Wanderlei and Cro Cop should make a trilogy in December. Photo: Reproduction
Two old rivals from the PRIDE days, Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop are expected to face each other for the third time in the Japanese rings. Rizin announced that the two MMA legends will face off in the quarterfinals of their absolute weight tournament, on December 29th, in Saitama.
The athletes are registered for the tournament, which started last Sunday (25). Cro Cop defeated Hyun Man Myung by submission, while Wanderlei will enter the contest in the next round. Shortly after beating the South Korean, the Croatian asked for the microphone to challenge the Brazilian.
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“I heard that Mr. Wanderlei Silva wants to fight me on December 29th. If you can ask him to get in the ring and ask me to ask him, do that”, said Cro Cop, to the delight of the audience present. “I have great respect for Wanderlei, he is a true legend of the sport. Since we're both in this tournament, I think it's only fair that we fight. If I have to lose a fight, I better lose to a legend like Wanderlei”, he added.
Wanderlei then got into the ring and waved positively for the duel. “I came here to fight with the best. And I think the best of the night is Mirko. I don’t care about his size: I want to fight you,” he replied. “I respect Mirko a lot, he’s a great athlete, but I’m going to come here to knock him out in December.”
Wanderlei and Cro Cop faced each other for the first time at PRIDE 20, in 2002. The fight, fought under special rules, ended in a draw, as neither of them scored a knockout or submission. Four years later, in the rematch, Cro Cop won with a violent knockout.
The following names are also in contention for the tournament: Szymon Bajor, Amir Aliakbari, Valentin Moldavsky, Jiri Prochazka, Baruto Kaito and one more name to be announced. The quarter-finals take place on December 29, with the semi-finals and final two days later, on New Year's Eve.
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