Cro Cop

(Cro Cop helps the K-1 promoters play a very cruel joke on Bob Sapp.)

Just a couple months ago Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic appeared to be walking away from MMA for good, citing a lack of desire after a thoroughly uninspired effort against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 103.  Now it seems as though he’s coming back to take on Ben Rothwell in Australia this January, so you might rightfully be wondering, what’s going to change, apart from Filipovic’s facial structure if he doesn’t improve upon his last performance? 

Well, almost before you can finish asking the question, Cro Cop has answered it.  He’s dropped his old boxing coach in favor of working with former Muay Thai champ Ivan “The Hydro” Hippolyte, and he’s also sent his old buddy and sparring partner Igor Pokrajac packing.  So, problem solved?

(If you're trying to find the pro fighter in this picture, look for the guy who is not wearing sunglasses at night.)

As part of their effort to make Cain Velasquez the MMA ambassador to the Hispanic community that Roger Huerta never quite became, the UFC sent out a press release today touting Velasquez’s appearance at tonight’s Latin Grammy Awards (8 pm EST on Univision).  Velasquez also filmed a short video segment with Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel (I had to do some googling to confirm that these are actual musical artists; the story checks out) that will lead off the broadcast.  So if you don’t want to watch the whole thing, but you want to see Cain riding around in a Porsche with the two slicksters in the above photo, you can get in and get out even if you have no idea what’s being said (hint: they’re probably all talking about you, and you have no idea).

In related news, recent Velasquez-victim Ben Rothwell is rumored to be taking on Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at the UFC’s inaugural event in Australia on February 21.  We know, we know, didn’t Cro Cop retire because he didn’t have the game in him no more?  Turns out he wants another trip through the meat grinder, and Rothwell would be a pretty perfect opponent to give him one.  Both guys are fond of kicking and punching people, and both still need to prove themselves in the UFC.  And what the hell, the Australians have behaved themselves lately, so they deserve a little Rothwell-Cro Cop action.  We have to forgive those poor bastards for Men at Work some time.  They suffered just as much as we did.

(Apparently LookOutAWhale is not a Bisping fan. Ouch.)

You want to know how close the Fertitta's came to giving up on this zany UFC experiment?  Then read this insightful article by Neil Davidson, which effectively portrays Dana White as a man with the virtues of his faults.  For example, there was the time he fired the entire production crew for not doing things just how he wanted.  Kind of makes sense that the same guy who built the industry leader by kicking asses and micro-managing his way to the top can also be more than a little too controlling at times.  (See also: Sponsor Smackdown)

In other news...

(A match made in Japan.)

Maybe Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic wasn’t kidding about wanting to pack as many fights as possible into the years he has left, because SI.com’s Josh Gross is reporting that he’s agreed to fight K-1 kickboxer and occasional MMA fighter “Mighty” Mo Siliga at Dream.10 on July 20 in Japan.  So take that all you people who said Cro Cop wasn’t serious about fighting the best heavyweights in the world.  Siliga is an impressive 3-1 in MMA, with his last victory against the always tough available Ruben “Warpath” Villareal a little over two years ago.  The guy’s no Mostapha Al-Turk, but at least he's not one of those annoying/bad-ass wrestlers that populate the UFC's heavyweight class.

(Come on, man — think of all the good times you had here! Photo courtesy of daylife.com)

UPDATE, 12:35 p.m. ET: Cro Cop is official for UFC 99.

The UFC's quest for foreign expansion is hitting some spike-strips, with two big-name fighters potentially slipping out of their grasp. First off, despite his blog-post enthusiasm that led everyone to believe he'd be returning to the Octagon at UFC 99, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic still hasn't signed a contract with the UFC. As Dave Meltzer explains: