Heavyweight Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has likely fought for the last time in the UFC Octagon.
Despite defeating Mostapha Al-Turk on Saturday at UFC 99 to fulfill a unique one-fight deal with the promotion, Cro Cop informed UFC President Dana White following the first-round TKO that he had signed a three-fight deal with Japan-based DREAM.
During a media teleconference held last week with White and Cro Cop to discuss the deal, which was made less than a month ago, White said he’d never made such a deal in his nine-year history in the sport, while Cro Cop vowed to make a run at the title.
White made his feelings clear at the post-fight press conference when talking about Cro Cop, who apparently passed on a fight with Cain Velasquez before being matched up with Al-Turk.
“Isn’t that a dirty [expletive] thing to do?” White told Yahoo! Sports. “He [expletive] me. The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he [expletive] me. He didn’t keep his word. He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletive] me. He fed me this bull [expletive] about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this. He turned down every other [expletive] fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn’t just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too.”
Barring a future reconciliation, the former PRIDE standout Cro Cop ends his UFC career with a 2-2 record.
Cro Cop has not yet commented on the situation and no date has been confirmed for his DREAM debut.
MMAFrenzy.com will pass along updates on this story as they become available.
Update at 12:54 am on 6/15/2009 by Justin:
There is now a report on a Croatian website that is claiming that Cro Cop told them he has not signed with DREAM and was surprised by White’s accusations. According to the article Cro Cop also said:
“I’m not clear why the White (trusted) on rumors instead of talking with me. I was hoping that we will talk about the continuation of cooperation, because the only contentious item (for me is) a long period between performances. I do not want to sit for months at home and wait for that someone called me to fight. However, I am grateful for the opportunity (from) White in Cologne and in spite of his heavy words, I do not see reason to not (reach an) agreement.”
*I translated the page using Google, then paraphrased a bit to make things easier to read in places, indicated by parentheses.
Update at 1:30pm on 6/15/2009 by Kris Karkoski:
USA Today’s Sergio Non confirmed with Mike Kogan, who runs the U.S. operation of Dream’s parent company, Fighting and Entertainment Group, that Cro Cop has signed with DREAM.
[Pictured: Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic]
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Finally someone gets one over on Dana White. Cro Cop definitely burned this bridge. Not a smart career move on his part, but it is nice to see someone give Dana White what he deserves. Now back to the subpar heavyweight division of Dream fo Cro Cop so he can look great against weaker fighters. His matchups are going to make Kimbo Slice look like Minatauro. And Dana White has a problem with Fedor’s weaker competition? Maybe a Cro Cop-Randleman 3, or Minowa-Cro Cop. Or maybe if we are lucky a Cro Cop-Jose Canseco showdown. I can hardly wait to turn the channel…
What a fag. Well I woudln’t want to fight somewhere where I got my ass beat either. Fighting in Japan is like playing semipro football compared to the UFC so good luck you dumb @#%^. Plus I doubt he would touch Brock.
“Fighting in Japan is like playing semipro football compared to the UFC” ????? WTF ?????
Except in this semipro football, the players are making more and they put on better shows (not fights, per se, but shows). I’m curious, what are you watching from Japan, because everything I’ve seen has been top notch. Not to mention the K1 potential over there. No, Cro Cop made a great move for himself.
LOL thats why all the greatest fighters right now are in the UFC? Potential doesnt mean shit, if your in the UFC your getting paid and everyone knows you. Jose canseco? bob sapp? Those are the kinda of people fighting in Japan, so yeah its better for Cro when your fighting a bunch of jokers. Again, Dream doesnt have shit on UFC and get over it cause Cro Crop is ass.
“LOL thats why all the greatest fighters right now are in the UFC? ”
Let’s take a look at fr’s top 10 list, shall we: 2 of top 3 HWs in the world are NOT in UFC. 6 of the top 15 MWs are NOT in the UFC. 8 of the 15 LWs are NOT in the UFC. I hardly think ALL of the GREATEST fighters are in the UFC.
” Potential doesnt mean ****”
I’m talking about potiential earnings in K1. In the UFC, you can only fight in the UFC. In Japan, you can fight everywhere. Cro Cop will always make more $$$ in Japan (which was my original point). Cro Cop will fight maybe 3 times a year in the US, and potentially many more in Japan due to a lack of red tape.
“if your in the UFC your getting paid and everyone knows you”
Only if you’re one of the top dogs. And I would bet my entire life’s savings that MMA, per capita, is more popular in Japan than it is in the USA. Are you aware that people in Japan sit at home on New Year’s Eve and watch MMA with their families? Are you also aware that millions of people ordered and watched PRIDE ppvs; UFC is lucky to get 1million buys.
“Jose canseco? bob sapp? Those are the kinda of people fighting in Japan, so yeah its better for Cro when your fighting a bunch of jokers”
Only those uneducated in MMA would make such comments. Yeah, those guys fight in Japan. There’s a big “Western Freak Show” aspect to the Japanese culture, and it’s fulfilled at some events. Don’t forget giants like Hong Man Choi and Semmy Schilt. And I seem to recall guys like Fedor and Anderson Silva starting their career in Japan. I think also think Wanderlei, Dan Henderson, Barnett, Sakuraba, Hansen, Aoki, Overeem, and Rampage fight/fought over there. There are many more to name……
“Again, Dream doesnt have **** on UFC and get over it cause Cro Crop is ass.”
DREAM, Sengoku, K-1: all great organizations. We’re not talking Affliction here, and there is MMA outside of UFC. Bellator and WEC I’m sure are familiar to you as well, but it’s easier to see them cause they’re in the USA, and not on a time delay from Japan.
I’m not at all bashing UFC here or agrandisizing Japanese MMA. I am, however pointing out that MMA exists outside the UFC, and it’s quite good. I love the UFC and will continue spending my hard earned cash on their pay per views and live events.
Cro Chump was not worth the money anyways I hope that he dosen’t puss out and gets rerired by Overaheem!!!!!!!!!!
if that means i dont have to see him fight again, thank you for doing that!
wow…what a tool. He pokes a guy in the eye and pokes the UFC fans in the rear. Enough with this guy. He didn’t prove anything to me tonight…except that he’s a tool.
Stupid move by CroCop. Not only does this hurt him and make him look a jerk, no other fighter *coughFedorcough* will ever get a one fight deal from Dana in the future.
cro punk turned down the fight with cain smart move cuz cain would of kicked his ass
I am pretty sure he is making more in Dream then the UFC. This is their big star. He knows he is going to make a fortune over in Japan which is a reason why he left.
Maybe dana has to get fedor now, i hope so!
It was stated origionally that it was a one fight deal . If White wanted him for more he would have signed him for three right away . He probably fought and said to himself I need a few more fights to warm up and work it out . Dream will give him 3 decent fights by December , then back to the UFC where we all think Dana is pissed and we pay to see what happens next . Ala’ old Pride backstage action to keep us entertained .
It was stated originally that it was a one fight deal, and that afterward future fights would be discussed. It looks like CroCop had no intentions on being involved in any “afterward” conversations, he already has his deal lined up.
because they both know that crocop = interest and $$$$ .He is still in the heavyweight scene with a few more wins in Japan ……….. easier than building up in the UFC against better competition . DREAM isnt a chump org either . those K-1 /Dream events are exciting to watch and are just as good as the UFC . Its a dick move for sure but there wasnt anything written down so …….. If he would have lost Dana could have said “see ya ” anyways . In Dana’s own words “I needed him for Cain ” says it all .
There wasn’t anything written down, but it’s still wrong to lie. Now it seems like maybe Dana was misinformed (we’ll see how this plays out in coming days), and Cro Cop didn’t infact have a DREAM deal worked out.
I agree that K-1 and DREAM fights are exciting to watch, I’m not knocking that, or Cro Cop if he did decide to fight for DREAM for that decision, just the way he allegedly went about this.
This is no different than telling a broad you love her to get in a quick bang.
Yeah except this broad’s “father” owns the clinic you need to go to get that shot to clear up what she gave you!, not a great career move if you want to fight in the states, but maybe he doesn’t. Look this guy knows he’s not going to be a contender again in his career and he wants to get paid, can’t say I blame him, tactics are questionable but end result is obvious.
If anything, Cro Cop gave something to Dana, and now the whole world knows he’s got crabs. In any case, that broad’s got some hot rich Japanese friends who’s fathers own varieties of clinics (DREAM, K1, Sengoku).
How many times has Cro Cop fought in the US? Once. That’s it. Just once. Notice that there aren’t that many European or Japanese stars in the UFC…..it’s cause they flock to fights in Japan. Less red tape over there.
Srupi move by Cro-cop, everyone seemed to welcome him back with open arrms, and he could have ended his career on a more positive note. What a dumba$$.
I’m actually glad he’s gone. I was a huge Cro Cop fan, but the constant waiting for the big head kick drives me nutz. He also never fully invested in the UFC and their rules…..never using elbows, and constantly sucking on the ground. Both Gonzaga and Kongo showed that as long as you pressure Mirko, he’ll just back up and suck. Good bye and have fun shooting roids and fighting juice bag baseball players.
Yah good choice for cro cop.. in dream he is stiall able to fight in K1 and other Japanese events.. if he signed with the UFC we all know Dana puts bullshit in his contracts preventing his fighters from fighting abroad.
Haha Dana you got fucked lawls. I love Dana white but at some point you gotta stop trying to control everyone so much or it starts to hurt the fans.. al la.. we don’t get to see Fedor so the HW div in the UFC is forfeit and now we don’t have cro-cop.. who if he returs to being an ass kicker just means we don’t get to see him either.
I draw the line with bullshit contracts when as a fan, paying 50$ a month, I don’t get to see the fights I want. Do I blame cro-cop.. no.. I would be the clauses in his potential three fight contract are a mile long and laughable.
I hope this update gets confirmed and sheds some positive light towards Crocop. He’s an excellent fighter (despite what you think of his overall UFC performances.) It did seem a little underhanded to ditch the UFC like it seems he did, so I hope it was just a misunderstanding.
Agreed. Some other writers on other websites have speculated that people at DREAM were potentially the ones who contacted Dana about Cro Cop’s alleged contract… they don’t have a good track record for honesty when it comes to claiming signed contracts. SO… who knows, I’m sure more will come out over time, I just hope I don’t have to read too many more broken English translations in the process. ;)
Reading some of the broken English on here should be good practice for you…
Haha! Agreed!!!
LOL. Good point. Most of what’s on here I just have to figure out what they actually meant to spell, not sorting out misplaced articles (as in “the”, “a”, and “an”) and prepositions.
The only thing that sucks about this is that I may not get to see Cro Cop fight in the UFC, period. He would have beat Al Turk regardless, but he walks away with a tainted win. That ref was absolutely terrible for not doing anything about the eye poke. His license should be questioned.
Did it ever cross your mind that he didn’t see the eye poke? In addition Mostapha Al-Turk needs to learn to yell “He poked me in the eye!” next time he gets poked in the eye during a fight, not covering up like he’s giving up the fight and cowering in the corner.
I agree on that Al Turk reaction was more of a case of “i’m hurt stop punching me” rather than a “he poked me in the f****** eye” why didn’t he do a Terry Funk “My Eye, My Eye, MY EYE !” :)
But Big Dan has been dubious since being assigned to do UFC Fights by the commission this isn’t his 1st controversial moment.
I’m still not 100% clear on whether or not CroCop does in fact have a signed contract with DREAM, but lets work under the assumption that he does, and has in some way “played” Dana White and the UFC for the sake of discussion.
Overall CroCop’s in-cage performances have been lackluster in comparison to his in-ring performances, and his UFC run has been pretty tame in comparison to the Hell he raised in Japan. If the future money/competition picture in Japan was looking better, as most are “reporting”, and his future money/competition picture in the UFC was looking considerably worse, as it relates to his chances for success, then who could blame CroCop for seeking greener pastures overseas?
And of course CroCop didn’t want to fight a top shelf grappler like Cain Velasquez in a cage. I’m sure he doesn’t want to fight any sort of talented grappler in a cage, let alone a former All-American. He’s a striker, and a ring fighter, which equals Japan. I realize that CroCop has earned quite a rep for himself in Japan with KO’s and wins, but in the UFC he was a relatively one-dimensional .500 fighter, and all he really had to look forward to in the caged UFC environment was getting grounded and pounded by younger, stronger fighters. At least in Japan he has another shot at MMA glory and decent paydays.
In the caged UFC CroCop would’ve been eventually humiliated by either some powerhouse young grapple-maniac like Shane Carwin or Velasquez, out-maneuvered and submitted by someone slick like Frank Mir or Nog, or if by some miracle he made it to a title bout, sent to the hospital by the Vanilla Gorilla, Brock Lesnar.
I wish CroCop the best of luck in Japan, and don’t blame him a bit for “getting out of Dodge” when he did…
There are grapplers in the heavyweight division in Japan, too. For example, Overheem took Cro Cop down a couple times and GnPed him in their abbreviated match up. Fedor and Barnett (yes they’re with Affliction, but could fight for DREAM, especially once Affliction folds) are both grapplers. Mousasi (who wants to move up to HW) is a grappler. Monson is a grappler, Werdum (who currently has no contract) is a grappler. Lashley (who potentially could end up fighting in Japan) is a grappler.
Great point, Justin. I tend to think of Japan as “strike-first”, and America as “grapple-first”, with all of the former wrestlers and BJJ guys getting into stateside MMA.
I wasn’t really thinking about “outside talent”, but considering as how Affliction lives on borrowed time, CroCop could in fact find himself in the future standing across a DREAM ring from Josh Barnett, or even the HW Grim Reaper himself, Fedor.
I keep hearing about Bobby Lashley signing a deal to wrestle professionally with the TNA promotion, and as far as I’ve read he appeared at their recent PPV. I’m not 100% sold on Lashley’s MMA pursuit. I know he’s had a couple respectable showings, but I have to wonder if he’s legitimately committed to MMA or if he’s using some strong performances outside the pro wrestling world to enhance his value and appeal to pro wrestling promoters.
Does anyone have any hard info on Lashley’s TNA pro wrestling contract? Does it allow for him to pursue MMA if he chooses?
I personally think Lashley has a bright MMA future if he should go that route. He has legit grappling credentials, and with his relative fame should have no problems finding a proper MMA trainer, striking coach, camp, etc.
so he pokes al-turk in the eye then runs do dream. awesome