[VIDEO] Mirko Cro Cop Gets His Cro Cop On, Wins 2013 K-1 Grand Prix
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic finally achieved something he had never managed up to that point in his legendary fight career: becoming a K-1 World Grand Prix champion. Cro Cop defeated Ismael Londt in the final of the 2013 K-1 World Grand Prix in Zagreb, Croatia.
Cro Cop’s Road to the K-1 Grand Prix Final
Prior to the final, Cro Cop decisioned Pavel Zhuravlev and Jarrell Miller — the latter a win that drew controversy because many observers felt Miller deserved the judges’ nod. There was less controversy in the final, where Cro Cop scored a knockdown with his trademark left high kick in the second round.
The 38-year-old kickboxer, former special forces member and former member of Croatia’s Parliament first fought in K-1 seventeen years earlier. He had come close but never managed to win the organization’s Grand Prix before his victory in Zagreb.
A Long Road Through PRIDE and the UFC
Cro Cop moved on to MMA in PRIDE and twice came close to becoming a world champion, losing an interim title fight to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and later a title fight to Fedor Emelianenko.
After the UFC purchased PRIDE, Cro Cop fought ten times in the UFC, compiling a 4-6 record and leaving after three straight losses. He later returned to MMA competition and defeated Shinichi Suzukawa in Japan on New Year’s Eve.
Cro Cop then made another run in kickboxing, and the hometown Grand Prix victory vindicated that decision.
Cro Cop Knockouts
Cro Cop Refereeing a Backyard Fight
— Elias Cepeda