Posted by trickydick41 Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:29 am EDT

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    All in all one of the worst PPVs i've seen in a while. Granted I dont order all of them but there wasn't one fight that would even enter a top 50 fights of the year list. Very disappointing. Oh well, at least Vitor won. That made it worth my money.
  13. Armando
    13. Posted by Armando Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:30 am EDT

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    around 35%?? hahahaha wtf how would you know
  14. Frank Buster Barns
    14. Posted by Frank Buster Barns Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:33 am EDT

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    Fedo is scared of the UFC and when you see this guy crocopper who went the distance with the so called great fedo you have to lol and see why hes hiding from the UFC. Brohawk will KO Fedo 1st roundo and and thtas thast the END of him and his fedo fans who bow before him and wear there knee pads proudly... Blah Balh';';';';';';';';';';';
  15. Matt M
    15. Posted by Matt M Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:38 am EDT

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    #14 - You fail at trolling.
  16. swrestler
    16. Posted by swrestler Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:00 am EDT

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    Anyone who didn't know Cro Cop was done over a year ago is not an MMA fan. All you had to do is watch his fight against Overeem and you would know, FOR SURE, that Cro Cop has been done for awhile now. This outcome is no surprise.
  17. Irish Bastard
    17. Posted by Irish Bastard Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:00 am EDT

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    LOL............What do you want to bet he just wanted to get paid and get away from Dana "NTSK " White !..lol I agree both Boxing and the 103 STUNK !
  18. James
    18. Posted by James Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:03 am EDT

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    This turns Cro Cop career around in a bad way. He is now going to be that tough heavyweight that the young guys have to prove themselves against. Cro Cop is out ot title contention for a LONG time with the UFC. Mirko showed his toughness by taking a lot of big shots. I'm not going to question his reason for waving off. Dos Santos might be one fight away from a title shot. I have no idea why anybody would complain about this PPV. There were entertaining fights all the way through. Ko's Submissions, close wars. What more do you want people?
  19. Matt M
    19. Posted by Matt M Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:32 am EDT

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    armando - Last I checked, Fedor still seems to have the mental confidence to fight. So saying he would be broken like Cro Cop has no basis.
  20. I'm a pilot...I can fly
    20. Posted by I'm a pilot...I can fly Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:34 am EDT

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    not surprised if it is determined that cro cop has broken orbital. dos santos was stalking him the whole fight, it looked bad for cro cop the whole time. dos santos needs to get better tho, he put himself in danger too much. cigano has obvious power, but needs to incorporate other aspects. a wrestler like lesnar would beat him most every time.
  21. Danny N
    21. Posted by Danny N Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:41 am EDT

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    being a huge MMA fan and watching fighters like Chuck, Wanderlei, and Cro Cop at the bottom fo their careers, this one was probably the one that hit me. Just seeing Cro Cop walk out of the octagon with the towel over his head just made me get teared up, slightly. :p... Cro Cop always brought a war to the cage, and now he's getting hit with the age card just like any good fighter, Muhammed Ali got hit by it, Chuck Liddell got hit by it, and now Cro Cop is being hit by it.
  22. Drew M
    22. Posted by Drew M Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:41 am EDT

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    Do the editors proof read the article before they post it to the web. I thought a pre schooler wrote this.
  23. OMAR E
    23. Posted by OMAR E Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:47 am EDT

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    overreem is the guy the ufc should look into, crocop is done and i dont think fedor is that great anymore either. there is a reason arlovsky and silvia arent in the ufc anymore
  24. armando
    24. Posted by armando Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:53 am EDT

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    cro cop was the great but he never got over the gonzaga ko. there comes a time for a fighter to hang em up before they do too much damage to themselves. as for fedor i'm just disappointed dana and fedor don't want to work together. fedor hasn't been fighting the top guys anymore. who should fedor fight who is a true top contender in the hw division it seems to be hype. i was hoping cro cop came back.
  25. keithwalters213
    25. Posted by keithwalters213 Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:54 am EDT

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    fedor is a good champ. why do you think he is scared of the UFC he has beat 3 of the UFC HW champ T.S,A.A and big nog

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