10 Legendary MMA Fighters You've Probably Never Heard Of

Mirko Cro Cop Announces His UFC Return; Will Fight Al-Turk Next


(Mirko celebrates his 2002 K-1 victory over King Hippo.)

Holy crap! It seems that scoring wins over Tatsuya Mizuno and Hong Man Choi — and getting his nuts kicked in by Alistair Overeem — was enough to earn Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic an invite back to the UFC; the Croatian legend ended his first Octagon run in early 2008 after becoming the biggest bust in UFC history. Here’s the word directly from Cro Cop’s MMA-ID blog:

Back in UFC!
So we have some big news! 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.

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. 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. Thanks everyone for supporting me all the way – we are back in business!

A few months ago, Cro Cop was quoted as saying he wanted to make his UFC return at UFC 99 (June 13th; Cologne, Germany) — and hoped to face Randy Couture; too bad Randy’s already booked. Though Cro Cop didn’t mention a date in his blog post, #99 would still make sense for him, geographically speaking.

In case you’ve already forgotten about Mustapha Al-Turk, he’s the 6-4 Cage Rage vet who got wrecked by Cheick Kongo at his UFC debut in December. UFC.com actually has him listed on UFC 99′s fight card page against ATT prospect Todd Duffee, but it looks like Duff’s gonna get shafted so that Cro Cop can get an easy return fight in front of a European crowd. Past struggles aside, we’re confident that Mirko can beat Mustapha’s ass. Unfortunately, he’ll lose via head-kick KO when he takes on Shane Carwin in his next fight. Such is the curse of Cro Cop.

We’ll let you know when the UFC gives this match an official date…

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Dmonicideals- May 19, 2009 at 6:20 am
Hey Lysol, how about you fuck off and go watch dancing with the stars if you aren't interested in watching MMA. Al-Turk has had more fights than just the one raushambeau contest with Kongo, and is going to embarrass the Cop, again.
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Danxxx- May 18, 2009 at 10:55 pm
OMG yessss... WAR mirko¡¡
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Fucklord- May 18, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Al-Turk has already shown that he has the tools to beat crocop - the ball buster
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Lysol- May 18, 2009 at 6:06 pm
And in case you actually remember Mustapha Al-Turk, get a hobby, take off your Houston Alexander Lugz, go outside, and stop obsessing over the UFC's shittiest fighters.
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Dante- May 18, 2009 at 5:58 pm
I hope he comes back and dominates this time around.

WAR CRO COP
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Komodo- May 18, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Right on, I hope he brings the damage this time around :)

=WAR CRO COP=
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Cookie Monster- May 18, 2009 at 5:12 pm
my prediction is that cro cop will shoot into a perfect firemans carry takedown and transition straight into a textbook arm bar for the win in under 15 seconds....for real for real
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Dmonicideals- May 18, 2009 at 4:36 pm
That is to say, poor CroCop, gets to come back and get ashamed again.
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Dmonicideals- May 18, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Just when you never thought you would get to place a safe bet on Al-Turk.......................
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4inch4skin- May 18, 2009 at 4:08 pm
So...that means crocop's fighting at 99?
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ScrambledEggs- May 18, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Speaking of Kongo if the UFC wants to build up Cro Cop again they should give him the Kongo treatment, because they've done nothing but feed that guy tomato cans since he lost to Heath Herring.
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Jay Smith- May 18, 2009 at 3:43 pm
@ Mayhem
Al Turk hit Kongo with a low blow first so, what does that make him? Low blows or not, Kongo whooped his ass easily!
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just some dong- May 18, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Always good to see an exciting KO fighter making a comeback. Cop's probably got a few good years left in him; he just needs to train his ass off and get his head straight. Another tough loss though and I can see him retiring sooner rather than later.
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cr_trinity- May 18, 2009 at 2:57 pm
BallPointPenThief ought to get comment of the week for that one. Absoulutely awesome with it's originality, especially considering the nature of this site's fanbase. You know, sexually confused pre pubescents who typein capitals?...
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IronClad- May 18, 2009 at 2:55 pm
im calling bullshit on that. Cro cop gives me no reason to be "excited" for his return. He will get molested in the HW divison by Carwin, Lesnar, Gonzaga (twice) and shit, Cain Velasquez could probably whoop that ass.

I could care less about this guy, keep him in japan fighting monsters and such but UFC is for real contenders in their prime.
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DbHK- May 18, 2009 at 2:45 pm
You fucking dicks. No way Mirko loses via head kick to Carwin. Carwin can't even raise his goddamn legs up. 2009-1010 = Mirko reigns destruction on the UFC HW division. Let it be known, Mirko will punish.
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Jonny5- May 18, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Al Turk, that guy has a win over Mark Kerr. Serious business!
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House Party- May 18, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I'd love to see cro cop back! FUCK YEAH!
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Fedor vs. Bas- May 18, 2009 at 2:04 pm
CroCop is nasty and i'm glad he's going to be back in the UFC. When he faught before he had a bad knee injury, and even if he doesn't win the title, he will still be a legitate contender if he comes back and is anywhere near the fighter he was.
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831 Son- May 18, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Nutriding? If that had happened to you, you would probably cry.
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PHELPS- May 18, 2009 at 2:01 pm
There was also some serious Dana nutriding at the end of that blog. I wonder if he offered up his first born for a shot back in the octogon.
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mayhem- May 18, 2009 at 2:00 pm
"In case you've already forgotten about Mustapha Al-Turk, he's the 6-4 Cage Rage vet who got wrecked by Cheick Kongo"

Al-Turk also had his nuts wrecked in that fight due to Kongo being an fucking ass.
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831 Son- May 18, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Haha Mike I was just about to say that.
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PHELPS- May 18, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I always liked Cro Cop, this should be good.
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Chiggs- May 18, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Either way good news for Cro Cop!! This time around he's gonna be acclimated to the Cage since he's already competed there and he bought himself his own to train in at his gym which will make a workd of difference imo. Mustapha is a bad fight for him I thinks, dude can be dangerous and would hate to see his return be spoiled by a 'lucky' punch. Surprised he didnt get a bigger name, sucks Couture already is taking on Nog, woulda liked to see them go at it, but Nog vs COuture is gonna be good to I hope
0 0 Reply

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