Mirko Cro Cop signs contract and returns to UFC after three years

Cro Cop is back in the UFC. Photo: Disclosure

One of the most respected names in MMA history, Mirko Cro Cop is back in the UFC. According to the president of Ultimate, Dana White, in an interview with the podcast “The MMA Hour”, the Croatian signed a contract that includes multiple fights to return to compete in the biggest organization on the planet.

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According to the website “Bloody Elbow”, the first to break the news, Cro Cop was in advanced negotiations with Bellator. However, as soon as the UFC became aware of the conversations, it intervened and offered the Croatian a better proposal. The source used by the website says that “it is almost certain” that the agreement with Cro Cop was signed only to avoid his transfer to Bellator.

Cro Cop, now 40 years old, joined professional MMA at the beginning of the last decade after a successful stint in the K-1 kickboxing event. The peak of his career came during his PRIDE days, where he was marked by historic knockouts with his feared left leg, as well as the Absolute GP title in 2006. Among his most famous victims are Kazushi Sakuraba, Heath Herring, Igor Vovchanchyn, Aleksander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett (three times), Mark Coleman and Wanderlei Silva.

In 2007, Cro Cop made his UFC debut, but his performance in the Octagon fell short of expectations. After victory over Eddie Sanchez, the Croatian suffered two consecutive defeats, including a tough knockout against Gabriel Napao, and ended up leaving the organization.

Then, Cro Cop returned to Japan, beating unimpressive names and having a no-contest against alistair overeem. This was enough to mark his return to Ultimate, which happened in June 2009, with a controversial victory over Mostapha Al-Turk after an accidental poke in the eye (which was not noticed by the fight referee). In the following fights, however, he faced new setbacks: he had four defeats in six fights, three of which were consecutive, which culminated in his new departure from the UFC.

Claiming lack of motivation, Cro Cop has since had four MMA fights, winning three and being submitted in another by Alexey Oleinik, now a UFC athlete. During this period, Cro Cop dedicated himself again to kickboxing, where he obtained seven victories in eight fights.